Wood Pellet Management Systems

Standards, specification and analysis tell you less than you might think. The standard determines the way that wood pellets are described. The specification indicates the quality that the supplier claims to be providing. And the analysis tells you the quality of a particular sample of wood pellets. But how do you know that that isn't an unrepresentative snapshot at best, a deceit at worst? How can you be confident that the supplier's wood pellets won't go out of specification?

Quality wood-pellet supply needs good management systems

Supplying good-quality wood pellets relies on so much more than sourcing pellets of a given specification. If the wood pellets are being supplied off the production line, systems have to be in place to ensure that the quality does not vary beyond the stated specification. If the wood pellets are being delivered from a store, systems have to be put in place to manage the transport from factory to store and the conditions in the store, to minimise degradation and contamination, and remove whatever degradation does occur.

The specification will refer either to the condition at the factory gate or (at best) the condition on loading onto the delivery lorry. It will be hard to demonstrate whether a load met these specifications, unless the supplier implements systems to ensure traceability, and to take representative samples to be stored for later analysis should there be a problem. And however good the specification at this point, the condition of the delivered wood pellets will depend on how the pellets are handled onto the delivery lorry, the capabilities of the vehicle, the skills of the driver, and the limitations of the installation to which the pellets are being delivered.

A customer should pay at least as much attention to what a supplier can tell them about the management systems they employ to ensure continuous attention to quality, as they should to the claimed specification of the wood pellets.

Quality (ISO 9001), Environment (ISO 14001), Health & Safety (OHSAS 18001), etc.

Quality is a priority, but it is not the only factor that suppliers should consider. Suppliers should also take account of factors like environmental impact and Health & Safety. There are international standards for implementing management systems to take account of each of these factors.

ISO 9001

The international standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS). Will include a quality policy, manual, procedures, method statements and list of associated documents needed to manage the activities in a way that ensures attention to the quality of the product and service.

ISO 14001

The international standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS). Will include an environmental policy, consideration of the environmental impacts of the various activities of the organisation, and how to manage them. Related to the Quality Management System as most impacts will occur in the activities described in the quality procedures.

OHSAS 18001

Less commonly implemented than the previous two, this is the international standard for Health & Safety Management Systems (H&SMS). Health & safety should be a major consideration for the QMS. Many organisations deal with Health & Safety within their QMS rather than within a separate Management System.

PAS 99

The British specification for an Integrated Management System (IMS). As there is considerable duplication between systems, and it makes sense to think of how each process affects all of these factors, some organisations may implement an Integrated Management System to take account of all of these factors within a single system and unified set of procedures. PAS 99 is a specification designed to assist developers of IMSs, rather than a standard.

It is not important to the customer whether the systems are integrated or standalone, and whether they have been accredited or are still under development, but customers should be wary of any supplier who cannot convincingly describe the systems they implement to control their operations for quality at least, and may prefer suppliers who have considered the other aspects as well.

Forever Fuels' Management Systems

Forever Fuels is implementing an Integrated Management System incorporating an ISO 9001 QMS and an ISO 14001 EMS. Health & Safety is a key consideration within the QMS. Procedures are already in place for routine activities like delivery, storage, handling, and sampling, to give the maximum confidence in our ongoing quality and positive environmental impact.