L-R: Arc Seyi Oni of Artec Practice Ltd; Mr. Lawrence Ogudu, representing Messrs DQS of Germany; Arc Taofik Popoola, Managing Principal of Artec and Arc Samuel Alonge, also of Artec, during the official presentation of ISO 9001:2008 certificates to Artec by Messrs DQS in Abuja last week.
Artec Practice Ltd, a Nigerian firm of professional architects and project managers, has bagged global ISO 9001:2008 certification, confirming the compliance of its operations with international standards.
Presenting the certificates to Artec in Abuja last week, Mr. Lawrence Ogudu, the representative of Messrs DQS, the Germany-based certifying organisation with more than 80 offices across the world, said the certification confirms the strict alignment of the operations of Artec with global best practices.
Mr. Ogudu, who presented the certificates during the End-of-the-Year Dinner of Artec, also commended the strong determination and ability of the firm to achieve the global feat despite the tedious professional processes involved in the accomplishment.
He said the implication of the certification is that the operations of Artec are now subject to periodic scrutiny as a global player to ensure consistent compliance with and sustenance of the required global professional standards which earned the firm the certification in the first place.
In his reaction, Architect Taofik Popoola, Managing Principal of Artec expressed his delight with the Messrs DQS certification, explaining the major reason behind the resolve to earn it.
In Architect Popoola’s words, “The primary motivation of our embarking on this process in addition to customer satisfaction of providing value-added services, is to build a structure as most companies that are ‘built to last’ emphasise building a ‘structure’ rather than individuals. Having gone through this whole gruelling process with attendant time, people and financial commitment, it has been a rewarding experience for all of us at ARTEC….”
He expressed appreciation to clients for always encouraging the firm to improve on its service quality, stressing that the achievement of quality standards in the firm’s administration, design, coordination and supervision procedure clearly demonstrates the willingness to establish and operate an effective, efficient and transparent system to serve them better.
Reminding his team of the tasks ahead, the Managing Principal said, “To my colleagues and staff members, the journey as you know has just begun because periodic auditing is now mandatory. My hope is that all of us will continue more than ever before, with our relentless efforts towards improving service delivery and persistence, to significantly boost our system with the guidance of the Quality Management System and required ISO standards.”
In his own remarks, Architect Shakiru Yekeen, the Artec Management Representative in the certification process, while expressing happiness about the achievement recalled the demanding logistics and preparation involved before the attainment of the certification.
As he put it, “The certification Audit was conducted on 11th/12th August, 2015. A number of good practices were identified and encouraged, observations noted and Minor Non-conformances identified. We were quick at closing out this Minor NC’s and after a series of reviews and adjustment. We received a mail from DQS on 7th September, 2015 confirming that we have satisfactorily met the requirements for certification.”