adminDumisani Nsingo, Business Reporter
GROWING security firm, Nokel Security has set sights at attaining International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2015 (IS0 9001:2015) certification this year as it forges ahead to improve its service provision standards. Nokel Security finance administration manager Mr Artwell Katandika said the company was working on various procedures aimed at attaining ISO certified before the end of this year.
“Nokel Security is currently working on attaining ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems certification early this year, approximately by June as we forge ahead to grow the business and improve our professionalism and corporate governance issues.
“It can’t be done in one day, we kick started this programme in July 2017 and we gave ourselves about 12 months working on all the systems that ensure we get certified, improving our relations with our clients, employees and improving the flow of activities in and outside the company,” said Mr Katandika.
He said attaining ISO certified would further enhance their service provision.
“Our drive is on improving service to our clients. We want our clients to be satisfied. We are more than getting the ISO certificate, we are more of improving our services, and this is what motivated us, that’s why everyone is eager in making sure we get certified.
“Certification will be the confirmation that we have kick started the programme of working towards improving our services, working towards providing a quality service and also making sure that even the stakeholders we deal with also make sure they work towards the same thing,” said Mr Katandika.
The Bulawayo-headquartered company has branches in Harare, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo, Kwekwe, Gwanda, Hwange, Chitungwiza, Plumtree, Tsholotsho, Zvishavane, Chegutu, Chinhoyi, Mount Darwin, Chipinge, Mount Selinda, Chiredzi, Kadoma and Sango and Forbes Border Post. It was incorporated in 2001 and employs 650 people.
Mr Katandika said the de-industrialisation of Bulawayo over the years has impacted negatively on the company’s business but it had managed to keep afloat through its operations in other areas.
“Over the years the reduction of business in Bulawayo definitely had an impact on a market share or on an industry level. Definitely there was a dent in our business but now we changed our focus to cover the whole of Zimbabwe so that the losses we experienced because of the de-industrialisation of Bulawayo are covered by gains in other towns. Hence we are now in various areas in the country,” he said.
Mr Katandika expressed optimism that the new political dispensation would further improve the company’s business fortunes.
“The coming in of the new Government gives stabilisation on the market. It gives a new economic order on how things should be done. You find that in much of the business in the country there has been much ado or talk about the issue of corruption, it had hampered any future of investment in our country.
“So the coming in of the new Government is positive and as an organisation I think we are going to get more investors getting into our country as the industries are revived, all these companies are revived, we know that definitely there will be an increase in our security business as a company,” he said.
Nokel Security officially opened its head office in Bulawayo yesterday, the company acquired the building last year at a cost of $75 000 and invested over $50 000 in refurbishing the infrastructure. Late last year, the company also added an electronics department specialising in modern and state-of-the-art alarms, Closed-Circuit Televisions and rapid response vehicles and apparatus.
derick.khumalo