What is the value of R2/RIOS certification? and why both?

Adapted from a talk by Lifespan President/Founder Dag Adamson at the International Computer Refurbisher Summit on Monday, November 12.

r2_certificationFirst, there is a difference between R2 and R2/RIOS.  Think of it like a cake.  The base layer is RIOS, developed by ISRI for the broader recycling industry.  It’s an ANSI accredited standard that includes all of the attributes and processes from ISO:9001 (Quality), ISO:14001(Environmental), and OHSAS:18001 (Safety).

R2 is best practices specifically for the electronics industry and electronic waste.

This combined standard tells you that your electronics asset disposition partner has an audited management system in place.  This provides the framework for processes, procedures, and most importantly, improvements.  For the enterprise or organization with IT assets to retire, R2/RIOS assures you of a consistent level of service across time and locations.

This management system also provides your vendor with the ability to address challenges, new materials, and new technology, and even develop new services to meet your needs.  It also allows them to constantly be improving their operations.  At Lifespan, we recently identified some categories of equipment where we thought we could get more value for our clients if we improved our technical capability and test procedures.  Using our management system processes, in less than one week were able to get input from our sales and quality teams, identify a new technical role, develop new test procedures and have them documented in our management system.

Another often overlooked aspect of the R2/RIOS management system is emergency preparedness.  In 2012, Lifespan’s offices or facilities were threatened by major snowstorms, wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding.  Our comprehensive plan enables us to keep our employees safe, our customers’ material and data secure, and to keep operating even when one location or region of the country is temporarily down.  Enterprise ITAD managers should consider the emergency preparedness of their vendors.  You can ask an R2/RIOS vendor to show you theirs.

R2/RIOS together is a strong tool for ITAD and electronic recycling companies so they can be nimble in responding to customer needs, changing regulations, and advances in technology.  Those are direct benefits to our customers!

How do you stack up?

Does your disposition process meet industry best practices and regulatory standards? Download this free ITAD Self-Assessment guide to help identify and correct any gaps in your ITAD process.

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