Global Compliance Service Guyana Inc, the local operational office of the Geneva-headquartered International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification body, yesterday presented the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) with its ISO 9001 certification.
During the simple handing over ceremony at the Centre’s South Road, Bourda office, Director Dr Natasha Gaskin-Peters said that the ISO process is important for businesses because it places value on the creation of a standard.
The ISO 9001 standard is an internationally recognised quality standard used to certify that a company’s products and or services satisfy client expectations through an effective quality management system.
The Centre started its ISO journey in October 2021. Through various meetings with the ISO consultant, documenting already established systems and implementing best practice systems guided by the standard, the Centre moved to have an internal audit in January 2022 and its external audit on March 14-15, 2022. Led by the Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Department and ISO consultant, the Centre was able to officially become ISO certified on March 26, 2022.
CLBD assists companies by strengthening their overall competitiveness and also help Guyanese enterprises better understand and leverage rising opportunities across a wide range of commercial sectors, including the oil and gas sector and adjacent industries. The Centre is in a unique position to capitalize on Guyana’s market expansion in order to encourage local business expansion and inclusive economic progress.
Since its launch in July 2017, the Centre has registered over 5,100 firms on its Supplier Portal, held over 4,500 oil and gas seminars, fostered over 750 oil and gas sector vendors, and delivered over 310 enterprises with Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) programs. The Centre is constantly evolving to fulfil the demands of Guyanese enterprises and the creation of local content. It expands its reach and diversifies its products, services, and programs in response to market developments.
It receives funding from ExxonMobil and its Stabroek Block partners HESS and CNOOC through the Greater Guyana Initiative.
Gaskin-Peters said that the Centre started its ISO 9001 programme for local Guyanese businesses back in 2018 and to date has worked with over 25 plus businesses. She explained that 14 businesses have already been certified while 11 are compliant and 10 are still within the process. She added that ISO certification is important because it allows businesses to assure their clients that the services are comparable to international best standards.
“We were able to provide training and capacity building for local businesses free of charge. So those businesses have gone on to benefit from this programme. But, of course, we want to ensure that we lead by example, as a Centre, and so this is why we undertook the process of becoming ISO 9001 certified,” Gaskin-Peters said.
Through the process, the Centre was able to identify the gaps in its system and fix those prior to certification. Now there are systems in place that allows for the effective delivery of service at the Centre even in the absence of top management officials.
Meanwhile, Candelle Bostwick, CEO and lead auditor for Global Compliance Service Guyana Inc, said that the Centre has been playing a very important role in the development of local businesses in Guyana and its pursuit of ISO 9001 certification is a demonstration of its commitment to the companies that they are working with and also providing mentorship programmes to.
“The scope for their certification includes mentorship and training programmes. And it says that once you talk the talk, you must walk at all so I’m proud that the Centre has taken on this…to implement the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, which we know is one of the most widely used and recognized standard for providing international systems, demonstrates a company’s commitment to meeting customer requirements and that’s important for our businesses in Guyana,” she said.
Bostwick added that the system allows for continuity and training and the Centre can use the results for continual improvement. The certification is valid for three years and would see surveillance visits to ensure that the systems are improved before it is reissued.
“So certification is a lifelong journey for companies who have committed to this process and we certainly would like to congratulate Dr Gaskin and our team on taking this remarkable step in becoming certified. It was also symbolic of their commitment and ensuring that our companies in Guyana can provide a higher level of service, especially within the oil and gas sector,” Bostwick related.
