Quality refers to the benefit clients get when using a product. The monitoring of availability of adequate resources is referred to as quality management system.

ISO9001 is an international standard that specifies the requirements for a quality management system. The key elements of ISO9001 are customer satisfaction, continual improvement and quality assurance. People tend to believe three myths:

Myth 1 – ISO9001 is expensive to implement and to maintain;

Truth: The benefits generated through the adaptation of ISO9001 greatly outweigh the cost to create the necessary systems and to maintain them.

Myth 2 – ISO9001 doesn’t apply to me – I’m doing fine;

Truth: You might be doing very well, or you might be struggling. Whatever your situation, you can still improve further.

Myth 3 – ISO9001 requires too much paper work;

Truth: The documents generated would be beneficial for you to assess the current state of the company in order to know where you can improve.

The benefits of implementing ISO9001 are: International recognition through international certification; identification of areas for improvement; have a marketing edge on the competition; be able to manage business growth; demonstrate professionalism and levels of control to customers; and helps to focus on customer needs.

There is currently 50 per cent funding from Malta Enterprise for investment in such certifications.