Bhutan Standard Bureau (BSB) certified Bank of Bhutan (BoB), Bhutan Bitumen, Karma Feeds, and Phuntsholing thromde for  quality management system (QMS) in Thimphu yesterday.

BoB’s head office was certified for providing international, corporate and domestic credit card services.

The chief executive officer of BoB, Pema Nadik said they wanted to be certified to make their processes standard and  to reduce errors related to credit card services.

He said that it took about eight months to receive the certificate.

Bhutan Bitumen Industries Private Limited was certified for manufacture and supply of cationic bitumen emulsion (cold mix) for road construction.

Karma Feeds was certified for manufacture and supply of pellet and mash type feeds for farm animals and poultry.

Phuntsholing thromde received certification for the provision of urban planning, municipal services, development and control of socio-economic infrastructure and facilities including regulatory functions in the city.

The four organisations are the first recipients of the QMS certificate.

Economic affairs minister, Lekey Dorji, while awarding the certificates emphasised on the need for quality management system if Bhutan is to have quality based products and services.  “Quality is never accidental. You have to work for it.”

BSB’s director general, Sonam Phuntsho, said BSB undertook the QMS certification project to fulfil its mandate of promoting and providing market relevant standards to industry, commerce, government and the society.

“This is a pilot project aimed at training interested organisations by an independent third party to prepare BSB for audit and QMS certification,” he said.

He also said although there are no written criteria, the quality evaluation was based on International Organisation for Standardization. “Our officials were trained to carry out the certification process.”

Sonam Phuntsho said that the advantages of certification are that it provides an opportunity to improve and organisations can never compromise in terms of efficiency and quality.

The QMS certificate has to be renewed after every two years. BSB will monitor and assess the certified organisations annually.

Meanwhile, the director general said that BSB has applied to the National Accreditation Board for certification bodies in New Delhi, India, hoping to be accredited before the end of 2017.

“BSB has applied for an international recognition in the fields of animal feed, chemicals, public administration and financial services,” he said.

Sonam Phuntsho said BSB is planning to include environmental management system, food safety management system and occupational health and safety in its scope.

Karma Cheki and Rinchen Zangmo