Press Release
ABS Quality Evaluations, Kiwa Launch COVID-19 Preventive Measures Standard for Hospitality Industry
New quality assurance mark will demonstrate that facilities have preventive measures in place to reduce COVID-19 risks to public safety
(Los Angeles) –ABS Quality Evaluations Inc. (ABS QE), an ABS Group company, and Kiwa Nederland B.V. have collaborated to offer a new preventive measures standard to help the hospitality sector in the Americas reduce COVID-19 health and safety risk in occupied buildings.
Conformance to the new COVID-19 Preventive Measures Standard provides businesses with demonstrated confidence that they have followed all recommended guidance in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and any state-specific requirements to control and manage health risks in a pandemic environment.
The ABS QE-Kiwa alliance piloted the new Standard at Spring Place, a shared workspace and entertainment facility located in Beverly Hills, California. A globally accredited certification provider, ABS QE evaluated whether Spring Place had adopted a system to identify and manage COVID-19 related hazards in accordance with the recommended guidance. Once an organization demonstrates conformance to the standard, Kiwa will issue the quality assurance mark verifying that there are processes and preventive measures in place to mitigate and reduce COVID-19 risks.
"Our auditing team is excited to partner with Kiwa to assure consumer confidence as the hospitality industry transitions to a new normal," says ABS QE President Dominic Townsend. "There is a lot of uncertainty with consumers trusting that businesses are taking the necessary steps and precautions to identify the risks and demonstrate to all stakeholders that these risks have been controlled and managed in a planned manner. This new standard will help community spaces establish a risk-based approach using international best practices."
"Kiwa's solution will create clarity and trust among guests," says Michael van der Vlies, Director at Kiwa N.V. "We have extensive experience carrying out quality assessments for the tourism, recreation, healthcare, sports and transportation sectors. Various organizations can adopt this new standard to demonstrate to customers, employees and other stakeholders that all recommended measures are being taken to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus."
About Kiwa
Kiwa (www.kiwa.com) is an independent, highly qualified accredited Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) company. With its services, Kiwa creates trust in its customers' products, services, processes, (management) systems and employees. It does so in a wide variety of market segments, ranging from food, feed & farm to drinking water and from energy supply to healthcare. Kiwa has clients in manufacturing and process industries, (business) services, public and private utilities, governments and international institutions. Since 1948, when Kiwa was established by the Dutch Water works, Kiwa grew out into an independent company that employs over 4,700 people in offices in over 40 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
About ABS Quality Evaluations
ABS Quality Evaluations, Inc. (ABS QE) is a subsidiary of ABS Group of Companies, Inc. (www.abs-group.com). As a world-leading certification body, ABS QE works with companies to improve the performance of their business, systems, people and supply chains through management systems certification, verification, training and assessments, including supply chain and cybersecurity. ABS QE’s global network of auditors plays a crucial role in helping organizations achieve business excellence and obtain the necessary certifications to get products and services to market.
About ABS Group
ABS Group of Companies, Inc. (ABS Group) and its operating subsidiaries provide risk management solutions and certification services worldwide that help clients address the safety, integrity, quality and environmental efficiency of critical assets and operations. Headquartered in Spring, Texas, ABS Group operates with more than 1200 professionals across the globe, serving the marine and offshore, oil, gas and chemical, government, power and energy and industrial sectors. ABS Group is a subsidiary of ABS (www.eagle.org), a leading marine and offshore classification society.