ISO 9000 quality assurance certification in the mining sector of Greece

All over the world, businesses have started moving towards Quality Assurance and the adoption of ISO 9000 Standards. In this study, we examined the status of the Quality Assurance Certification of companies which operate in the mining sector in Greece. It is certain that the companies have started working towards Quality Management and Quality Assurance Certification. The movement towards Quality Assurance is customer driven. The specific motives for implementing Quality Assurance Certification were customer satisfaction, to gain a competitive advantage and improve business efficiency. They anticipate a better business image, to increase customer satisfaction and strengthen their market share. The level of criticism for some aspects of the ISO 9000 certification, which has been recorded in other parts of the world, was not found in Greece. Following the introduction of ISO 9000, some mining companies also included in their strategy the introduction of ISO 14000 which relates to Environmental Management Systems.