Jul

11

Did you know that there is one company in the whole wide world who can issue a quality management system certificate to ISO 9001:2008 with those 5 white ticks.  Yes, only one.  Did you know that that certification service provider is only one of thirty plus service providers, just in Australia.  There are hundreds world wide.  And each and every one of them uses a different 'certification logo', different certification brand. 

Now in Australia, the 5 ticks are the most recognised.  Why?  Well the company was a company formed under statute (a quasi government company) that provided printed standards to the Australian market.  Then they got into product accreditation and system certification to satisfy a need in the market.  Their only 'opposition' was a laboratory registration company who kept pretty much to themselves in their market.  But there was always a perceived situation that if you wanted to get quality management system certification there was only one provider.  And so the legend grew and brand recognition flourished.  However, due to demand, alternate service providers were formed and today there is a very good competitive supply of such providers offering various degrees of price, service and quality.  During this period, the tick company listed on the stock exchange and is now a fully fledged profit generating stand alone company still trading off the misconception of their past.  Well it was.  They have dropped market share from 99% to somewhere below 50% and it continues to drop.  There are many reasons for this but they are not the subject for the remainder of this blog. 

The key point is, that any accredited certification provider generates a bona vide certification certificate recognised world wide.  It means the company that has been certified has been assessed and adjudged the same as all service providers in this field.  It just has a different logo.  A bit like getting your CTP from different insurers.  Different company, different logo, same insurance.  As the market continues to mature and the flashiness of trying to sell a product or service purely on certification and or the logo it falls under devalues, the true value adding service providers will prevail and certified companies will realise the full benefits of a fully functioning quality management system is the reward in itself.