JEDDAH: King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has called for the application of quality standards in private and public manufacturing and service sectors to ensure the Kingdom's competitiveness in the world. The King made the comments in a speech delivered on his behalf by Dr. Abdullah Zainal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, at the opening of the Third National Quality Conference at King Abdul Aziz University Monday. He also encouraged all sectors to benefit from international experiences in quality. The forum has been organized by the Saudi Standards, Meteorology and Quality Organization (SASO), in cooperation with the National Committee for Quality, Saudi Council of Quality and the Ministry of Education. The King said that to realize the Kingdom's ambitious quality strategy, requires top standards to ensure the competitiveness of Saudi products and services in international markets. Nabil Bin Amin Mulla, Governor of SASO, pointed out that the conference reflects the determination of the leadership to adopt quality measures to support sustainable development. Issues and problems with the ISO 9001 certificate of quality were discussed at the first session of the conference. Dr. Mahmood Eissa, president of National Quality Institute in Egypt, said the certificate is only valid for three years and that some companies falsely claim to have it. “Unfortunately, in the Arab world, some companies put the logo of ISO 9001 on their products although they don't have the official certificate,” he said. He added that the certificate of European quality only means that the product meets standards in European markets, not in Asia, Africa or Arab countries. Dr. Issa, who also discussed the certification of management systems to protect the environment from the pollution, pointed out that companies must pass tests and inspections before they can display the certificates. “ISO is only responsible for issuing the international standards specifications and other establishments are responsible for issuing the certificates based on their exams and inspections,” he said. Some qualifications for earning management service certification are optional, he added.
