Gaining 'e'-efficiency through management standards

2006-11-15

Determined not to be mistaken for “just a couple of guys working out of our basement,” a small Halifax-based web development company took a big step when it became the first web design and development firm in North America to achieve ISO 9001 certification in April 2006.

Naveed Ashfaq, one of the company’s managing partners, says implementing ISO 9001 is “setting a higher bar in the field”.

“Clients who had traditionally gone with bigger firms might consider us. With existing clients it has evolved our relationship,” says Ashfaq.

With just 18 employees, the firm’s small size hasn’t meant small clients. The company’s portfolio includes work completed for High Liner Foods and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada. Internet Solutions, Ltd. opened its doors in 1995 as an internet training company. Today, it has evolved into a full-service firm that provides websites, applications, e-marketing and web strategy advice.

Some clients were surprised that a company of its size could adopt a management system standard such as ISO 9001, which is often associated with large enterprises, says Ashfaq. However, he describes the process of putting in place ISO 9001 and preparing for certification to the standard as evolutionary rather than revolutionary course of action.

“It’s not that we were creating a whole new process for running the company,” says Ashfaq. “It was a way of documenting and formalizing processes that had been established really well in the last 10 years? What the process has done for us is a lot more upfront consultation and documentation.”

He lists creative briefs and architectural diagrams as the new norm to prepare for clients and says they understand that this more comprehensive process results in greater efficiency. 

“It really helps ensure that what they get in the end is what they were looking for. The acceptance rate without having to do any re-work is really phenomenal.” 

Though it hasn’t even been a year since attaining certification, Ashfaq says the results are measurable already.

“The last dozen-or-so projects we’ve done have really followed that with minimal re-work to satisfy the customer needs,” he says.

The company’s growth into this enhanced work environment with the management system standard in place has made inviting new members to their team a more streamlined experience. Three employees have had training as internal auditors and perform audits on a quarterly basis. On the first anniversary of being certified to the standard – April 2007 – a third party will perform an audit. 

Expanding its management horizons isn’t the only growth plan for the forward-looking company. With the opening in 2005 of a satellite office in Vancouver, the company is increasing both its physical presence across the country and its virtual presence in Canada and around the world.

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This article first appeared in volume 33 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2006.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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