The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School has transferred its quality management ISO 9001 certification to Global Compliance Service Guyana Inc. (GCS), an international certification body with a resident office in Guyana.
GCS is a Guyanese owned and operated business; the team consists of Guyanese professionals who are qualified ISO Management Systems Trainers and Auditors.
The school’s Accountable Manager Nalini Chanderban said as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many challenges with virtual audits and training.
With the pandemic also, come opportunities such as utilising a local company.
“We took the opportunity of transferring to this certification body because not only is it in Guyana but with surveillance audit, you want to have a more face to face interaction and the fact that all we do here is critical in the sense of our documentation and records,” Chanderban said at a simple handing over ceremony at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport on Monday.
Chanderban was presented the school’s ISO 9001 certificate from GCS.
She told the News Room that there will also be a reduced cost with the local company.
The aeronautical school is also the only institution with institutional accreditation in Guyana. This accreditation is done through the Ministry of Education.
For the past 17 years, the school has been working with an international body to conduct its training and certification.
Chief Executive Officer of GCS, Candelle Bostwick explained that there are many benefits in using a local company for ISO training, auditing and certification.
“You can have your audits done at a more convenient time and also utilising persons who are familiar with your culture,” Bostwick explained.
She said the aeronautical industry is very critical in terms of health and safety and has an important role when it comes to the training of personnel for the industry.
The CEO is also urging other local companies to get on board and be ISO 9001 certified standard, a globally recognised standard that provides credibility to the company or services.
The certification process lasts for three years with annual surveillance visits.
GCS was also able to complete the existing certification cycle that the school had with the previous international certification body.
