January 2009: Success of ISO certified companies in the Ethiopian

Ato Aklilu’s life has turned around when he led a company to ISO 9001:2000 certification. He has invested much time and energy on his way: First being one of the ISO trainees in the GTZ IS University Capacity Building Program (UCBP), he quickly became ISO trainer himself under the leadership of UCBP ISO experts. But this was only the beginning:

Ato Aklilu, who studied industrial engineering in Bahir Dar University, gained his first work experiences in Flintstone Engineering, a construction company involved in the UCBP. Here, GTZ IS manages the construction of 13 Universities throughout the country while upgrading the companies they are working with. Flintstone Engineering started in 2005 to construct University buildings in Jijiga and Dire Dawa. Ato Aklilu, the Quality Manager, was appointed the ISO 9001:2000 focal point person. He was involved in ISO trainings, when his interest in the subject increased. Flintstone Engineering achieved the desired certificate while Ato Aklilu became an assistant ISO trainer with GTZ IS. In the past years, he has supported the training of 34 companies in the construction sector, of which 14 are now ISO certified.

Recently, Ato Akililu has made a decision: together with his business partner Ato Abebaw Zelalem, who he was already partnering with in the UCBP ISO trainings and as trainers, he founded his own construction company. A name was hard to find, but at the end, only one name seemed to make sense: PDCA. This abbreviation stands for Plan, Do, Check and Act, an ISO methodology for different processes. But even though Ato Aklilu is pleased with his success in a young age, he will not stop here‐ rather the sky is the limit. Ato Aklilu is an exemplary person, whose life turned upside down by the knowledge he gained through the GTZ IS ISO trainings.

ISO 9001:2000 is among the standards which is maintained by the international organization for standardization and is administered by accreditation and certification of different companies or institutions. It provides a number of requirements which an organization needs to fulfill if it is to achieve customer satisfaction through consistent products and services which meet customer expectations. It includes a requirement for the continual (i.e. planned) improvement of the Quality Management System.