Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) was recently re-certified by the ISO-International Organisation of Standardisation - for having efficient purchasing systems and procedures.

The telecom services provider secured the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 international quality standard, following what it says was an extensive external audit of its systems and processes during March 2004 by ISOQAR Limited - an internationally accredited certification body.

The ISO certification demonstrates that a business has implemented an effective quality management system, and that it satisfies all of the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 standard. These include:

. customer satisfaction and awareness,

. continual improvement,

. employee training and communication,

* and process controls.

According to C&WJ's vice president of purchasing & supply chain, George Scarlett, the company has reaped efficiencies from having introduced the ISO standard. Among the operational efficiencies cited by Scarlett are:

. improved product reliability,

. better process control and flow,

. better documentation of processes,

. greater employee quality awareness,

. reductions in product scrap, rework, and rejections,

. elimination of on-the-job injuries,

. and the resultant overall cost reductions.
C&WJ initially earned ISO 9002:1994 certification in September 1998 and upgraded its certification to ISO 9001:2000 in October 2003.

The company says that since the initial certification in 1998, it has not had a major non-conformance and has maintained its certification throughout.

C&WJ was also awarded ISO 1400 certification last year for implementation of environmental management systems.

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