ISO 9001 for Architects

The proven benefits of ISO certificationANI NT RO DU C T I O NT OI S OC E R T I F IC ATIONARCHITECTSInternational Management Systems Marketing (IMSM) was founded in 1994 to provide businesses with thepractical expertise to add value through quality systems and efficiency. From its base in the UK, IMSM Ltd has developed a strong network in Europe, USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia.IMSM’s fully trained team of auditors hold recognizedIRCA (International Register of Certified Auditors)qualifications.IMSM is itself continually assessed to ensure it delivers itspromises and is listed by the North American Quality Systemand is a Member of the Society of the Plastics Industry.ISO certification has a positive impact on businesses of allsizes and in all industry sectors and especially forarchitectural practices. Far from being a cosmetic marketingtool, the real and proven benefits of certification are plain tosee. The fundamentals of ISO certification will make yourcompany more efficient and increase your competitive edge.In many industries it has already become a basic requirementfor doing business. With emphasis on the need for level playingfields to be maintained across national and internationalboundaries, companies without internationally recognisedcertification are finding themselves on uneven ground. Somecompanies may even refuse to do business with you if you do not have the relevant standard. This is particularly true in thearchitectural and construction industry, for example, ISOcertification is proving to be mandatory if the practices concerned wish to pitch for public-sector projects and avoidlosing high-value commissions.The certification process provides companies with an excellentinternal communications' tool, improving employee interactionand motivation, enabling effective interpretation of customers'needs, improving documentation, increasing productivity and,consequently, enhancing inter-company relations. As a result, andcertainly with the practices highlighted in this issue, companieswith ISO certification are more likely to be innovative andprofitable, competing more successfully in domestic andinternational marketplace and demonstrating their ability tosatisfy the customer.With increased competition can you afford not to considercertification. Don’t just take our word for it – the followingarchitect’s practices are real proof of ISO’s benefits. To date, IMSM has helped more than 5,000 organizations around the world to achieve ISO 9001 certification.ISO 9001 FOR ARCHITECTS ISSUE 1Austin-Smith Lord is one of theUK’s top architectural practices,which has maintained thisposition over many years due tothe company’s commitment toarchitectural innovation,environmentally responsibledesign and by providing clientswith a level of design excellencethat strives to exceedexpectations. Operating as amulti-disciplinary practice,Austin-Smith Lord’s diverseportfolio includes many awardwinning projects across a widerange of sectors throughout theUK, Europe and the Middle East.Established in 1949 andcurrently employing around 135staff, Austin-Smith Lord hasoffices in London, Cardiff,Glasgow, Manchester andLiverpool and has had been ISOcertified for an impressive 10years to date.Peter Lyon, Partner and QualityRepresentative said that thedecision to seek ISO certificationwas originally made to avoidbeing discounted from workwithin the public sector. Heexplains, “In the European Journalwhere public sector jobs areadvertised, it was becoming morecommonplace for companies tobe asked whether they were ISOcertified. Although we hadprofessional indemnity insurance,which meant that we already hada risk management system inplace, we needed to fine tune it inorder to meet the criteria requiredfor ISO 9000. It has providedconsistency across all of theoffices, which meet regularly as agroup and enables them tooperate the same systems andprocesses. In terms of customerperception, we feel that being ISOcertified has made us moreattractive to the public sector andwe have expanded as a result.”Prior to implementing thestandard, the company’s majorconcern was that they might beexpected to start from scratch.Since much of the work hadalready been accomplished withthe insurer to establish a riskmanagement system, they onlyneeded someone with a lighttouch to identify the few areasoutstanding to bring them up tostandard. Peter said, “IMSM werehappy to do this. They were cost-effective and did exactly what wewanted them to do.”www.austinsmithlord.comCONSISTENCY AND COMMITMENTBACKED UP BY ISO CERTIFICATION“…being ISO certified has made us moreattractive to the public sector and we have expanded as a result.”The proven benefits of ISO certificationISO 9001 FOR ARCHITECTS ISSUE 1www.imsm.comUK Office: The Gig House, Oxford Street, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 9AXTelephone: +44 (0)1666 826065 Fax: +44 (0)1666 826050Email: info@imsm.com Web: www.imsm.comDesigned and produced by Waddell Digital Ltd www.waddelldigital.co.uk Kennedy O’Callaghan Architectsbased in Clerkenwell, London,offers a full architecturalservice within the UK andIreland, particularly in thecultural and heritage sectors, as well as specialised services in the following areas:• Helping clients start newprojects, developing their brief,feasibility studies, masterplanning and phasing ifappropriate, identifying sourcesof funding and matching thebrief to the funds available,often with challenging briefs orfor complex organisations suchas museums; • Conservation, adapting,extending and changing use ofbuildings, especially