Why bürgi.com AG chose the path of ISO certification: An interview with Managing Director Sacha Bürgi and ISO representative Thomas Schenk. Bürgi.com AG has decided to take the path of ISO certification in order to standardize its processes and services at the highest level.
Today we would like to talk to Sacha Bürgi, Managing Director of bürgi.com AG, and Thomas Schenk, ISO Officer and Security Project Manager, about what prompted them to take this step and what benefits they see for the company and its customers.
Sacha Bürgi, what were the main reasons why bürgi.com AG sought ISO certification? We have been a recognized VKF-certified specialist company for fire alarm systems for 25 years (VKF = Association of Cantonal Fire Insurers).
In 2019, the VKF changed its guidelines and stipulated that only companies with an ISO 9000 certificate may be certified.
This adjustment was intended to further increase the quality and reliability of certified companies.
We therefore opted for ISO certification, retained our VKF certification, optimized our internal processes and strengthened our position as a reliable partner in fire alarm technology.
Thomas Schenk, what specific advantages do you see for SMEs that are certified according to ISO standards? At first, we perceived the ISO certification as additional work.
However, during implementation, we realized that if we adapt the ISO standards to our specific needs and really live by them, we can derive considerable added value from them.
The benefits became particularly clear when we realized that the certification helped us to improve our internal processes and make them more efficient, which ultimately brought enormous added value for the company and our customers.
Sacha Bürgi, to what extent does the introduction of ISO standards influence the internal processes and corporate culture of an SME? This is a difficult question and I think it depends very much on the management of the company.
If the management and the entire staff really live the ISO standards, this can contribute significantly to operational optimization.
This not only leads to more efficient processes, but also to a reduction in the error rate in operations, which of course has a positive impact on operating results.
However, if ISO certification is only managed by one person in the office and degenerates into a mere ‘paper tiger’ without the principles actually being integrated into everyday working life, it is better to leave it alone.
Certification must be supported by the entire company in order to achieve its full benefits.
Thomas Schenk, what are the long-term benefits of ISO certification, particularly in terms of the sustainable development and growth of an SME? When introducing ISO certification, our coach repeatedly emphasized that we should design the standards to reflect how we actually work, rather than developing complicated processes just for future audits.
It is important that the company maintains its culture and uses ISO certification as a tool that supports us rather than overburdens us.
In this way, we have ensured that the ISO standards are practical and improve our day-to-day work without changing our corporate culture.
Sacha Bürgi, what advice would you give to other SMEs that are considering becoming certified to ISO standards? I can advise every SME to take a close look at their own operating processes and to review them continuously.
It is precisely in this area that certification helps us enormously, as the annual audits give us a certain amount of pressure and incentive to constantly optimize our processes and keep them up to date.
ISO certification ensures that we do not rest on our laurels, but work continuously on improvements, which leads to better results in the long term.
