Sundar Kataria is the Chairman and Managing Director of International Certification Services (ICS) Pvt Ltd, India - one of the certification bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva.


A mechanical engineer by profession, Kataria started ICS in 1999 and is expanding his business in 15 countries with 10,000 valid customers all around the world. ICS has 30 offices in India to be close to their valued customers and provide cost effective and efficient certification services. It has been providing its value added certification and inspection services to the government, public and private sector organizations involved in land, offshore and marine activities. ICS started the quality drive in Nepal nearly a decade ago and started its branch in Kathmandu last year. Kataria recently visited Kathmandu for the certification of an education institute. In an interview with New Business Age, he talked about the importance of certification and quality management in Nepali industries and institutions. Excerpts:


What is the intention of your trip to Nepal?


We usually get a number of certification issues in Nepal and we come here frequently. This time around, I came here for the certification of one of the colleges and it was successful. Since we are the provider of social quality services, we feel the need of improvement in the Nepali management system of different industries including service sectors like health and education. We have a mission of providing international certification to Nepali management systems in different institutions. I have been visiting Nepal for a decade now. Although business is my first priority, my purpose of the Nepal trip has always been not only for work but also for pleasure.


How has your experience been with the local partners here in Nepal so far?


We have a business partner here who supports carrying out our programs and audit and marketing for us. The clients are also our partners and the experience with them is quite good. I appreciate Nepali industries’ enthusiasm to sustain in the market. They are facing many constraints in their businesses because of the political situation and unstable government. Moreover, they are dependent on the neighboring country even for raw materials. I find them not being able to recruit skilled manpower to run the organization. However, they have been able to sustain and continue their businesses. We should praise these industries, entrepreneurs and co-operatives for sustaining in the market.


How do you evaluate certification services in Nepal?


I should say that there a good number of industries available here and many of them have adopted this modern management system. Unfortunately, we find people in service sectors like finance, medical and education not adopting it. Certification is needed for quality assurance and therefore we suggest them to go for it because it also comes handy in supply chain and dealing with the customer.


You mean to say that every institution needs to be certified. What is the process for ICS certification?


Certification is equally important for any organization whether it is a large corporate house or the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As we go for the standard approach i.e. the managerial approach, we help these institutions to enhance their management systems through quality management services. When you are certified, you would be able to manage your system very well. For the certification process, we observe and study the management system of the company and manually oversee their quality system as well as the audit system. For example, we look into the resources of the education institutions, their system and the organization’s working environment, competence of the manpower they have recruited, safety strategies of the industry and the process of education. Most education institutions in Nepal are governed by the Tribhuvan University and the secondary board and hence, they follow their rules. We find out the extent to which they are following the rules and regulations. We also check if they are fulfilling minimum environment requirements or not, how they cover the calibers, the ratio between the students and teachers, how they are improving and so on. We also inspect their results and find out whether they are improving or not and the training levels of the teachers. This system is quite a holistic approach and applies in manufacturing also. We go through the procurement of raw materials processing manufacturing, inspection and testing, delivery and after sales or services. We have varieties of approach and maintain the standard pertaining to different certifications.


How many countries and industries have followed ICS by now?


We are operating in 15 countries including the UAE and other gulf countries. ISO Geneva has blessed the industry and manufacturers including the service industry with an international standard Quality Management System ISO 9001. The ISO 9001 has been adopted by more than 200 member countries so far. This standardization on quality has become most popular and is considered as a benchmark. We are serving worldwide for many years now and many countries are opting for adaptation. Our targeted institutions are industry and service providers. We have certified some of the departments of Bank of India also. In Nepal, we have now 71 clients including Classic College which is the latest one.


What are the expansion plans of ICS?


Although we are providing lots of inspections and certifications, I am looking forward to providing distinct education in Nepal. We have recently launched a one year diploma program on total quality management which is accredited by the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) of United Kingdom. I feel Nepal needs training for different institutions for industrial purpose and also for those who opt to seek employment in the gulf countries. There are no professional training institutions for the labor workforce. If we get a good partner here, we can start that too.


How can Nepali Industries get benefit from management certification?


It’s been the question of every institution all over the world to have sustainability and at the same time, to maintain continuity in the competitive market. Increase in the cost of raw materials and labor cost, political instability and currency deflation have been the common problems everywhere. Once we certify them, they would be able to look into their system and tackle the problems very well. It’s like a third eye which helps to look into your system and operate without loss. Although we are an Indian company, we have a good relation with Nepal. Our mission is to support SAARC countries and Nepal is the closest neighboring country. We have manpower, strength and mission to support people and believe that our attempts will help them to have business sustainability and continuity.