When an idea gets a drive

Management system certification has a long history at SIQ. Everything started thirty years ago when it became clear that it was not sufficient for just one product to pass the testing procedure. All those entering the market should be high quality, which can only be ensured through the orderly functioning of the entire organization.

Peter Kunc, MSc., who later became the first department manager, was convinced that the confirmation of such an arrangement with a certificate was the right thing to do and he seized this exceptional opportunity to develop a new activity.

And so, management system certification activities started at SIQ. First in production-oriented companies and with the help of partners from abroad. The first audits were carried out in activities that were best known to SIQ employees, i.e., in the electrical industry, but we quickly began to cooperate with experts from other industries, and audits in the chemical, paper, or wood and furniture industries became an everyday occurrence. However, not only production but service organizations were also audited. Nowadays, there is a range of experts from very different industries among the auditors. From electrical and mechanical engineers, chemists, physicists, and biologists to pharmacists and doctors, to name but a few – not forgetting economists, teachers, work organizers, ecologists, computer scientists, builders, etc. A group of auditors this varied shows that audits are nowadays conducted in all kinds of activities.

The range of certified activities really is vast. Over the years, we began certifying organizations from the healthcare sector, education, and tourism. Spreading our business to cover various activities of the certified organizations was, however, not our only expansion. Our services were also complemented by other aspects of management that did not focus on the quality management system alone. The certification of the environmental management system was very quickly included in the range of services, followed by the food safety management system, the occupational safety, and health management system, the energy management system, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), the information security management system and we could keep going. We can offer you a truly diverse range of services, either alone or with partners from the IQNet International Association, of which we have been a member for many years. Years ago, we combined testing and auditing skills and became the only notified body in Slovenia for medical devices. Audits in this area are particularly challenging and demonstrating competence to both, domestic and EU supervisors is a remarkable undertaking. However, this is not the end of our range of services. We also review annual reports on sustainable organization development and reports on greenhouse gas emissions and assess compliance with legislation. With all the activities that we carry out, our team of auditors is also growing. Caring for their knowledge is the key to success, so we pay even more attention to it than in the past.

And the future? If the idea of our operation was product-oriented at first, more and more attention has been paid over the years to how the activities of an organization affect the environment, its employees, and society at large. And the circle of our activity has probably not come full circle yet, though we believe that the direction is right.