On 14th August 2012, history was made in Sierra Leone when Africell became the first telecoms company in the country to achieve the ISO 9001 certification.
Since its commencement of operations in Sierra Leone, Africell believed that building trust its customers was central to achieving and maintaining its position as telecommunications market leaders in the country.
“The foundation of this trust we knew could be in delivering consistently high quality of services to our customers. This meant that our definition of quality of service was going to be based on world-class professional standards as validated by independent certification bodies and not by subjective standards.” Africell’s stakeholders have prided in their brand.
Thus, they said, they commenced the journey to their ISO 9001 certification that lasted well over 18 months, involving the establishment and training and certification of the quality management team; the documenting of all the company’s processes and the establishment of all the systems and structures required by standard to ensuring the company is able to do the following: to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements; to facilitate opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction; to address risks and opportunities associated with its context and objectives; and to demonstrate conformity to specified quality management system requirements.
Also, to maintain a Quality Management System and to continue the certification, Africell said it has had to successfully undergo three triennial re-certification audits and eight annual surveillance audits over the last eleven years.
It said the Head of Africell’s Quality Management Systems, Joe Abass Bangura, holds a Quality Management Systems Lead Auditors Certificate from the CSA Group in Ontario, Canada; perhaps, a qualification held by only a few in Sierra Leone.
Africell’s Quality Management Team consists of six trained and certified QMS Auditors.
The system, the company said, is anchored on the seven principles of quality management: engagement of people, customer focused leadership, process approach, continuous improvement, evidence-based decision making and relationship management.
As Africell reflects on its more than 11 years of ISO 9001 certification, the managing director, Mr. Shadi Gerjawi, asserted that maintaining the Quality Management System and its continuous certification by a reputable Canadian certification body for more than a decade is a testament to Africell’s commitment to ensuring the continuous delivery of the highest quality of services, to meeting customer requirements, and to upholding statutory and regulatory requirements, and thus maintaining its position as market leaders. “Africell subscribers can be assured that this commitment will never wane,” he added.
The fact that Africell was the first telecommunications company in Sierra Leone to receive ISO 9001 certification is itself “uncontestable truth” and the details of this can be accessed online from the websites of the certification bodies and news articles published in 2012.
ISO means International Organization for Standardization; it’s an independent international body that develops and publishes standards to ensuring the quality, safety, and efficiency of products, services, and systems across various industries.
ISO 9001, on the other hand, is the international Standard for Quality Management and is used by over 1 million businesses around the world to deliver a system of continual improvement that is driven by customers’ needs.