AUEB's Management Science Laboratory (MSL) has been awarded the ISO 9001:2000 quality accreditation from TUV Hellas S.A.

The increasing importance of quality and the continuous commitment to stand as a center of excellence has led Management Science Laboratory (MSL) to implement a Quality Management System and more specifically ISO 9001.

The procedure until the accreditation was splited into three phases. First, an external consultant was hired in order to introduce and train on the quality procedures to all members of MSL. In the second phase, more specialized meetings were scheduled with members from each MSL center (Oper, FRC, Innknow) aiming at identifying the relevant processes that should be established in the quality manual. From these meetings flowcharts were developed mapping the basic procedures included in the quality manual. These procedures are:

• Design of research and development projects,
• Implementation of research and development projects,
• Selection and tutoring of PhD Candidates Management and
• Knowledge diffusion.

In the third phase, the Quality Management Manual (QMM) was developed based on the propositions of all MSL's units so as to ensure that appropriate quality processes would be followed to meet research and development needs of the laboratory, with subsequent addition of the required ISO elements. The embedding of the QMM at MSL is vital in order to guarantee that all units are willing to implement the quality system, as well as assuring that:

• the system achieves its intended purpose,
• activities comply with documented requirements,
• timely corrective action is taken when necessary control and
• consistency of documentation and standardization of procedures exists.

The above mentioned procedure concluded on September 2007 when MSL was awarded ISO 9001 accreditation from TUV HELLAS S.A. The laboratory has established and applies a quality management system for the scope of: 'Design and realization of research, development, and outreach projects'.

The ISO 9001 certification project was supported by an AKMON core laboratory and infrastructure grant from the General Secretariat for Research and Technology.