listedbuildings;• Heritage lottery applications and• Designing and submittingapplications for planning ontight urban sites and inconservation areas. They workclosely with the client and otherconsultants to tackle all theissues and have been successfulin obtaining planning permissionwhere others have failed.Established in 1998, thecompany is aiming to expand itsbusiness, which currently employs a2 partners, 1 employee and 2freelancers. They are hoping thatbecoming ISO certified will helpthem to achieve this expansion byenabling them to compete forpublicly accountable projects, suchas those under the OJEU (OfficialJournal of the European Union)tendering procedure, particularlyHeritage Lottery funded projectsand local authority frameworks etc. Partner Janie Price said, "As asmall architectural practice, we feltthat one of the benefits ofimplementing ISO 9001:2000would be to compete with largerBUILDINGBUSINESSWITH ISO9001:2000organisations, but still be able tooffer a more personal service. Sincewe already had all the processes inplace with RIBA guidance, it hasn'taffected the way we operate exceptfor more checks and balances. Wefeel that larger clients in particularview us more favourably."At the time that IMSM wereworking with Kennedy O’Callaghan,they were tendering for a largecontract, which was subsequentlyachieved. Janie said, "Wesuccessfully swam through theOJEU procedure for The TankMuseum which gained £9.6m fromthe Heritage Lottery Fund and I'msure IMSM added weight to ourcredibility. In fact I think it was aprerequisite. Since then, we havesuccessfully been added to aMuseum organisation's framework.It was easy for them to tick boxesas all our procedures were in place."The company’s prior concernswere that the ISO documentationhad to be largely re-written tomake it comprehensible to thearchitectural sector. However, theirassessor Eric Armfield workeddiligently to achieve a documentthat is fairly digestible. Janie concluded by saying,"IMSM approached us when wewere about to set up the RIBAsystem, but RIBA did not offer thepersonal talk-through service thatIMSM did, which we found veryhelpful."www.kocarchitects.com“RIBA did not offerthe personal talk-through service thatIMSM did, which wefound very helpful.”BIDDING FOR SUCCESSprocedures and ensure these wereapplied by staff across the board.IMSM were chosen because theyoffered a fixed price contract tocover all stages leading tocertification. Their price comparedfavourably with Levitt Bernstein’spreviously budgeted estimates.Andy Jobling’s main concern wasto have an assessor who was not aprocess engineer, or from some otherfar-flung corner of industry who hadno idea how architects worked. Headmits he took a lot of reassuringand he visited previous IMSM clientsto assess the work done. In theevent, the assessor was experiencedat working with consultants andwas able to pick up the businessprocesses from their existingmanuals and procedures.As a result of implementing ISO9001:2000, the company foreseesincreased efficiency and profitability,more work from the public sectorand fewer professional indemnityclaims, in addition to an improvedperception of the Practice byexisting and potential clients.Speaking about the serviceprovided by IMSM, Andy said,"IMSM helped Levitt Bernstein toobtain QA Registration. They werenot dictatorial and were prepared towork within the confines of ourestablished Quality ManagementSystem. We were able to blend ourknowledge of the business with theirknowledge of Quality AssuranceStandards to achieve certificationwith a minimum of adaptation ofthe existing working practices. Wewould be happy to talk to otherpractices about our experience."www.levittbernstein.co.ukLondon-based Levitt Bernsteinwas formed in 1968. Housingand urban renewal projects makeup 50% of architectural projectsundertaken, with 25% coveringthe Arts and Education sectorsand the remaining 25% coveringhealth, retail and communitybased projects.The company currently employsover 100 staff with designersthroughout the EC, Australia, NewZealand, South Africa and USA.Although most projects are carriedout within the UK and, morerecently, the Republic of Ireland,one of the company’s directorscarries out commissions for theDFID (Department for InternationalDevelopment), overseeing projectsthroughout the developing world.Explaining the company’sdecision to pursue certification,Technical Manager Andy Joblingsaid, "When Quality Assurance wasfirst introduced in the 1990s, it was heralded as an essentialbusiness requirement. Consultantorganisations believed they wouldlose clients and commissions if they were not QA Accredited,particularly if they were working for Government Agencies,Healthcare, Local Authorities orMOD. In the event, only the MODinsisted on certification. However,larger practices saw the benefit ofimplementing their own QualityManagement Systems. LevittBernstein's system has beenworking effectively for 10 years.” In 2006, the practice decided toopt for ISO certification, which waslargely due to a change in the waythat Expressions of Interest / Bids /Tenders are being dealt with by its(largely public sector) clients. Bidsare no longer being assessed bypersonnel in the client organisation,but are sent to external agenciesfor assessment and these agenciesjust tick boxes. Levitt Bernstein felt there was a risk of losingcommissions if it didn't have a tick in every box. It also felt thatcertification with the consequentinternal and external audits wouldadd weight to the existing QMS“IMSM were chosenbecause theyoffered a fixedprice contract tocover all stagesleading tocertification.”