Quality / ISO

At the end of July 2006 DHC Dr. Herterich und Consultants GmbH became one of the first consulting and software companies in Germany to be certified for 9001:2000.

The intention and purpose of certification is to ensure a high standard of quality for company services and software solutions. DHC quality objectives are the guiding factors behind all activities. This signifies a high measure of reliability and certainty for DHC's customers and partners.

Successful certification requires a quality management system that is structured and supports all relevant workflows. Its design must be process-oriented to comply with the new DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 standard and it must be described in a QM manual. A clear structure is required for the outline of the quality management manual including all associated documents, operating procedures, guidelines, master forms and the relationships between these pieces of information. The main objectives for the implementation of a quality management system at DHC were easy design and maintenance, efficient application of all rules and regulations for the execution of projects and services, and the development and production of software.

DHC used DHC Vision, their own Web-based document, process and project management system, to create this QM manual. The QM manual is available to every member of staff on the intranet, also implemented using DHC Vision, and gives one support in complying with ISO standards in one`s daily workflows.

DHC Vision provides basic functionality, simplifying and accelerating the creation, maintenance and publication of all necessary QM documents. The integration of Microsoft Office products allows both QM and production line staff the use of programs they are familiar with. Any needed methods-compliant process models or organisational charts for process and work instructions can be created in the integrated MS Visio application and easily linked to other QM documents using the intelligent link management system.

The publication of QM documents takes place automatically in an Internet-ready format, giving every staffmember quick access to the QM manual and all quality-related documents.

DHC Vision has allowed DHC to efficiently implement the design and maintenance of the QM system required for certification and to quickly and unbureaucratically initiate needed corrective quality measures, minimizing associated quality costs. This also satisfied the auditors and led to successful DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 certification for the consulting and software company.