Quality management system at Technical Sciences retains certification

6 October 2021

One year ago, the Faculty of Technical Sciences’ quality management system for public sector consultancy was the first such system in Denmark to be certified under the international ISO 9001 standard. And now the faculty can continue to boast certification for its quality management system for public sector consultancy.

The certification documents and confirms that consultancy activities from Technical Sciences, including the DCA (Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture) and the DCE (Danish Centre for Environment and Energy), are of consistent quality, and this will benefit both the university and clients.

From 30 August to 8 September 2021, the quality management system for public sector consultancy at Technical Sciences underwent an external audit; the first so-called monitoring audit, after certification last year in September. And there was praise from the external auditor from FORCE Certification for the extent to which the system has been used and exploited, which was even better than the auditor had expected

For example, the audit report emphasises that employees have predominant focus on quality. The auditor also highlighted the value of the set-up with quality coordinators in all departments and centres.

Vice-dean Kurt Nielsen, who is head of quality and who is in charge of the work at Aarhus University, praised employees and management for having embraced the system and for helping to ensure that Technical Sciences always strives to deliver the best possible quality for ministries and other requisitioners.

"The quality management standard ensures that we at Technical Sciences have the highest quality, effective management, and documentation in our work on public sector consultancy. For this reason, attaining certification again this year is extremely important for us, and the many dedicated employees deserve great praise for their efforts and the high quality they put into their work. In recent years, they have had strong focus on making improvements in all of the relevant parameters, for example through openness and a systematic approach, both internally and in collaboration with external partners," says Kurt Nielsen, vice-dean for public sector consultancy and business collaboration at the Faculty of Technical Sciences.

Facts about ISO 9001 certification

ISO 9001 is a quality management standard recognised all over the world, and which for many people is synonymous with quality, efficient management and documentation. It is also a structured and recognised tool in dialogue with clients. Experience shows that ISO 9001 improves the quality of products and services, and that certified companies can manage their internal work processes better. The latter benefits employees, for whom the procedures in the system are a great support in often very time-pressed consultancy for the authorities.

ISO 9001 places requirements on the entire process for consultancy: from when the assignment arrives from the client, to reconciliation of expectations, implementation and quality assurance of the product and publication. In particular, there is strong focus on client requirements and satisfaction, as well as on documentation of all workflows, and the system specifies the requirements for both implementation of new work processes and the ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the faculty's quality management of consultancy activities.

ISO 9001 certification is mutual documentation between the certificate holder and collaboration partners to ensure consistently high quality of consultancy, and that the processes are transparent for consultancy activities carried out.