The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is now in a position to assess its quality management system and provide for further customer satisfaction after aspects of the company’s operations were granted ISO certification.
Since 2008, the company has been working with overseas firm Qual-Eco to provide an enhanced service and on Friday Chairman of the Board of the entity, Winston Brassington, at the ISO 9001:2008 certification award ceremony at the company’s offices at Sophia said he was pleased that more than 40% of the company’s operations are now ISO certified.
He said that the idea was conceptualized in 2008 when he met officials from the Neal and Massy Group of Companies who acknowledged the benefits of ISO certification. He said that the company pointed the board of the power company to the Trinidadian based Qual-Eco and the move to standardize the services began.
Brassington stated that Qual-Eco has a 100% record in working with companies towards ISO certification and according to him, while it was recognized as a challenge, the two entities worked towards upgrading GPL’s operations.
He said there were 12 phases which had to be covered to achieve ISO certification and according to him, in the initial stage, a gap analysis was undertaken to determine the company’s position as regards its standards. This was done in August 2008 and was followed by an awareness session in which employees were exposed to documentation training. He said that in other phases, there were two one-week training sessions on the auditing of the provision of services by departments within the company. He said that there was also a prequalification test of the company’s operations in July last year undertaken by Qual-Eco and according to him there were 13 non-conformity issues which were rectified.
He said Friday’s ceremony marked the end of the various phases as well as the beginning of the power company providing an improved service.
“This is a truly great achievement for a state organisation,” Brassington noted adding, “we are helping to make GPL better, looking to a better customer service.” He said that with the training provided to the documentation specialists among other staff, there has already been a cultural shift within the organisation.
Selwyn Medina of Qual-Eco said the company was happy to have been a part of the training process noting that the power company has benefited from standardized training to improve its services. He said there were an array of exchanges between the two entities and the certification “is a birth certificate and like after any birth it’s now time for the process to grow.”
Brassington said GPL will continue to strive to improve its services and by the end of this year it will be fully standardized. GPL is reported to be the 13th company to achieve ISO certification here.
