ISO Standards Raise the Bar for City

The world-renowned international standards achieved were received on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 and were: ISO: 9001-2008 (QMS) Quality Management System; ISO: 14001:2004 (EMS) Environmental Management System; and ISO 4801: 2001 (OSH) Occupational Safety and Health Management System.

Chief Executive Officer Dr Shayne Silcox said, “This certification demonstrates the City is committed to a process of continuous evaluation and improvement.

“When products and services meet our expectations we tend to take this for granted. However, when a service is unreliable, unpredictable or incompatible with our needs we become frustrated.

“By putting these standards in place we are ensuring desirable characteristics of our products and services such as quality, environmental friendliness, safety, reliability and efficiency - and at an economical cost.

“The City has 209 products and services which will all be positively and measurably affected by the implementation of the three ISO standards.”

The ISO: 9001-2008 (QMS) Quality Management System is based on eight principles and is important for tracking and monitoring issues through a certified system, in which people can discover areas of improvement. Studies have shown that ISO QMS certified companies have increased productivity and improved financial performance, compared to uncertified companies.

The ISO: 14001: 2004 (EMS) Environmental Management System is designed to improve an organisation’s environmental performance continually and: maximise the efficient use of resources; reduce waste; build awareness of environmental concern among employees; and gain a better understanding of the environmental impacts of business activities.

With the ISO 4801: 2001 (OSH) Occupational Safety and Health Management System, employers provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risk. Improved health and safety performance will reduce the costs associated with accidents and incidents.

“To measure progress under the ISO certification system, the City will: evaluate customer satisfaction; organise future internal audits; inspect and test processes; and inspect the  performance of products and services,” Dr Silcox said.