Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Ritec International is delighted to announce it has successfully passed its annual ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 audit with Alcumus ISOQAR. For the thirteenth consecutive year for ISO 9001 and eighth year for ISO 14001 (Ritec’s initial registrations began in 2008 and 2012 respectively), there was not a single minor non-conformancy reported.

Ian Thomas, ISOQAR Lead Auditor, concluded within his report: “The audit team concludes that the organisation has established and maintained its management system in conformance with the requirements of the standards and demonstrated to the audit team that the management system is effective in its ability to systematically achieve the requirements for products and or services within the scope of its activities and in accordance with its policy and objectives.”

The audit team also concludes that the audit objectives have been fulfilled. Based on the evidence obtained during this audit, the audit team recommends that Certification should be ‘Continued’.

This year’s audit was carried out remotely due to Covid-19 restrictions and initially was considered to present some issues. However, Wayne Saul  CQP, MCQI of Concept Quality Management Systems (CQMS) and consultant for Ritec, talked the company through the process and advised on how to present some of the hard copy information where required.

Ritec’s Martin Burkett AIIRSM, responsible for overseeing the audit, said: “The whole process could actually not have been much simpler, and for surveillance audits definitely the way forward. We are immensely proud of again successfully passing, especially now for so many years in a row without any minor non-conformancies recorded. I would like to say a big thank you to all those who played their part.”

For more information about Ritec International, please visit www.ritec.co.uk.

Ritec Services are back in action to clean, protect and maintain glass on the latest Princess Cruises cruise liner, Enchanted Princess.

Dutch-based Ritec Services are the global experts when it comes to marine glass renovation, ‘non-stick’ easy-clean protection and maintenance with decades of experience using the ClearShield Eco-System®. Their specially trained staff are currently in Monfalcone, Italy to get 17,500m² of exterior glass ready for the ship’s maiden voyage. This involves removing any paint splatter, silicone, protective foil and other contamination from the glass, then deep cleaning it with specialist Ritec renovation products. Once the surface is chemically clean, the glass will then be treated with award-winning durable ClearShield® ‘non-stick’ protection to resist staining from harsh sea salts and other contaminants whilst in service.

ClearShield® gives numerous benefits. Passengers will have a clearer view out of their cabins and safety is optimised as crew will have a better view from the bridge compared to ordinary, unprotected glass. Additionally, ClearShield’s easy-clean properties will help save precious water and manpower during cleaning cycles.

Enchanted Princess is the fifth Royal-class ship. At 145,000 gross tonnes, she follows sister ships Royal Princess, Regal Princess, Majestic Princess and the upcoming Sky Princess, built and delivered in the same shipyard that started from 2013. The ship consists of 15 decks with a capacity of 3,660 passengers.

If you have problems with marine glass, no matter how big or small, find out how Ritec Services can help by visiting www.ritecservices.nl/marine-services.

EcoShield, a surface renovation specialist in the Netherlands, was contracted to renovate and protect the main entrance of the headquarters belonging to the country’s largest telecoms provider.

EcoShield is fully trained to renovate, protect and maintain glass and stainless steel surfaces with the ClearShield Eco-System® and Ritecoat System™ respectively.  The main entrance consists of several stainless steel areas, most notably the large revolving door, so the Ritecoat System™ was used in this instance.

The Rotterdam-based headquarters is located by a river, a busy traffic junction and a tram line. Moisture from the atmosphere and river, coupled with pollution from vehicles combine to aggressively contaminate surfaces. As a result, the revolving door suffered from rust due to the persistent environmental contamination.

EcoShield possess a lot of experience renovating stainless steel surfaces in particular with the Ritecoat System™. They have treated such surfaces in many office buildings and train stations around the country.

The first phase of the System – renovation – was to thoroughly clean the stainless steel and remove the rust using specialist renovation products. The second phase was the application of Ritecoat®, a special treatment to protect the steel from future contamination. Its ‘non-stick’ action provides exceptional resistance to dirt, rust, weathering, graffiti and chemical attack by acids, alkalis and solvents.

Thanks to the Ritecoat System™, the main entrance now looks as good as new. The Ritecoat® treatment will provide protection from contamination for many years to come and the door requires less maintenance to keep it looking pristine.

For more information on EcoShield, visit http://www.ecoshield.nl. If you would like to know more about Ritec’s Ritecoat System™, visit http://www.ritec.co.uk/the-ritecoat-system.