DEVTRACO Limited, a Ghanaian real estate company, has received the quality management system certification, the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) 9001 standard.
The certification, which is a validation of the company’s consistent, scientific and standardised systems and processes, means DEVTRACO can offer even better quality housing — its main occupation — to ensure greater value for money for customers.
“In our quest for greater efficiency and increased customer satisfaction, the management of Devtraco embarked upon improving our procedures through the ISO 9001 certification. With the attainment of this certification, all processes, policies and procedures have been streamlined and harmonised with the appropriate control systems in place,” the Accounts and Finance Manager, Mr Alfred Adjena, said in an interview.
Mr Adjena and his colleagues, Messrs Tyrone Adu-Mfum, Marketing Manager; Kenneth Ofori–Administrative Manager, and Jeffrey Adu, Business Development Manager, were interacting with the paper after receiving the ISO 9001 certificate from the Management Systems Certification Scheme of the Ghana Standards Authority.
The ISO 9001 is an assurance that an organisation’s systems, processes and entire operation are of the highest quality. The quality management system requires, for instance, that things are done scientifically and systematically, with every process well documented so they could yield consistent results, irrespective of the duty bearer.
The quality system enjoins the organisation to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The aim is to enhance customer satisfaction, including processes for continual improvement and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
The DEVTRACO officials cited the quality policy they now have in place, which had been effectively communicated to every member of staff, as a result of ISO 9001.
Again, the strategic direction and objectives of the company are well known, not only to the executive management, but to the tactical, functional staff and the rank and file.
“Acceding to the certification has paid off, as it has enhanced our processes and the way we conduct business,” Mr Adjena stated.
DEVTRACO completed the project in six months. It had two sessions with a consultant who guided the company to put systems in place.
Dividends
By the sheer implementation of the processes under ISO 9001, the company has already identified and improved its internal processes.
Its procurement processes now follow best practices such as inviting quotations from multiple suppliers for the conduct of due diligence and cost analysis on them before purchase orders are issued.
This has brought about controls in the processes and given the company value for money as it is exposed to options, a marked departure from the previous practice of dealing with long-standing selected suppliers.
“We’ve seen significant improvement in cutting down waste. In some areas, we have seen waste cut by about 50 per cent and we anticipate greater savings going forward,” the accounts and finance manager stated.
Mr Adu-Mfum said the system had also improved internal and external communication. Housing will also be delivered speedily for the benefit of customers and the quest to bridge the housing deficit.
“Our main product is housing. Therefore, this certification means the processes to produce our homes meet the stringent ISO standards. This will also increase our credibility relative to our clientele and financiers,” the marketing manager said.
The youthful management of Devtraco said it is happy that the system, which makes way for regular process reviews, has helped to foster “the attitude of knowing what to do the first time and maintaining an excellent relationship with our clients.”
Source: Grpahic