SECURING an internationally-recognised quality standard such as ISO 9000 is as good as getting a pass mark, a consultant says.
Divisional manager of the Hong Kong Productivity Council's quality and management consultancy division Edmund Sung said: 'A company thinks it [ISO 9000] is the end of the quality journey but it is really just the start.' Back in 1989, when the ISO 9000 concept was first promoted in Hong Kong, the HKPC set out to help companies obtain the quality certification.
The companies that were certified were among the pioneers of quality in the industrial sectors in which they were active.
'We encouraged a company in each sector to take the first step while others would only wait and see the result,' Mr Sung said.
Once the first few companies had obtained certification, it provided the impetus for other industries to gain ISO 9000.
'The result was successful; as the first company was for some time the only company in its sector, it picked up considerable profit from customers who wanted ISO-certified suppliers,' Mr Sung said.