By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Another feather has been added to the colourful cap of Nigeria’s leading electricity distribution company, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE).
The energy firm has become the first and only company in the sector to earn the latest ISO accreditations, the ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System) and the newly published ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health & Safety Management System).
These certifications followed the audit carried out in March 2020 by the auditors from DQS Management Systems Solutions, one of the world’s leading certification bodies.
The use of standards help in the creation of products and services that are safe, reliable and of good quality. They help business productivity while minimising errors and waste.
The standards also serve to safeguard consumers and the end-users of products and services, ensuring that certified products conform to the minimum standard set internationally.
International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) is world’s largest independent, non-governmental organisations that develops voluntary international standard and facilitates world trade by providing common standards among nations.
Speaking on the achievements, the Head of Quality, Safety, Health and Environment at IE, Engr. Jamiu Badmos, said result of the audit as approved by Technical Committee from DQS in Germany has put Ikeja Electric in the forefront, as the first and only company in the power value chain in Nigeria with the certifications.
“The achievement of these international standards is a result of our collective determination and efforts driven by leadership passion and commitment to implement business processes with strategies and innovative programmes.
“This will further enhance customer satisfaction, ensure environmental sustainability through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, as well as improve the safety of all persons involved in the company’s activities,” he said.
“While we celebrate this great achievement, we will also like to thank our customers for their feedback and support so far. It is pertinent to inform the general public that our focus for 2020 as stated in our mantra,
“Customer First, Technology Now” will not only promote business excellence in line with the achieved ISO certifications, it will also put smiles on the faces of our customers,” he added.
According to Engr. Badmos, use of technology and purposeful engagement of staff, customers and stakeholders greatly contributed towards achieving Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) performance and operational excellence.
Ikeja Electric explained that its innovative initiatives such as e-billing system, functional Mobile Apps, interactive technical safety sessions, Focus Feeder Maintenance (FFM) Programme, Staff Recognition, Customer appreciation initiatives, balanced scorecards and performance reviews among others, have positively impacted on service delivery.
“We will continue to use risk-based thinking throughout our operations to promote a proactive approach for identifying risks and opportunities, making continual improvement systematic thereby leading to improved governance, enhanced customer experience, operational excellence and sustainability,” he assured.
