This was stressed by Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea when presenting the first ever ISO 9001 certification issued by the Malta Standards Authority to Maltacom chief executive officer Stephen Muscat.

Standards and certifications are no longer an asset prided by major industrial companies, but have increasingly become a vital asset for the credibility of services and customer satisfaction.

“In a consumer driven market, it is inconceivable that sub-standard products or services can continue to be offered. We either want to be competitive because we identify the advantages to be reaped, or else want to linger to decade-old practices which no longer make sense in today’s economic realities,” said the Minister.

In spite of a number of companies, in particular SMEs, which have registered their interest with the Malta Standards Authority in order to comply with standard procedures, there are still a substantial number which have not yet recognised this requirement. “An increasing awareness by the government towards competitiveness was based on the understanding that the consumer’s ever increasing demands are essential to maintain a rapid-growing financial gain, both for industry and service providers, as well as the country as a whole,” said Mr Galea.

The ISO 9001 procedure with the MSA - with the Maltese language being used throughout the audit and assessment procedures – entails a lower cost in registration and assessment which therefore makes it affordable to any low budget enterprise, aims at helping the enterprise to achieve improved efficiency, internal communication, customer satisfaction and continuous improvements that certification demands while providing a competitive edge thus enhancing the export potential.

ISO 9001 is an international standard that has now been adopted by the Malta Standards Authority as a Maltese standard. It recommends best practices to organisations that want to show to their clients and business partners that they have an internal quality control system that meets their needs. The first company to achieve ISO 9001 from MSA is the Internal Audit Unit of Maltacom. Two other companies will soon be awarded this certification, while a number of other applications are being processed.