SQS certifies observatory according to ISO 9001:2000SQS was able to award ceremoniously the ISO 9001:2000 certificate to the European Southern Observatory Organisation (ESO) as one of the first of its kind of world’s largest observatories, the La Silla Observatory in Chile.
From left to right:
Alejandra Mena, Felix Müller, Gaetano Andreoni, Javier Duk, Raul Aguilar, Jaime Alonso
The ESO, as the European organisation for astronomical research, was founded in 1962 and is currently supported by 10 member states: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. The head office of the ESO in Garching, near Munich, forms the scientific, technical and administrative centre of the organisation, from where astronomical and technological projects are processed and coordinated. In total, the ESO employs a workforce of around 320, of which 160 work at various sites in Chile. The three most important stations are Paranal at 2,600 metres above sea level (masl) with a VLT (Very Large Telescope), La Silla with an extremely wide range of telescopes and instruments in the north of Santiago de Chile at approx. 2,400 masl, as well as Llano de Chajnantor, where the new sub-millimetre telescope is installed at 5,000 masl.
As part of the ISO 9001 standard revision process, the Board of Directors of the La Silla Observatory firstly considered the idea of a management system as well as a certification about three years ago. The advantages of a management system compliant with ISO 9001:2000 for such a multi-structural service company were quickly obvious to the Director, Jorge Melnick, and his representative, Gaetano Andreoni. In addition to the actual core processes of operating and maintaining a large number of telescopes and instruments and providing technical-scientific support, such a management system would also safeguard the entire infrastructure services of the mountain from the access road, to the accommodation and catering for the workforce, astronomical scientists and technical personnel, through to the water and electricity supply as well as the operation of the complex IT and data communication systems.
With the assistance of an external advisor, the staff on La Silla set up a management system during the past year, and then developed this to a stage where it was ready for certification. As a European organisation, the management of the observatory finally decided in favour of SQS as the certification partner. The audit was able to be carried out on the 30th /31st March and 1st April 2004 in cooperation with a co-auditor from the Uruguay certification organisation LATU SYSTEMAS. As part of this, the auditor team (Felix Müller and Miguel Gortari) was able to ascertain that the customer focus and intent for continual improvement, as specified in the newly-established management system of the La Silla Observatory, was expressed in a pronounced manner at all levels. The vision: “La Silla will be a magic place a place where dreams come true” is held and practiced in a pronounced manner by the workforce in every service area and department. This makes the stay of observing astronomers, who complete their programmes on La Silla in defined time frames of one to two weeks, an unforgettable experience.
With the establishment and certification of the management system in accordance with ISO 9001:2000, the management of the observatory has been able to create an outstanding basis for the provision of excellent and competitive services for the astronomical community, as defined in the mission statement of La Silla, as well as an organisational structure geared towards continual improvement. Perhaps this innovative step by La Silla will spur further ESO stations and observatories on, so that others will follow the ISO 9001 certification of location 29° 15’ south & 70° 44’ west.
Felix Müller, SQS lead auditor
SQS: Observatory certified according to ISO 9001:2000