1. Tell me about your company – what industry you are in and what does your business do?
Born from three Australian architecture and design practices coming together in 2000, DesignInc is a powerful union of design talent, professional expertise, and multidisciplinary skills. We provide architectural, interiors, landscape, master planning and urban design services to clients in both the government and private sectors.
2. Can you please provide some top level information about your organisation, such as size, number of staff, office locations or similar?
Our Sydney Studio boasts over 110 talented individuals from 30 cultural backgrounds, working in multiple sectors such as Transport & Infrastructure, Defence, Residential, Landscape, Education, Health, Laboratories and Urban Design.
3. Why did you go through certification?
For the size and scope of the work we do and the clients we work with, an ISO 9001 certification is essential. In operational terms, its what’s called an ‘order qualifier’, which means that without it, you won’t be considered for the contract. We’ve also adopted ISO 45001 to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, and ISO 14001 as part of our commitment to environmental sustainability.
4. How did you find the process with Global-Mark?
Global-Mark have consistently been a very professional operation and we’re always happy to meet with David Jones and Peter Marshman when our annual audit rolls around. The process itself is very thorough and you get held to account at every point along the way. However, the way in which the process is approached by Global-Mark makes it much less intimidating and produces positive direction for improvement.
5. What is your outcome e.g. are you happy with the outcome?
Over the years we’ve gotten better and better at developing, changing and managing our systems. I’m happy to say that we confidently enter each re-certification and surveillance audit, most recently coming away with no major findings. Any observations are always beneficial and support our Kaizen approach to continual improvement
6. Are there any other business benefits you experienced as a result of becoming certified?
One of the most significant outcomes is seeing just how far quality processes can permeate throughout the business. Often far beyond what the original scope for improvement was. Once seen as a ‘box checking’ exercise, our Integrated Management System has indentured a culture of quality throughout the practice. This only goes further towards helping us provide quality outcomes for our clients, who can be assured our methods and systems are backed by Global-Mark.
For more information on DesignInc, click here.
