Certified excellence: innovation, quality, and safety in production processes and business management to ensure high-level products.
The company, located in the southern manufacturing district of the province of Vicenza, consists of two sites situated just a few dozen meters apart. The historic and main headquarters houses the management and administrative offices, a technical-commercial office, and a significant production area for manufacturing collectors and distributors. The second site is dedicated to the production of pipes, bent products, and elbows for heat exchangers.
CFI products are the result of the company’s constant focus on product quality, cleanliness of processes, technological innovation, workplace safety, compliance with laws and regulations related to quality, safety, environment, and work ethics, while respecting and valuing human resources. The range includes collectors (in copper, stainless steel, or carbon steel), connections, distributors, pipes, exchangers, and elbows. The materials used are copper and its derivatives, stainless steel, carbon steel, and aluminum.
Since 2004, C.F.I. has been certified by an accredited body. Since 2016, C.F.I. has implemented an integrated system with the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 standard for quality, UNI EN ISO 14001:2015 for environmental management, and UNI ISO 45001:2018 for health and safety, within a high-level structure (HLS) in accordance with all ISO standards related to management systems. The certification body is Certiquality, an organization that supports companies in managing quality, environment, safety, and social responsibility.
In compliance with the requirements of the new performance standards, C.F.I. has analyzed and manages risks by adopting one of the methodologies proposed by the ISO 31010 standard. Recognized strengths of C.F.I. are:
– Commitment from management and involved functions at all levels
– High degree of information informatization
– Management of competencies and training for a high level of staff qualification
– Monitoring of production times
– Oversight of managerial, production, and maintenance activities.
ISO 9001:2015 is an international standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS), developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This standard provides a framework and a set of best practices to improve the quality of an organization’s products and services, ensuring that they consistently meet customer and other stakeholder requirements.
In summary, ISO 9001:2015 helps organizations to:
• Improve customer satisfaction through more efficient processes and higher-quality products.
• Increase operational efficiency by reducing waste and optimizing resources.
• Strengthen risk management by identifying and mitigating quality-related risks.
ISO 14001 is also based on the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, also known as Deming's cycle, which promotes continuous improvement. ISO 14001 certification is not mandatory, but for CFI, which has chosen to adopt it, it is a way to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability by meeting its key requirements:
• Definition of an environmental policy: Establish objectives and commitments for environmental management.
• Planning (Plan): Identify environmental aspects and establish objectives and targets.
• Implementation (Do): Implement the processes necessary to achieve the objectives.
• Checking (Check): Monitor and measure performance against the established objectives
• Action (Act): Take actions to continuously improve the environmental management system.
Since 2019, CFI has initiated a partial Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, as it is not possible to analyze the final disposal and end-of-life of the products. The study, therefore, serves as a tool for raising awareness and increasing understanding of environmental issues and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) perspectives.
UNI ISO 45001:2018 is the first international standard to define minimum standards of good practice for the protection of workers worldwide.
CFI's goal, shared with those who have adopted this standard, is to provide a safe and healthy work environment, preventing accidents and occupational illnesses, with a focus on continuous improvement.
CFI Srl's management is committed to continuous improvement by integrating business growth, quality, environmental respect, and worker safety through a Management System based on ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards.
Terms and conditions for the supply of our products.
Since 2011, C.F.I. has implemented a product traceability system in accordance with the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 2014/68/EU. The PED, issued by the European Community and effective from May 30, 2002 (replacing 97/23/CE), harmonizes legislation in the "pressure equipment" sector and replaces all previous national regulations. It governs the design, manufacturing, conformity assessment, equipment, and safe installation of pressure equipment.
For this reason, CFI is able to provide documentation related to the materials and processes used in the construction of the product in accordance with the PED Directive.
The current production scenario, characterized by increasingly extensive and often internationalized supply networks, complex market dynamics, and increasingly stringent regulatory contexts, means that companies face new challenges such as product traceability and tracking.
Essentially, the term traceability, or tracking, refers to the informational process that follows the product from upstream to downstream in the production chain and adheres to the logic of "I communicate what I am doing while I am doing it so that those who come after me know what has been done."
In practice, tracing means determining which information needs to be explicitly stated to ensure documented identification of the flows and organizations involved in the formation of the final product.
The term traceability, or tracking, refers to the reverse process that follows the product from downstream to upstream in the production chain, reconstructing previously collected information to understand the history of a product.
The focal points of C.F.I.'s production are manual brazing and TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding processes. Each operator in these departments undergoes rigorous training and is certified by an accredited third-party organization. All processes are certified by an accredited third-party organization and are constantly monitored and verified by qualified C.F.I. personnel.
The combination of traceability, operator qualification, and process certification allows C.F.I. to provide its customers with all the necessary information for the preparation of a Brazing or Welding Book in compliance with the PED Directive, in a timely manner.
Additionally, C.F.I. has implemented qualified personnel for visual inspections (VT Level I and II) and for liquid penetrant inspections (PT Level II) within its operations.
The main UNI standards for brazing include:
UNI EN ISO 13585: This standard defines the technical rules for the qualification of brazers and strong brazing operators. It includes requirements for execution, test conditions, qualification, acceptance criteria, and the scope of certification.
UNI EN 13134: This standard pertains to the qualification of strong brazing procedures.
UNI EN 14276: Used in the refrigeration sector, this standard applies to pressure equipment for refrigeration systems and heat pumps.
ISO 22688:2020: Quality requirements for the brazing of metallic materials.
The UNI standards for TIG welding are diverse and cover various aspects of the welding process. The main ones adopted are:
UNI EN ISO 9606-1: This standard deals with the qualification of welders for welding steels and metallic materials.
UNI EN ISO 15614-1: This standard specifies the requirements for the qualification of welding procedures for metallic materials.
UNI EN ISO 3834: This series of standards defines the quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials.
UNI EN ISO 636: This standard specifies the requirements for the classification of rods, filler wires, and deposited metal for TIG welding of unalloyed and fine-grained steels.
Regarding visual inspections (VT) and liquid penetrant testing (PT):
EN ISO 9712: Non-destructive testing - Qualification and certification of personnel for non-destructive testing.