On 14th August 2012, history was made in Sierra Leone when Africell became the first Telecommunications company in the Country to achieve the ISO 9001 Certification.
Since its commencement of operations in Sierra Leone, Africell believed that building trust with our customers was central to achieving and maintaining our position as telecommunications market leaders in the country. The foundation of this trust we knew would 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.
Thus commenced the journey to our ISO 9001 certification that lasted well over 18 months involving; establishment and training and certification of the quality management team; documenting all the company’s processes and establishing all the systems and structures required by the standard to ensure the company is able to:
a) consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements;
b) facilitate opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction;
c) address risks and opportunities associated with its context and objectives; and
d) demonstrate conformity to specified quality management system requirements.
To maintain the Quality Management System and continuing certification, Africell has had to successfully undergo three triennial recertification audits and eight annual surveillance audits over the last eleven years.
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 is anchored on the seven principles of quality management: engagement of people, customer focus 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, 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 testament to Africell’s commitment to the continuous delivery of the highest quality of services, meeting customer requirements, and statutory and regulatory requirements, 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 uncontestable and the details can be accessed online from the websites of the certification bodies and news articles published in 2012.
ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, an independent international body that develops and publishes standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of products, services, and systems across various industries. ISO 9001 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.
