Company

Quality system

Scavolini has always viewed quality as one of its priorities.

Therefore, as long ago as the early '90s Scavolini had already realised that a Quality Management System based on an international standard could be an important aid in achieving constantly quality improvement.

The standard of reference is UNI EN ISO 9001:2008.

A quality management system is simply the best “modus operandi” for attempting to assure quality throughout the process running from definition of the customer’s needs through to their satisfaction, involving all corporate activities (the Deming Cycle).

The Scavolini quality management system therefore oversees every corporate process which affects quality, such as:

• product design and development,
• customer order management,
• supplier selection, assessment and control,
• production and maintenance,
• inspection of materials and finished products during reception, production and shipment,
• documentation management,
• complaints management,

Through the careful management of these processes, the system pursues Scavolini’s main objective: the full satisfaction of its customers.

The Scavolini Quality System was awarded certification in 1996, and it has subsequently been constantly updated in accordance with clearly defined rules governing surveillance and renewal.

The notified body which certified the Scavolini Quality System is SGS www.it.sgs.com, an independent body and world leader in audits, inspections and certifications. Founded in 1878 in Rouen (France), SGS currently has its headquarters at Geneva in Switzerland. However, it has offices all over the world, including Italy.

Environmental system

With the same mentality as for its quality system, around the year 2000 Scavolini started to work towards implementation of an Environmental Management system based on the UNI EN ISO 14001, standard, reflecting its long-established belief in the need to protect the environment by taking on board the principle of “continuous improvement” in terms of environmental safeguards.

The “Environmental Management System” is based on the international UNI EN ISO 14001 standard, 2004 edition.

The Environmental Management System is the means for management of all activities which impact on the environment.

Following the principles of the UNI EN ISO 14001 standard, as well as assuring compliance with the relevant environmental legislation, Scavolini also assures constant improvement with regard to the environment, particularly in the management of:

• energy resources,
• natural resources,
• waste,
• atmospheric emissions.

Scavolini is committed to providing its customers with the highest possible satisfaction, which also means effective action to protect the natural world.

The environmental system is again certified by SGS www.it.sgs.com, the independent body which is world leader in audits, inspections and certifications.

The synergy between the two systems, Quality and the Environment, generates the “continuous improvement" that is the primary objective required by international standards and Scavolini’s Corporate Policy alike.

Since the end of 2008, Scavolini Group is the first industrial group in the Italian kitchen sector (source: Sincert) to have obtained the OHSAS 18001:2007 certification for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. The BS OHSAS 1800:2007 standard adopted by our company was published by the British Standards Institution on 1st July 2007 and defines the framework through which companies identify and assess the risks connected with their activity, in order to optimally manage them and to improve performance.

Our decision to obtain the OHSAS 18001:2007 certification is part of that spirit of "continuous improvement" that defines our company. Previously, the company had already obtained the UNI EN ISO 9001 Quality Management certification in 1996 and the UNI EN ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification in 2004.

The OHSAS 18001:2007 certification denotes Scavolini Group's strong commitment and deep awareness towards safeguarding the health and safety of its employees, a highly sensitive issue nowadays and one of fundamental importance to the Group.

By actively involving the entire company structure in this project with the aim of promoting a culture of safety in the workplace, the Scavolini Group reaffirms its complete awareness of the importance of human capital in contributing to an organisation's success. This initiative perfectly reflects the company's individual-oriented philosophy, pursued with continuity, sense of responsibility and deep belief from the outset and evident in the company's attitude towards its own employees and commercial partners, as well as towards customers.

The OHSAS 18001:2007 certification was awarded to Scavolini Group by SGS Italia, which previously certified the Quality Management Systems and the Environmental Management Systems. An independent body, SGS is a world leader in the testing and certification of industrial goods and services. The company is headquartered in Switzerland and has offices in over 140 countries worldwide. It has been present in Italy since 1915.

Product quality

Scavolini realises that supplying quality  means focusing only on the quality that can be achieved using tough, reliable materials and timeless design, so the price of the product reflects its true value.

One of the biggest advantages of choosing a leading brand like Scavolini is the certainty that the kitchen supplied will be of the best quality today’s technologies and materials and a state-of-the-art industrial process can provide.

Scavolini adopts a vast range of measures, at all levels within the company, to ensure that the product delivered to the user meets all his expectations. These include:

DESIGN: design lays the foundations of a product's quality. For this reason, before going into production every new model and element undergoes a complex, painstaking design and industrialisation procedure.  The key steps in this process include the precise definition of the initial inputs, the planning of all the activities to be carried out, verification of the various activities, calculations and laboratory tests, validation and approval for production.

PRODUCTION: the organisation of production and logistics is of vital importance in assuring precision, punctuality and efficiency. Scavolini has also always been at the state of the art in the use of plants and machinery incorporating the latest technology, ensuring both speed and, above all, precision.

TRAINING: A company is neither more nor less than the sum of its people. Careful staff selection and constant training are therefore fundamental, and the best backup must be provided to allow employees to work effectively and accurately.

