For the 19th straight year, First Balfour has been certified by TÜV SÜD Philippines for its compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System.

The two-day recertification audit, which happened on Sept. 24-25, 2020, was conducted remotely and involved online interviews with various divisions and departments of the organization.

The result was announced during the audit closing ceremony attended by top First Balfour executives, TÜV SÜD auditors and department representatives.

“This is the first time that we had zero minor and major nonconformity, a solid proof that the organization aims not just to comply but to continually improve through risk-based thinking and adhering to the plan-do-check-act cycle. Before the audit began, I advised the team to aim for zero nonconformity—a goal which they were hesitant to set at first—but with everyone’s support and commitment, it happened,” said head of corporate quality Joey Lagdan.

Audit results indicated two positive items, including the reinforced First Balfour crisis management team which was instrumental in mitigating the impact of identified risks and advancing on opportunities, and having no significant customer complaints over the last three years.

“We have not seen any other company in the industry with this kind of commitment in terms of risk-based management implementation,” said TÜV SÜD lead auditor Jofre Velasco.

First Balfour received its first ISO 9001 certification for what was then ISO 9001:2000 on Jan. 26, 2002. (Story by: Dolly Pasia-Ramos)