ISO 9001:2008

2015 marked the end of PURCO SA’s first three year ISO 9001:2008 quality management certification cycle. 

Over the past three years the organisation has implemented a number of improvements to its policies and procedures in an effort to further promote collaboration with Members and Suppliers. All departments were incorporated into the quality management system, further entrenching the quality mark across the board. 

Further to that, more and more suppliers have been held accountable for contractual and operational related matters, such as poor service delivery and non-fulfillment of contractual obligations, through the issuing of non-conformance reports. To date more than eighty non-conformance reports have been issued to suppliers, addressing issues that include late delivery of good, goods not meeting specifications, and dis-functional lift units. These steps will ultimately lead to improvements in the quality of products and services rendered to the PURCO SA Membership.

The ISO 9001:2008 certification has contributed immensely to our growth and success. Improvements resulting from the quality management process have enabled the organisation to support the significant increase in contracts facilitated by PURCO SA and the consequent increase in collaborative spend (to more than R1.36 billion in the past year). 

In particular, the increase in institution specific contracts facilitated through the PURCO SA office is testimony to Members’ confidence in PURCO SA policies and procedures.

The SABS re-certification external audit took place on 5 May 2015. Auditors from the South African Bureau of Standards verified the organisation’s adherence to the requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 standard and our compliance with set policies and procedures. The auditors were satisfied that PURCO SA had met all of the requirements of the quality management standard and approved the organisation’s ISO 9001:2008 re-certification for the next three year cycle.

PURCO SA acknowledges all parties that have contributed over the past three years of certification. 

PURCO SA members’ for their responsiveness in completing the bi-annual Member Surveys; 

Suppliers for their acceptance and rectification of problems identified by PURCO SA and Members through the issuing of non-conformance reports;

The South African Quality Institute’s (SAQI) for their continued assistance in improving our quality standards through sharing valuable quality management information; and 

PURCO SA staff members for their ongoing efforts to drive continual quality improvement. 

Our objective over the next three years is to continue playing a leading role in Higher Education quality management. We plan to further improve our own quality standards while encouraging improvements across the sector as a whole. 

We believe all our stakeholders will continue supporting PURCO SA to maintain the ISO 9001:2008 quality management mark during the next three year certification cycle.   n