METROSPEC: CERTIFICATION OPENS DOORS TO EXPANSION
Metrospec Inc., a company dedicated to providing commercialbuilding maintenance and janitorial services in the Montreal and Ottawa area, is getting ready to take a new leap.
The company is nearing the end of a two-year process to earn its ISO 9002 certification, otherwise known by the International Organization for Standardization as a “model for quality assurance in production, installation and servicing.” The certification will allow Metrospec to move into the Canadian and American markets, bringing with it a commitment to highquality work.
John Mitropoulos, President of Metrospec, said his and the company’s business philosophy has always been to work in partnership with customers to ensure unrivalled service. Listening to his clients, he added, has allowed the company to steadily improve customer experience since its founding in 1995.
The company’s management team has more than 20 years of industrial and commercial maintenance experience in Quebec and Ontario. Throughout the years, the company has developed three main departments:
• General division is responsible for janitorial and related work.
• Specialized division takes care of sandblasting and waxing floors, window washing, carpet cleaning, as well as cleaning up after water leaks, construction and fires, and other construction-related services.
• Renovation division has led total restoration projects in nine commercial and industrial buildings, providing high-quality work on deadline.
Taha Kabbaj, Metrospec’s Vice-President of operations and administration, said the company’s success — and obtaining its new certification — is a reflection of its insistence on going above and beyond for customers. It’s a value-added proposition that, Kabbaj explained, “mobilizes the company’s stakeholders to aim for and achieve efficiency and performance goals.”
“A management-quality system allows us to consolidate our gains, while at the same time letting us develop expertise in specialty areas,” he said. “We have an opportunity to position ourselves as leaders in areas where we’ve already got a significant competitive advantage.”
Sandy Suissa, Controller at Metrospec, said the company’s 250 personnel have already been trained on the post-certification action plan.
“All of our staff have to adhere to the standardized process to ensure our services are competitive on the market,” she explained.
The operational and organizational dimensions of the company have become more important throughout the certification process, Kabbaj added. Having standards of quality will allow Metrospec to improve the internal running of the company while, at the same time, responding to the new demands of international growth and development.
“Metrospec is putting the emphasis on an integrated process based on clients’ needs. The goal is to have a continually improving internal process,” Mitropoulos said.
To help accomplish this goal, the company invested $1 million into training staff and putting into place a new audit system.
Once it obtains its certification later this fall, Metrospec will be able to make its new systems available for a test drive, setting its sights on conquering new markets.