Studierendenwerk QM recertified

In 2015, the Quality Management (QM) of the Studierendenwerk Dining Department gained a TÜV Certification in accordance with ISO 9001. Now it was successfully recertified.

The certification by TÜV Rheinland is an internationally recognized seal of quality. In Studierendenwerk it applies to the "preparation and provision of food for students, university members, and childcare centers". It certifies a QM System that runs a continual improvement process.

In order to be allowed to keep the seal, annual surveillance audits are conducted and every third year the whole Dining Department gets a full recertification. In Studierendenwerk the Department Head, the teams of Quality Management and Product Management, Mensa Academica and three additional dining halls are tested. The special thing this year was that the former ISO 9001:2008 was replaced by the ISO 9001:2015. This meant new challenges for the dining department teams and extra effort in staff trainings.

Studierendenwerk Aachen runs nine dining halls and seven cafeterias in Aachen and Jülich and it produces more than 2 million meals per day. Only in Mensa Academica on Pontwall the current number of customers per day is 6 000. In the recertification process all work procedures and food preparation standards were revised in order to increase the transparency of procedures, achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction and lower error rates. Furthermore, a cleaning and disinfection standard as well process identification numbers were introduced and risks and chances were identified.