The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ISO certification’

  • Firm gets ISO Certification

    Firm gets ISO Certification

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has certified Una & Associates Estate Surveying and Valuations firm, having conformed to necessary prerequisites of quality management system of the International standards Organisation (ISO).

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm, Mr. Pat Una, was presented an NIS ISO 9001: 2008 certificate by Director, Management Systems Certification, SON, Mrs. Oluremi Ayeni, She represented the Director General of SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu.

    The NIS ISO 9001, 2008 standard is an approval issued to companies who display competence at providing services that meet client’s needs and regulatory modalities. It enables firms and industries to enjoy robust and global recognition in offering applicable solution to challenges associated with business management quality.

    Una described the feat as “fulfilling”, adding that the firm was the first to achieve such in the industry. He said: “We’ve made history as the first estate surveyor and valuation firm to be certified. It is gratifying and humbling to see that we can.”

    He explained that the firm has been committed to offering quality estate surveying and valuation services to its clients in the last 16 years. According to him, the process of ISO certification kick-started in 2013 with immense investment in capital development, infrastructure, time and resources. The system, he said, was subjected to rigorous examination before certification by SON auditors at the end of the assessment.

    He said: “The greatest of the challenges has been building a team in 15years; having a team of committed, dedicated and trustworthy people who are ready to learn. The requirements for ISO is 250, starting from the infrastructure, human capital, training, auditing, documentation and others.”

    Meanwhile, he urged aspiring firms with the right business discipline to come on board, noting that the procedure requires stern discipline and transparency.

    Speaking during the presentation, Mrs. Ayeni said the achievement will not only list the firm among leading class of companies with efficient management framework, but also engender sustainable growth, which the organisation is on course to achieve.

    Emphasising the imperativeness of quality management, she said: “We commend your effort and we actually want others to emulate this as we aim at sustainable development in our nation. Permit me to remind you that the service you are rendering is extremely important to this nation. We are at a very crucial stage in our national development; whatever we do from this time forward, we want to ensure that the growth we achieve either at company level or national level is sustainable.”

    She added that the system will be placed on six months surveillance to ensure complete sustainability and effectiveness. She however, noted that any act of non-conformity should be rectified under a specified timeframe or will otherwise attract withdrawal of the certificate.

  • PZ Wilmar gets ISO certification

    PZ Wilmar Nigeria Ltd, a palm oil processing, packaging and distribution company, has been awarded the International Standard Organisation (ISO) 22000:2005 Certification for food safety.

    At the presentation in Lagos, the Managing Director, West Africa, PZ Wilmar Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Santosh Pillai, said the certification is an affirmation of the firm’s commitment to delivering safe products.

    He said the certification makes the company the first palm oil processing, packaging and distribution company to achieve the feat without extension from any parent company or parent site.

    He said: “ISO 22000:2005 is an international standard on food safety that confirms that a company’s supply chain process is well under control, and safety and quality of all products from its factory down the value chain to the end consumer is guaranteed.

    “To provide a demonstrable food safety management system, PZ Wilmar Limited was subjected to rigorous stages one and two Certification Audit by Bureau Veritas, following documentation and implementation according to ISO 22000: 2005 standard.”

    Its Deputy Manager, Technical, Mr. Nana Damoah, said the company sought the ISO certification to ensure that its products are manufactured in line with international standards and are safe.

    Systems Certification Manager, Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, inspection and certification, Mrs. Adenike Akinbote, said the process for ISO certification was not easy and that PZ Wilmar made it after fulfilling all its criteria.

    She, however, said the certification could be withdrawn or suspended if the company’s food safety and quality standard fails in future.

    The feat, which is a demonstration of the company’s commitment to its organisation, food safety and quality policy, came on the heels of an investment of about $80 million in crude palm oil refinery.

    The investment, according to Pillai, was in line with the company’s backward integration aimed at developing local capacity of palm oil production and restoring Nigeria’s position and visibility as a global player in palm oil.

    He added that the company’s investment offers an integrated process of growing and milling crude palm oil with an expansion programme that sees PZ Wilmar harnessing Nigeria’s competitive and comparative advantage in the sector.

    According to him, the company has  acquired 26, 500 hectares of land in Cross River State for oil palm plantation, hoping to increase it to 50, 000 hectares.

  • Union Bank achieves ISO certification

    Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has been certified to the internationally recognised ISO27001:2013 standard for Information Security. The bank was awarded the certificate following a rigorous audit process conducted by the British Standards Institute (BSI), in partnership with Information Value Chain consulting firm, Digital Jewels.

    ISO 27001:2013 is an information security standard published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and International Electro technical Commission (IEC), under the joint ISO and IEC subcommittee.

    The standard specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving information security management across systems, people and processes.

    It also includes requirements for the assessment and treatment of information security risks specifically tailored to the needs of an organisation.

    The  Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Union Bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa said: “Since we began implementing our transformation initiatives in 2014, we have continued to improve our systems and processes to deliver optimal service levels to our customers. This certification reinforces our commitment to embracing global best practices in ensuring the integrity of our customer data and a secure operating environment.”

    Last year, Union Bank became the first Nigerian financial institution to be awarded the latest Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) – Version 3.0, which offers customers added protection from card fraud and other security vulnerabilities.

     

  • Access Bank gets ISO certification

    Access Bank gets ISO certification

    Access  Bank Plc has been awarded the International Organisation for Standardisation, ISO, 22301:2012 certificate for ‘Societal Security – Business Continuity Management Systems.’

