Building quality into the way we work, one step at a time
At HTS Medical Laboratory, quality has always meant more than producing laboratory results. It means building a system in which our people, processes and services consistently work together to provide patients with reliable diagnostics and a professional experience they can trust.
On 10 June 2026, we formally began another important chapter in that commitment: our journey towards ISO 9001:2015 certification.
What began with understanding the requirements of a Quality Management System has progressively developed into training, documentation, process improvement, internal evaluation and independent assessment.
Today, with our Stage 1 certification audit successfully completed and our Stage 2 audit planned for late August 2026, we are proud of how far the HTS team has come.
Why ISO 9001?
For HTS, pursuing ISO 9001:2015 is not simply about obtaining a certificate to display on the wall.
It is about strengthening how we work.
The standard provides a framework for ensuring that our processes are properly defined, responsibilities are understood, risks and opportunities are addressed, customer needs are considered, performance is monitored and improvement becomes part of everyday work.
For a medical laboratory, these principles complement our wider commitment to reliable testing, patient safety, professional competence and continual improvement.
Building Knowledge Before Building the System
One of the most important decisions in the HTS journey was to ensure that our people understood quality rather than simply receiving documents and procedures to follow.
Since commencing the project, members of the team have participated in several capacity-building programmes covering:
- Foundations of ISO 9001:2015
- ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System implementation
- ISO 9001 Lead Implementer/Auditor training
- Implementation of ISO 15189 requirements for medical laboratories
- ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System implementation
The training programmes were delivered through the Quality Improvement Institute of Nigeria (QIIN), while Cademy Ltd. has provided guidance and implementation support throughout the certification journey.
This combination of learning and practical implementation has helped the team understand not only what the requirements say, but how they translate into the everyday activities of HTS Medical Laboratory.
Turning Quality Into a Working System
Training was only the beginning.
The laboratory proceeded to establish and strengthen the different elements of its Quality Management System.
An important early milestone was the establishment of the HTS Quality Policy, reflecting our commitment to reliable, timely and quality diagnostic services in a caring, safe, serene and comfortable environment.
From there, the journey has involved defining our processes and their interactions, establishing responsibilities, identifying risks and opportunities, developing documented procedures and records, setting quality objectives, monitoring customer satisfaction and strengthening mechanisms for evaluating and improving performance.
Our core values remain central to the system:
H — Honesty
Integrity and professionalism in the way we work and communicate.
T — Tranquility
Creating a serene, respectful and comfortable experience for our patients and personnel.
S — Safety
Protecting our patients, personnel, specimens and working environment.
Rather than existing separately from our Quality Management System, these values help define the culture we want the system to sustain.
Beyond ISO 9001
Although ISO 9001:2015 is our immediate certification objective, the HTS quality journey has deliberately looked beyond a single standard.
As a medical laboratory, we have also invested in understanding and implementing relevant principles of ISO 15189, which focuses specifically on quality and competence in medical laboratories.
Our training in ISO 45001 has further strengthened awareness of occupational health and safety and the importance of protecting the people who work within our laboratory environment.
Together, these initiatives are helping HTS develop a broader culture in which quality, competence and safety reinforce one another.
A Team Driving the Journey
Perhaps the most encouraging part of the journey has been the enthusiasm and motivation of the HTS team.
Quality management cannot be successfully implemented by one individual or one department. It requires leadership commitment and the participation of the people who perform and support the organisation’s processes every day.
The HTS journey is being driven by a committed team including:
Jovita Oyiofu Ukanah — MD/CEO
Providing leadership and management commitment to the development and implementation of the Quality Management System.
Joel Kosisochukwu Edeh — Head of Quality
Coordinating the quality journey and supporting the implementation, monitoring and continual improvement of the QMS.
Orji Mary
Contributing to the implementation of quality requirements within the laboratory’s operations.
Okeiyi Patrick Okechukwu
Supporting the team in embedding the requirements of the management system into everyday practice.
What has been particularly important is not simply that responsibilities have been assigned, but that the team remains motivated to learn, participate and improve.
Stage 1 Completed. The Journey Continues.
The successful completion of the Stage 1 certification audit represents an important milestone for HTS.
But it is not the destination.
Stage 1 provides an opportunity to evaluate the organisation’s preparedness and determine whether the management system is sufficiently established to proceed to the next stage of certification assessment.
Our attention is therefore now firmly on the next milestone:
Stage 2 Certification Audit — Late August 2026
The focus is no longer simply on whether HTS has documented a Quality Management System.
The real question is:
Can we demonstrate that the system is understood, implemented and working effectively in our everyday operations?
That is the challenge we are embracing.
More Than Certification
As we approach Stage 2, we are reminded that certification is an important milestone—but the greater achievement will be creating a system that continues to deliver value long after the audit is completed.
We want quality to become visible in the way a patient is received.
In the way a specimen is identified and handled.
In the way laboratory examinations are performed and results are reviewed.
In the way equipment and resources are managed.
In the way we listen to customer feedback.
In the way we identify problems, learn from them and improve.
And ultimately, in the confidence our patients and healthcare partners place in HTS Medical Laboratory.
Our ISO 9001 journey may have formally started on 10 June 2026, but our commitment to improvement has no finishing date.
The journey continues.
HTS Medical Laboratory
Honesty • Tranquility • Safety