Audit under difficult circumstances: our coronavirus update
The coronavirus pandemic continues to define public and social life in Germany as well as the majority of other countries across the globe. In March, we took measures to ensure that our company would continue to operate smoothly and to safeguard our employees, suppliers and customers, to the greatest extent possible, from contracting the novo coronavirus. We have constantly modified these measures since then; for example, in terms of our hygiene regulations, personal protective equipment, and the possibility of working from home, to name but a few. With no-one working at GEH Wasserchemie having been infected or having to quarantine so far, we have succeeded in securing both the production and distribution of our products.
One example of how everyday working life has changed can be seen in the way the NSF audit was carried out this year. The NSF is a US-based global organization that audits, inspects and certifies products. Our GEH granular adsorbent is NSF/ANSI 61 certified. This international standard is a vital prerequisite for gaining drinking water treatment approval in the U.S.A. As a precautionary measure in these times of the coronavirus crisis, this year’s audit was successfully conducted online. During the extensive videoconference, the NSF auditor was able to audit our production processes and evaluate our quality assurance measures. Following subsequent testing of a GEH material sample at the NSF laboratory in the U.S.A., we secured our recertification once again this year.
The measures undertaken to contain the coronavirus pandemic have added to the efforts required by all our suppliers and service providers, without whose work we could not keep our business going. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude to those truck drivers, package delivery services, cleaning personnel, and everyone else working on our behalf for their tireless efforts. As a small gesture of our gratitude and by way of supporting local businesses in Osnabrück, we have handed out vouchers for use in local restaurants.