TESTS AND INSPECTIONS: to rule out the risk of error, Scavolini has established an internal control system at the various levels, to minimise the risk that any errors or defects will reach our customers.
Inspections are scheduled on receipt of incoming materials from suppliers, during the various production stages and on the finished product before shipment.
As well as these checks, Scavolini constantly performs laboratory tests to verify the performance characteristics of its materials and products.  These tests, mainly based on specific technical standards, are performed both in-house in the company’s own laboratory and by external laboratories.

SUPPLIERS: suppliers of materials and unfinished products play a fundamental role. In order to guarantee that its suppliers have all the necessary prerequisites, Scavolini carries out thorough selection and assessment, using direct visits, specific questionnaires, tests on materials, certifications, etc.  Approved suppliers are then continuously monitored to ensure that quality standards are maintained.

Constantly focused on the quality of the products supplied to the consumer, Scavolini adopts a series of measures to guarantee its products’ characteristics.

Some characteristics can be checked by means of specific controls, with the aid of special instruments.

However, in order to verify the performance characteristics of the products/materials, specific laboratory tests must be performed. Scavolini carries out more than 600 laboratory tests on products and materials every year.

These tests are performed both in-house, in the company’s own well-equipped test laboratory, and externally, by respected leading test facilities, mainly the COSMOB Quality Test Laboratory.

The product/material characteristics monitored by the Scavolini Group include verification of the low formaldehyde emissions of panels (emission level E1) and painting products, surfaces’ resistance to light and the action of various liquids, panels’ water-resistance (verification of characteristic V100) and the resistance of edges and surfaces to heat, hinges’ resistance to door opening, saline fog, drawer opening, and the resistance of chairs, tables, varnishes and wooden doors to the wet-dry cycle.

To check out some of the specific tests Scavolini adopts on its products, click on the parts of the kitchen shown below to view some tests being performed.

Following the principles of the UNI EN ISO 14001 standard, 2004 edition, Scavolini ensures management of all environmental factors linked to its operations, as well as those relating to the product as such.

Corporate Aspects:

Air

The quality of the air we breathe is an environmental priority.
Our company performs thorough regular checks on the emissions produced, in order to verify compliance with the legal limits and gradually reduce pollutant emissions. Scavolini has installed systems for filtering and removing the pollutants in its atmospheric emissions to achieve this.

Energy

Given the company’s size, its energy consumption, and especially its electricity use, is on a large scale.
Scavolini monitors electricity consumption carefully, and uses technologies and measures designed to avoid wastage.

In line with the ever-increasing interest in renewable energy sources, Scavolini has shown itself open to the use of alternative energy sources.

It has also launched a product for the use of electricity generated by solar panels, to reduce the use of energy produced by non-renewable sources.

Waste

One aim which Scavolini sets itself is the reduction of the amount of waste produced and sent to landfills. To achieve this, Scavolini sorts waste internally ready for recycling into more than 30 different types, most of them in non-hazardous categories.

At present, the company recycles more than 85% of all waste produced.

Resources:

The company keeps its consumption of water resources (actually very low) under control through constant monitoring and adoption of all measures necessary to prevent wastage.

Scavolini is keen to cut consumption of printer paper, and utilises only paper which is recycled or has FSC certification (i.e. which comes from sustainable managed plantations) for internal use, thus helping to reduce the environmental impacts related to the production of paper and its disposal after use.

Product-related environmental factors

As far as market requirements and technological developments allow, Scavolini wishes to offer for sale products and materials which are as ecocompatible as possible.

Design is of fundamental importance in achieving this, since it is the first means of controlling and limiting product-related environmental impacts.
Scavolini is therefore investing in this direction and in its suppliers in order to expand its know-how  and thus design products which are more and more compatible at the environmental level.

Durability

As explained in the section on quality, Scavolini kitchens are designed to last over time. This factor is in itself one of the most important for the environment, since a product which lasts a long time automatically means less impact on the environment.

Packaging

As explained in the section on quality, Scavolini kitchens are designed to last over time. This factor is in itself one of the most important for the environment, since a product which lasts a long time automatically means less impact on the environment.

• by reducing the quantities used, as far as the need to guarantee protection of the product allows;
• by using cardboard packaging consisting of recycled and/or recyclable materials.

Paints

Scavolini has already started to use products and technologies which reduce the environmental impact of the use of paints, by using powder or water-based painting techniques wherever possible.

As well as monitoring of paints’ impact during the production stage, checks and tests are also performed to verify the low harmful emissions of the painted products, such as the formaldehyde emissions of painted panels.

Environment-friendly panels

All particle boards used to construct the carcases of Scavolini furniture are environment-friendly materials, made from recycled wood products, which means that no new trees have to be felled.

E1 panels

The entire carcases of the units and doors which make up Scavolini kitchens undergo regular tests to guarantee low formaldehyde emissions, in accordance with the EN 717-2 standard.

Appliances

In compliance with European Directive 2002/95/EC (RoHS Directive), the appliances in Scavolini kitchens do not contain hazardous substances such as lead, chromium, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBBs (polybrominated biphenyls) or PBDEs (diphenyl ethers), particularly harmful for people and the environment.

Also with the aim of protecting the environment and complying with the relevant regulations (specifically European Directive 2002/96/EC – WEEE Directive), as far as its role in the supply chain allows, Scavolini helps to ensure the correct management of waste electrical and electronic equipment, through a series of activities intended to regulate the collection, disposal and recycling of this type of waste.