We are a specialised translation company, and we are certified to the same international quality standard (ISO9001) as household names like Rolls Royce and Amazon Web Services. But what is the point?
For a specialised language service provider, there are several benefits to being certified:
– We can demonstrate our professionalism, in a way that is comparable with other larger organisations. We welcome requests to demonstrate our commitment to quality and ISO9001 is the perfect vehicle for this.
– The standard also imposes structure and rigour on our regular quality review and improvement cycle. We would aim to constantly review how we do things anyway – but having a formal Quality Manual and review meetings just helps with keeping things disciplined.
– Following this structure means that our processes are all repeatable, traceable and predictable. Our clients know what level of service to expect.
– The standard encourages us to look continually for opportunities for improvement. Any problems can be identified and addressed in good time, so we can quickly take steps to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. This structured chance to reflect on our business is very important.
The standard is based on 7 quality management principles, including having a strong customer focus, the involvement of top management, and a drive for continual improvement. The seven quality management principles are:
1 – Customer focus 2 – Leadership 3 – Engagement of people 4 – Process approach 5 – Improvement 6 – Evidence-based decision making 7 – Relationship management
So it is not just the badge on the web site! We also welcome the annual external audit, and we are delighted with the result of our recent audit by Ian from Alcumus Isoqar – Alexika Ltd was recertified with zero non-conformances. We also feel that it is important that our certifying body is UKAS accredited for additional reassurance.