By Janet Silvera, Gleaner Writer
Heath
WESTERN BUREAU:
MONTEGO BAY businessman Joseph Heath departed Jamaica last Tuesday afternoon for Geneva, Switzerland where he collected the Century International Quality Era Award.
Mr. Heath is the managing director of Joseph Heath Real Estate Brokers and Construction Company. His business, which employs a total of eight persons, was chosen out of a survey done of 9,500 companies worldwide.
"This will serve to enhance my business," he told The Gleaner. The award presentation took place during the 6th International Quality Convention on April 4 and 5. Divided into three categories, gold, platinum and diamond, Joseph Heath received a gold award.
CRITERIA
"The letter that BID sent me, sat on desk for two weeks, before I paid it much attention," he said. Business Initiative Directions (BID) is a private organisation that sponsors the Century Quality Award. An independent board governs the award presentation through a group of international professionals and companies. The criteria used by the selection committee included customer satisfaction, communication strategies, benchmarking, information and data analysis and leadership.
In the late 1970s, Joseph Heath established one of Montego Bay's first real estate companies, and he now serves clients from all over the world. He built the former St. James Parish Council offices at Payne Street and constructed a number of roads in the districts of Green Pond and Salt Spring in St. James.
"When I got involved in real estate, you never even needed a license," he told The Gleaner. After 33 years in the business, he said he is now very selective about the type of clients he works for. The BID International Quality Award recipients in 166 countries demonstrate the highest level of quality excellence. Former awardees include Laboratorio Nacional de la Construccion, the top company in Mexico for the verification and quality control in the construction industry; the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, a Russian state organisation in charge of certifying and establishing quality and safety standards in Russia along with Korea Electric Power Corporation, one of the leading electricity producers in the world.
