The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is the first convention centre in Africa to achieve the gold AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres) Quality Standards Certification. AIPC is the industry association for professional convention and exhibition centre managers worldwide and is committed to encouraging and recognising excellence in convention centre management. The centre achieved its certification at the 2013 AIPC Annual Conference and 55th General Assembly, which the centre is currently hosting.
According to Chief Executive Officer, Rashid Toefy the CTICC achieved this Quality Standards Certification after the successful completion of an extensive international audit of the centre’s operations and processes. The centre joins the ranks of 22 other AIPC international centres, who have achieved this accolade. “The CTICC celebrates its 10th successful year of operations and gaining this certification bears further testament to the world class facilities and services of the centre”, he adds.
The program standards identified and audited address ten key areas, which include Customer Service, Quality of Facilities and Operations, Employee Relations, Health, Safety, Security and Emergency Response, Financial Integrity, Community Relations, Environmental Responsibility, Industry Relations and Supplier Relations. ”Completing the audit process report not only allowed the centre to document its procedures, but also enabled the CTICC to identify any shortcomings and take corrective actions to address these”, says Toefy. “As a convention centre committed to continually raising the benchmark in terms of international standards of best practice, the CTICC is excited to be granted this accreditation and recognised for its endeavours”, adds Toefy.
“The AIPC Quality Standards program was developed as an industry-specific certification for confirming and documenting a centre’s accomplishments in key areas of convention centre performance, and is the only such specifically purposed form of certification in the industry”, said newly elected AIPC President, Geoff Donaghy. “The CTICC is to be congratulated on having achieved the gold level in their audit as this demonstrates to owners, colleagues and clients that they are addressing international standards of performance in their management procedures”.
“In times when competition amongst various centres and destinations is more intense than ever, the AIPC Quality Standards program is a valuable way for managers to ensure they are delivering quality – a form of documentation that serves many purposes, including the reassurance of clients” said Donaghy. “As we are increasingly confronted with other standards developed by groups outside our industry and that do not necessarily reflect the realities or priorities we face as managers, it is important to have a program that entirely reflects our own needs”.
The CTICC also boasts a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) accredited kitchen and has had its work processes certified to the internationally recognised systems standards ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety).
