Gill is drafting some info about this which we will post here.

Thank you all for attending and contributing! We have posted some pictures to our Facebook page. Enjoy!

Click here to access our Facebook page!

Keeping your company profile updated makes a difference!

The majority of people visiting this site look for IQCS member companies.

Quick reminder: Please let Paul, our webmaster know if your company profile needs to be updated.

His contact email is: Paul.Sweeney@ronin.com

Do you want to post some pictures or videos to our Facebook page? Anything new happening in your company?

Let us know how things are at your end.
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Have a look and please ‘like’ us.

You want to thank our auditors or generally want to give feedback about the benefits of the IQCS?

Do you want to post some pictures or videos to our Facebook page?

Let us know how things are at your end.

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In 1986 with a name and remit change, the IQCS was formed and from these humble beginnings has grown into the internationally recognised fieldwork standard it is today.

Gill Wareing was appointed Administrator in 1987. The original council was comprised of: Anne Rigg, Janet Weitz, Janet Pottinger, Joan Pernet, Lesley Hill, Gillian Russell, Ivor Stocker and Michael Brooks.

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More info in our Newsletter and soon as an additional page.

The UK MRQSA/BSI committee met in March this year to review the feedback and a decision was made to accept (with or without modification) or reject each comment before submitting the final comment to the international ISO TC 225 secretariat.

ISO will circulate a collation of comments submitted by all member countries; these will be reviewed at the UK MRQSA/BSI TC meeting in September 2011. The next ISO meeting will be in September 2011, with UK representation attending. At this stage it is proposed to publish the final updated ISO 20252 standard in June 2012.

I attended some training sessions, a pre-inspections meeting and I’ve accompanied the 2 excellent experienced inspectors on a total of 3 inspections, at one of which I took the lead.

How have you found accompanying your first Inspection? Very interesting to see how the inspector handled the inspection process and identified the roles and responsibilities that the 2 company representatives held for the IQCS process in their business and thus elicited the required information from them.

What do you think you will bring to the IQCS Inspection process and IQCS Member Companies?

I hope that my relatively recent experience as a Field Manager with responsibility for the application of the quality standards means that I have good understanding of the hurdles to be overcome in achieving them, but also an awareness that this can be done with diligence and perseverance! So, fairness, tolerance and empathy with a little toughness!

What do you think you will enjoy most about being an IQCS Inspector?

Keeping in touch with the industry, facilitating the exchange of good ideas and methods wherever possible, and hopefully maintaining the high reputation of IQCS!

What have you learnt so far since becoming involved with IQCS as an Inspector?

Just how much dedication and hard work the Committee members put into the Scheme and how much they value it.

Is there anything you didn’t expect?

Not yet!

What are you most excited about in your new role?

Going out to conduct inspections alone, though that’s tempered with a little trepidation at this stage! I think getting to grips with each company’s record-keeping method will be my biggest challenge in my first year as each tends to develop its own style. Finding out how different people deal with the same problems.

To mark the occasion we asked membership what they felt were the benefits of IQCS and how they thought we ought to celebrate this milestone. Many of you felt that the best way to recognise our 25 years would be to publicise the organisation and the assurance of quality that working with a member company provides to clients. Below is a snapshot of member’s comments in response to the key questions posed:

1. Why did your company join the IQCS?

   ‘We have been part of the IQCS from the very beginning. It is important that we are instrumental in ensuring industry standards help underpin the best practices of our industry’

   ‘IQCS is the longest established benchmark for quality standards in the UK and it is held in high regard by clients and competitors alike. We joined as we wanted recognition for the quality of our fieldwork and wanted to be able to demonstrate to clients that we had achieved a certain benchmark in terms of quality’

   ‘..to demonstrate to our interviewers and clients that we take quality seriously’

   ‘Our company has focused on building a reputation for quality and being a member has always been central to this direction’

2. What do you see as the benefits of IQCS membership?

   ‘it is a recognised industry standard, it is something sellable to clients, clients are re-assured that work is being completed to a high standard’

   ‘You get to meet other companies in the industry and it is a good opportunity to share knowledge and network’

   ‘It gives us a competitive advantage, in terms of ‘guaranteeing’ minimum standards in relation to training and quality control The way in which companies are inspected (by a centralised team of respected industry ‘veterans’) allows re-investment of learnings both into the standards themselves, and the on going inspection process’

   ‘As a member company you also get access to networking opportunities – to exchange ideas, and keep abreast of information which is of relevance to you (either industry/methodology-specific, legislative or operational)’

   ‘It helps to differentiate our companies products from the competition as well as playing a key part in ensuring a culture of quality in our organisation’

3. What would you say to potential members are the advantages of joining the IQCS…?

   ‘there is always something to be learned from the inspection procedure and the inspector’

   ‘The inspections are extremely constructive and often helping hone your processes and improve efficiency, and accreditation is a badge of quality recognised far beyond the UK’

   ‘The working forums and other meetings throughout the year are an opportunity to network, are informative, bringing you up to date with changes to guidelines etc.’

   ‘The IQCS supports the interests of data-collection agencies across the MR industry. It gives members the chance to input into and influence standards, and provides practical advice and networking opportunities for members’