MoU signed to help firms adopt quality management systems

The concept of quality management systems is catching on rapidly in the region, with government and private sector firms securing quality certification, officials said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Bureau Veritas, the French professional certification company, signed an MoU to jointly assist firms in Abu Dhabi to adopt quality management systems and secure certification.

Bureau Veritas has certified some 280 companies in the UAE thus far for implementing quality management systems.

"This MoU is the first such with any chamber of commerce and industry in the UAE. Our aim is to help companies in Abu Dhabi know the importance of quality management and secure the ISO 9000:2000 certification," said Mohammed Zribi, chief executive of Bureau Veritas for Abu Dhabi and the Gulf. The MoU is essentially to create a partnership to encourage and support the implementation of quality management systems, he said.

Saeed Saif bin Jabr Al Suwaidi, chairman of the UAE Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the concept of quality management systems is catching on very fast among companies but many of them do not know how to go about implementing it and securing certification.

"ADCCI and Bureau Veritas will help such companies by advising them."

Zribi said government organisations such as the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) and Public Works Department (PWD) in Abu Dhabi will soon be securing the quality certification. "Many other organisations in the government and non-government sector are aiming to get ISO quality certification," he said.