    The award, the bank said in a statement,  was presented to the bank by the British Standard Institute, BSI, after about three months of rigorous business impact analysis across all the departments of the bank.

    Speaking during the presentation of the certificate in Lagos, Group Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank, Obinna Nwosu, said  the certification is based on international best practices deployed by the bank to manage business continuity.

    According to him, the ISO 22301:2012 specifies requirements to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and continually improve a documented management system to prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptive events when they arise.

    He said, “The ISO 22301 standardization certification will help improve the bank’s business by ensuring planned, effective Business Continuity Management at all levels, including: Organisation-wide identification and understanding of critical business processes and the impact of disruption, timely and orderly responses to incidents/business disruptions.

    Speaking at the event, Mike Purves, Acting Deputy  High Commissioner and Director, United Kingdom Trade and Investment, expressed satisfaction that the British Standard Institute is helping to improve standard in Nigeria.

  • CBN directs banks to get ISO certification

    CBN directs banks to get ISO certification

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all commercial banks to get their information security management certification by the end of 2015.

    To ensure compliance, the apex bank said it would set up a review committee within the Bankers Committee, and appoint consultants to go round banks to ensure compliance on a periodic basis.

    CBN’s Director of Information Technology John Ayoh made this known at the formal handing over of the ISO27001 – 2005 Certificate to CBN by the British Standard Institution in Abuja.

    Ayoh said the banks, “are already aware since over six months ago of the plan to roll out this standard by that period, so we do not see a problem for them to be able to keep to that time line.”

    CBN Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Suleiman Barau, who represented Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the ISO27001 was acclaimed as the world’s highest standard for information security management.

    Sanusi said certification “is a clear affirmation that the CBN has adopted the highest framework in the world for information security management, and the CBN being a regulatory authority decided to take the lead in practices that are consistent with its status.”

    He stated “whereas all adopters of the ISO27001 Certification on information security management had started off with a small manageable scope, the CBN took up an ambitious scope which encompasses the entire headoffice, comprising 27 departments, adding that while it took those banks an average of three years to prepare and achieve certification, in the case of CBN, certification to the standard was achieved within one year.

    Also speaking at the occasion, Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Mrs. Sarah O. Alade, said the Central Bank of Nigeria had in conjunction with the Bankers Committee, committed to the implementation of the selected standards as an integral part of the financial services industry infrastructure transformation programme (IITC).

    He said the aim of the programme, “is to significantly enhance operational efficiency and cost effectiveness of banks in Nigeria through shared services.

    She explained that an integral part of this overall objective is industry compliance with an acclaimed standard of managing critical information access to engender the needed confidence in stakeholders and participants in the Nigerian financial services industry, saying this has led to the selection of the highest standard for information security management. The ISO 27001 – 2005 for information security framework as part of the IITC.

    A few banks in Nigeria have already adopted the standard but the CBN she said has taken the lead in certifying to a much wider scope and achieving this in less than one calendar year.

  • LASACO gets ISO certification

    LASACO Assurance Plc has bagged ISO 9001: 2008 certification, the management has said.

    In a statement, the Managing Director, Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, said the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has provided independent confirmation that LASACO has met requirements of the ISO 9001:2008 certification.

    By this certification, LASACO has become the first insurance firm in Nigeria to be so certified, he stated.

    He said: ” By this certification, our company has been adjudged to meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders, including all statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to our operations. These standards are universally regarded as International best practices and are published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). It is administered locally by the SON.

    “Simply put, our company is committed to the method and model of quality prescribed by the standards.”

    Explaining the rationale for the certification award, Ajayi said: “The ISO 9001: 2008 deals with the fundamentals of Quality Management Systems. The certification is a powerful marketing tool because it places high priority on customer needs. It is expected to lead to superior operational performance required from companies operating in the international domain, especially when one of our main areas of operations is the oil and gas insurance, as well as other special risks.

  • ‘Why banks are denied ISO certification’

    ‘Why banks are denied ISO certification’

    The British Standard Institute (BSI) has said poor security and information management system are hindering many Nigerian banks from getting the ISO 27001 certification.

    ISO 27001 certification, an initiative of the British Standard Institute, is awarded to companies or financial institutions that have complied with the all known information and security management standards globally.

    First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and a few others, have so far received the certification.

    The Strategic Business Manager, Middle East and Africa Region, BSI, Omar Rashid, told The Nation that many banks were denied the certification because their security management processes were not complete. Omar, who was on a short visit to Nigeria, said many banks have not documented their security management programmes to meet the BSI’s requirements.

    He said: “It is not that the local banks are not putting the information and security management processes in place, but their inability to document the processes in a way that would meet the requirements of the institute is the issue. I think that is one of the challenges facing the banks.

    Once the banks have been able to do the proper things in this area, they are sure of getting the certification. We have received a massive amount of interests for certification and training services.”

    He said banks need to do what is called “top-down commitments” on the issue of security management, arguing that the development would help them in winning the confidence of many globally acceptable rating agencies.

    “By top-down commitments, I mean the interest in information and security management programmes, must come from the management to the least workers in the banks. It should not be at the level of the managements or the boards of the financial institutions only.” he added.

    He said the issue of information security is beyond putting technology in place, adding that it is a major governance issue that can directly or indirectly affect any organisation’s reputation and its survival.

    He said ISO certification demonstrates to stakeholders that the banks are run effectively, improve performance, profitability, corporate governance, widen market opportunities, and improve staff responsibility and commitment.