The ISO 9000 family is a set of international quality standards and guidelines which has earned a global reputation as a basis for establishing quality management systems. These standards were developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), in 1987 by consenus of some 90 member countries and subsequently revised in 1994 and 2000 respectively. The Standards were adoped by the Seychelles Bureau of Standards in July 2002 as Seychelles Standards for use as basic rules in the establishment and maintenance of quality management systems in local companies and organizations. They address the requirements from concept of product/service to delivery and post delivery and provide guidelines for perfomance improvements on a continual basis.

ISO 9000 standards address the needs of the service sectors, software houses, small and medium enterprise, etc. They can contribute significantly to enchance the development of an excellent work culture, lead to a more sustematic management of qulity provide means of consolidating quality management systems in both private and public services with the main objective of satisfying customers' needs as well as those of the user and the company at large within the mandate of statustory and regulatory requirements.

Enterprises in all sectors stand to gain from the implementation of the Quailty Management Sustem which also enable the system to be related to other management sustems such as Environmental Management System and other management systems such as Total Quality Management.

Registration Process

1. ENQUIRY

During the enquiry stage, your company will be given a questionnaire, a copy of the certification process and the Terms and Conditions for registration.

Queries and clarification concerning the registration process will be done at this stage. This could result in a preliminary visit to your factory to further explain the registration requirements and to answer to queries.

Upon submission of the completed questionnaire, you will be provided with a quotation for our services together with an application form for completion.

2. APPLICATION

When your company is ready for registration, forward the following to SBS:
completed application form;
QMS Manual and supporting documents;
and Application fees
Upon receipt of your application, an audit team will be assigned to your company.

3. DOCUMENTATION ASSESSMENT

Your company's Quality Manual and supporting documents will be reviewed by our team of qualified and competent auditors to ensure that they address all the requirements of the standard.

4. PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT VISIT (OPTIONAL)

The audit team will conduct a site visit to resolve any issues from the document assessment, verify implementation of the system, review records and determine the readiness of your company for registration. A report on the preliminary assessment will be produced, highlighting the areas for improvement, if any, and a time frame will be agreed for corrective actions.

5. INITIAL ASSESSMENT

A team of auditors will conduct the initial audit on an agreed date to verify the effectiveness of your company's Quality Management System. The audit shall comprise of an opening meeting, the audit proper and a closing meeting. The report of the findings will be forwarded to your company not later than two weeks after the audit.

Your company will be given a time lapse of not more than one month to take corrective actions on the audit findings.

Follow up visit will be effected after the implementation of corrective actions to assess the degree of compliance of your quality management system.

6. REGISTRATION

Upon satisfactory implementation of your quality management system, recommendation for registration will be requested from the SBS Board.

A Certificate of Registration will be issued to your company upon the approval of the Board of SBS.

Your company will be listed in the Directory of SBS Certified Companies and will also be entitled to use the SS ISO Quality Management System Certification logo in your advertisements and promotional scheme materials.

7. ROUTINE SURVEILLANCE ASSESSMENTS

The certificate is valid for two years and is subject to renewal before the end of the two-year period. Six-monthly routine assessment visits will be conducted to confirm continued conformity to the standard and to verify ongoing continuous improvement by your company.

Renewal of the certificate is subject to evaluation of the performance of your Quality Management System during the validity period of the certificate.

BENEFITS OF THE NATIONAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION REGISTRATION

Customers, suppliers and other interested parties of manufacturing and service providers internationally have accepted ISO 9000 standards as the universal standards to ensure planning, consistency and management of quality, factors which control the end products and services.

Quality improvement and cost reduction

Management of customer's requirements starts at the very early design and conception stage. This eliminates and avoide quality deficiencies and leads to rediction or elimination of scrap and rework thus resulting in cost rediction and wastage.

Involvement of top management

Certicification to ISO compels managers to seek a deeper understanding of the process involved in their company thes automatically increasing their understanding of the difficulties faced by other members of staff. The direct involvement fosters good relationship and leads to an effective and efficient organization.

Increase in team spirit and communications

ISO 9000 emphasis the integration of all functional departments and interralationship among departments at different levels within a company. This attitude enables companies to show commitment of quality to their employes, make them feel involved in all types of change and encourages team spirit at all level.

Increase in Customer Satisfaction

The continual improvement process emphasized by the quality management system results in more quality product, fewer customer complaints, increase in customer loyalty and subsequent repeat business.

Enchance the Corporate Image of the Company

Certification status is a marketing tool to demonstrate commitment to quality. It provides the confidence that product or service provided by a registered firm will meet customer's requirements most if not all of the time.

Access to overseas market

The ISO 9000 certification has been applied to manufacturing enteprises and service industries alike. The certification status is nowadays considered as the passport to international markets. Suppliers and purchasers are using this identity as a pre-requiste for contractual agreements which result in registered companies having competitive edge over those that are not registered.

Reduction of multiple assessments

With the status of certification, secont party audits between suppliers and customers are reduced as both parties confidence is increased this saving time and money.

DIRECTORY OF COMPANIES REGISTERED TO THE NATIONAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION SCHEME

Name Of Company	Address	Registration No	Scope Of Registration	Date Registered	Date of Expiration of Registration	Remarks
National Council for Children	P.O. Box 377 Bel Eau Tel. No : 224 390 Fax : 225688 E-mail : ncc@seychelles.net	NQCS/01/03	The promotion & intervention of child protection through the delivery of training, advocacy and therapeutic services.	1st July 2003	30th June 2009	-
The Seychelles Public Health Laboratory	P.O. Box 52, Ministry of Health,Seychelles Tel.No.388800 Fax:224792 Email: dphl@moh.gov.sc	NQCS/01/05	Providing and Maintaining Laboratory Testing Services.	1st August 2005	30th August 2009	-
Allied Builders	P.O. Box 215 Bel Eau Tel. No : 224 390 Fax : 225688 E-mail :allied@seychelles.net	NQCS/01/06	Provision of Building and Civil Engineering Project works.	12th May 2006	20th May 2008	-
Le RElax Hotel	P.O. Box 215 Fax: 371900 E-Mail: helpdesk@lerelaxhotel.com	NQCS/01/07	Providing quality service as a Hotel and Restaurant within the scope of services authorized by law to Le Relax Hotel Management Company.	29th Feb 2007	30th Feb 2009	-