DNV Business Assurance in Africa continues to deliver its promise: There is no greater success than the success of our customers.

Dormac Marine & Engineering, a division of Southey Holdings (Pty) Ltd, is a leading marine engineering company specializing in the delivery of full turnkey solutions in the marine, offshore & industrial sectors. Dormac has over 100 years’ experience and expertise in the maritime engineering field. Over the years, Dormac have remained ahead of the curve in the industry’s ever-changing landscape, but one thing has remained constant since 2012 and that’s Dormac’s trust in the certification services from DNV: one of the world’s leading certification bodies, helping businesses assure the performance of their organizations, products, people, facilities, and supply chains.

When Dormac began a major extension to its Walvis Bay premises with a view to create the largest fabrication house in Namibia, as well as project work on the first jack-up oil rig to undergo a major upgrade and repair in Saldanha Bay, the company needed a strategic quality accompaniment to guarantee the optimum performance of their management systems and consequently better serve its local market and beyond. They wanted to ensure this system met with the highest international standards, which was the main reason why Dormac decided to move away from locally based accreditation for their quality management system to a more dynamic, internationally recognized partner. ‘’Logically, DNV was our obvious choice,” declares Mr. Dave Swinburne, Group SHEQ Manager at Dormac Marine & Engineering. 

As one of our most prestigious customers in South Africa, Dormac have a long-lasting and mutually respectful relationship with DNV. This quickly turned into a permanent success story in 2015, as there was an immediate harmony between our team of experts and Dormac’s audit team. ‘’They understood our industry, had respect for our opinions and were very committed to our mutual progress. In 2015, we worked together and developed our first integrated management system. ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 were achieved during same year,’’ explains Mr. Dave Swinburne. In the spirit of continual improvement, Dormac also successfully transitioned from OHSAS to ISO 45001 in 2021. 

Dormac’s response to the triple certification was very satisfying. “The client base had grown pretty blasé with regards to ISO 9001, as there were so many suppliers with accredited systems which just didn’t get the job done as conceptualized,’’ was the feeling within Dormac prior to the transfer to DNV.

The integrated management system proved an elegant solution to enhance awareness and participation by the workforce. Dormac immediately noticed the tangible benefits that were directly derived from this enhancement. 

“This year is our ten-year anniversary with DNV. Their contribution to our business is an ongoing commitment to improve and not just maintain the status quo,” concluded Mr. Dave Swinburne, as he summed up the ongoing successful partnership between Dormac and DNV.