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Over the last decade most companies, numerous public bodies and other institutions, have adopted different quality and control management systems (QMS) of their products and processes. The Microbial Service Collections, which supply live matter essential to the progress of basic science and its numerous applications, cannot be left out of this general trend of implanting QMS.
In 2004, the CECT was one of the first services of the University of Valencia that adopted the ISO 9001 certification in order to demonstrate that it works according to an internationally recognized QMS. At present it is certified for: "Deposit, preparation, sale and distribution of microorganisms: bacteria, archaea, yeasts and filamentous fungi". The double objective is to guarantee that our products and services satisfy the quality requirements of users and fulfill the applicable normative.
ISO 9001 is applicable when an institution:
- Wishes to show its ability to supply products/services coherently that satisfy customer requirements and the applicable rules, and
- Aspires to increase customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including the processes for continued improvement of the same, and to ensure conformity with customer requirements and the applicable rules.
The CECT makes a claim/complaint form available to its users, that can be filled in on-line by selecting the following link, as well as a satisfaction questionnaire, that is sent randomly to some of our users.
Besides ISO 9001, the CECT is implementing the ‘OECD Best Practice Guidelines for BRCs‘ (Biological Resource Centres) that includes a specific section for microorganisms and can be downloaded here. According to them, for public deposits the CECT carries out the necessary tests to check for purity and authenticity of the deposited material.
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