EURO-SYMBIOSE supports IDEA OPTICAL in obtaining dual ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification

Editor: Stéphanie BAZIN Senior Consultant EURO-SYMBIOSE.

IDEA OPTICAL, a Brittany-based company with around 200 employees, designs, sells and manufactures fibre optic connection and patching solutions. It has been a subsidiary of the ACOME group since 2015.

Its main customers are major players in the telecoms sector such as Bouygues, Free, Orange and SFR, as well as local authorities as part of the France Très Haut Débit plan.

Created in 2006, the company has grown exponentially since 2018, and one of the challenges of the 2025 strategic plan is international development.

From 2021, the company’s management wanted to obtain ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification in order to structure and optimise the company’s organisation, without compromising its flexibility and capacity for innovation. These 2 certifications will help give future international customers confidence.

IDEA OPTICAL chose EURO-SYMBIOSE to support the company in this structuring project, which involves all its employees. Stéphanie BAZIN, EURO-SYMBIOSE consultant, brought her expertise to support the management team and the QSE manager in this certification project.

The initial objectives were ambitious, since it was necessary to build a Quality and Environmental Management System that took into account the requirements of ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 14001: 2015, while maintaining a certain degree of flexibility so as not to degrade existing good practices. All of this had to be achieved within a 2-year period.

Jean-Philippe FLOCH, QSE Manager, comments on the success of the project:

“When IDEA OPTICAL decided to embark on the construction of an integrated quality and environment management system in 2021, with the aim of achieving ISO 9001 and 14001 certification by the end of 2022, we had to define the path and the means. We quickly came to the conclusion that we needed to call on a highly experienced external service provider, given the short timescale, the work involved and the expectations of the company’s key players.

We chose EURO-SYMBIOSE because they understood IDEA OPTICAL’s requirements perfectly. We wanted to be certified while retaining the company’s strong identity: pragmatism, agility and efficiency at the service of our customers.

Stéphanie Bazin’s availability, ability to listen, pedagogy and persuasiveness guided us in building our processes, while taking into account the needs of our stakeholders. Her knowledge of the reference systems and her experience made it easier for us to get straight to the point and save time.

2.5 years after deciding to embark on this project, I can see that the people involved are now committed to and committed to the integrated management system. The objectives are shared, with more interconnections between departments. The operating routines for steering the processes are in place, and all this has put us on the road to continuous improvement: strategic indicators such as the number of customer complaints and the service rate are clearly improving. The company’s first carbon footprint will be available in early 2024.

 

Franck LE PROVOST, Managing Director of IDEA OPTICAL, also comments:

“After 15 years of existence and significant growth, obtaining ISO 9001/14001 certification appeared to be a necessity in 2021 in order to guarantee good coordination of our internal actions and continue our development in France and abroad in the years to come.

EURO-SYMBIOSE’s support was an essential investment if we were to achieve the ambitious goal of double certification in 1 year. Stéphanie BAZIN knew exactly how to take our environment into account, put the team at ease, remain pragmatic and set the necessary pace with an educational and sympathetic approach.

Because the approach was understood by all those involved, buy-in came naturally and continuous improvement is now well and truly underway.

 

Feedback on the service

The first important step in building a Management System is to identify the company’s processes. During a seminar with IDEA OPICAL’s management team, Stéphanie BAZIN led the company to draw up its own process map. EURO-SYMBIOSE uses a highly effective and participative methodology to identify the processes needed to meet the expectations of clients and other relevant stakeholders.

Secondly, to describe and manage these processes, a pilot has been appointed for each process. EURO-SYMBIOSE created a dedicated training module to train the process drivers for their new missions. Our consultant, Stéphanie Bazin, then accompanied and coached them to enable them to carry out their roles successfully: describing the process, choosing the right indicators, analysing and dealing with risks and opportunities, leading a performance review, etc.

IDEA OPTICAL has successfully obtained its dual ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification after 16 months’ work. The few minor discrepancies identified were quickly rectified.

Following these good results, EURO-SYMBIOSE is continuing its collaboration with IDEA OPTICAL by carrying out internal audits and providing training for the company’s employees.

The aim of our consultant’s coaching sessions was also to ensure compliance with the requirements of the 2 ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.

To complete the support mission, Michèle YAN – EURO-SYMBIOSE’s partner consultant – carried out a blank audit of the Management System to check that everything was in compliance before receiving the auditors from the certification body.