Case Study: DMTC leading Australian businesses in collaboration

In 2019 DMTC Limited became the first Australian organisation to be certified in the exciting ISO 44001 Collaborative Business Relationships standard. Now, this certification, and their existing ISO 9001 Quality certification, puts them at the leading edge of Australian businesses.

Collaborative Business Relationships

The ISO 44001 standard evolved from British roots to become the well-regarded international standard it is today. The standard is new to the Australian market and benchmarks the development of effective competitive business relationships based on a collaborative approach.

DMTC’s Approach

DMTC was established in 2008 and has operated in the defence industry to enhance Australian Defence and national security capabilities. DMTC works alongside its partners by designing and executing collaborative technology development and innovation activities.

A year after adopting the 44001 framework we spoke with Mark Hodge (CEO) and Elisa Woodlock (Information, Quality & Program Support Officer) about their certification journey.

DMTC embarked on ISO 44001 certification as a validation of their existing business model which is centred around best practice collaboration.  DMTC operate in quite a complex environment - the defence and national security sector, which by its very nature is demanding and exacting, expects organisations to operate to high standards and against best practice.

A “no-brainer”, DMTC saw certification in ISO 44001 as an opportunity to enhance their business and gain recognition for the collaborative approach they already took to partnerships.  

“This was very clearly what we saw as our business enabler but also as a competitive advantage and a really visible, obvious and globally benchmarked endorsement of the way we do business and add value to our various partners.” 

Certification with Certex was a very seamless and easy exercise to go through. Preparation for certification was a process of organisational and system improvement, rather than just adding more processes on top of existing processes in order to comply with the standard. In addition, “what [DMTC] were really pleased about was the flexible way in which Certex, without lowering the bar one iota, focussed on compliance with the standard in a contextual way instead of simply saying, “I don’t see a report with this specific title.”

“To simply say you have best practice is one thing- but implementing the ISO framework with Certex's guidance was a validation of the areas where the business did things well, and those that could be improved, and how to manage this going forward.”

DMTC liaises with organisations that represent a range of disciplines and cultures (research, industrial, higher education) and within those categories there is still more variation (from micro and small businesses to large multinationals). ISO 44001 certification has given them something to bring to the table that others don’t have.

In addition, COVID-19 is changing how businesses operate and DMTC’s transition to a virtual model was seamless. The collaborative approach was translated easily into the new way of work and is more important than ever. “The Australian focus is global, and it will only become more so in a post-coronavirus world. For businesses to capitalise on the opportunity, there’s imperative to do business in a way that is inherently value adding and consistent with these standards and frameworks. Not to mention the way of thinking that the standard enshrines. “

“We’ve seen how it gives us a framework for how to consider bringing in new opportunities and processes whilst making sure it adds value. Especially as the business changes and we bring on more activities with a broader customer base (encompassing a range of government departments) and onboard new people who haven’t been part of the process and may not be familiar with our way of doing things.”

“We quite like that we’re the only ones to have this accreditation, but in encouraging others to follow us, we know it won’t be the case forever”

DMTC believes that the defence industry will increasingly adopt both ISO 44001 and 9001 due to the benefit and recognition they provide.