New ISO 9001 certification solidifies Purity Gas’s dedication to quality and service

Purity Gas has been awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification, the internationally recognized standard for quality management. Certification demonstrates that a business has established – and is continually improving – a system that includes effective, repeatable processes; trained, skilled staff; and an overall dedication to meeting customer expectations for quality products and services.

Purity Gas empowers manufacturers to generate their own nitrogen gas – on site and as needed – instead of relying on expensive deliveries of liquid nitrogen. Alan Hopkins and Chris Styles are its co-founders and leaders. 

Styles explained why Purity Gas sought out the opportunity to audit their business systems against the ISO 9001 standard.

“We always want to ensure that our foundation is as solid as it can possibly be. Especially when you consider how quickly we’re growing, meeting the ISO standard not only keeps us efficient – it shows the world that we’re committed to sound procedures and best practices. And that we’ll never stop improving.”

A clear roadmap to success

The ISO 9001 standard is based on seven principles: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management. 

With such a broad definition of quality management, efforts to review and standardize operations reach every part of the business.

Hopkins explained how this company-wide commitment, now woven into the fabric of the business, leads to long-term, consistent, positive outcomes for customers – from initial contact to after-purchase support.

“We look at what each person does to be successful, and we ensure those best practices are properly recorded and standardized. Having a clear roadmap to success means we each perform at the highest level for our customers. When customers are satisfied, when we know we had a positive impact, that’s a win. Each win feeds our team’s motivation to get more wins.”

Always evolving and improving

“We’ve always had that mindset here, but now we have clear processes for gathering and acting on feedback to help us get better all the time. Fundamentally, that’s what having a quality management system is all about. Where are the points of risk? What aspects of your operations are you measuring and how are you going to act on the information you collect? Can you do something a little bit better the next time you do it? Over time, you see how everyday actions contribute to major steps.”

Top-tier service for top-tier customers

Surveying customers to evaluate their satisfaction with various segments of the business is another important element of continual improvement.

“Potential and existing customers understand that meeting the ISO 9001 standard means we have formalized our customer feedback process,” Styles said. “This gives us credibility because they know that our work is visibly anchored in customer satisfaction.”

Using Purity Gas’s turnkey NITROCENTER® system, industrial users of nitrogen gas can generate their own supply, either inside their facility or in the NitroVault® first-of-its-kind outdoor enclosure. Common industrial uses for nitrogen gas include laser cutting, metal fabrication, food and beverage production, oil and gas, and chemical manufacturing. This means Purity Gas supplies some of the largest manufacturers in North America, each of them with their own unique and rigorous requirements.

“Overall, the driving force is becoming a better company for our customers,” Styles said. “Inside the organization, each person understands the value of their role and feels confident they are performing that role in the best possible way. For those looking in from the outside, they see a business and a team of people they can trust.”