CHENNAI

The clockwork routine of an ISO-certified home

surana-family-nikhil-raghavan The Surana family in their Chennai home | Nikhil Raghavan

Everything in its place, and a place for everything. That would be the ideal situation in a commercial establishment that adheres to ISO norms. But, in the residence of Suranas, who run an international law firm Surana & Surana, you could probably set the clock by the schedule of its members. Okay, that may be a bit far-fetched! But, a systematic approach to everything that is done in the household, a disciplined and organised manner in which every family member conducts themselves, and a strict adherence to a set timetable, has resulted in the family house of Leelavathy and Parasmal Shikhermal Surana (P.S. Surana) being awarded the ISO 9000 certification in 2004, a first of its kind in the country.

“It all started with my father who, despite several hurdles, graduated in law and started his practice in 1971, having formed P.S. Surana & Co. Much later, in 1987, when he represented a client in an Italian court, my father was impressed with the organised manner and the systems the legal community maintained for themselves as well as for their clients. During another occasion, while representing a client in an American court, he found a totally different kind of operational system maintained there. Upon his return, he wondered why law firms in our country could not be more streamlined in the way they conducted business,” says Dr Vinod Surana, partner and CEO.

By then, Parasmal’s wife, Leelavathy, had also completed her law degree and started practice alongside the husband. Vinod completed his law degree in 1996 and joined the firm. This was the time when the ISO certifications were becoming popular, primarily for manufacturing industries. “But, my father was curious to know why a service-oriented firm like his could not get certified. With the help of senior officials from BIS, we went about the processes and procedures to get ourselves in the ISO bracket. ISO is nothing but ‘say what you do and do what you say’,” says Vinod. Surana & Surana got their ISO 9000 certification in 1998-99.

Meanwhile, in 2000, Vinod got married to Rashmi from Rajasthan. Much after her two sons were born, encouraged by her husband and in-laws, Rashmi completed her degree in law in 2007 and joined the firm. “Somewhere during this time, a casual remark from one of the senior officials from BIS, that it was not out of the ordinary to get an ISO certification for their household, set Rashmi thinking. She loved challenges and took it upon herself to achieve the impossible, or let’s say, something that has never been done before,” recalls Vinod.

The parameters were clear—prepare a manual for yourself and follow it to the 'T'. So, Rashmi went about streamlining the household activities. “We shortlisted ‘vendors’ from whom we would buy our provisions and vegetables. We ensured that food items did not include preservatives and chemicals. We organised the kitchen shelves with set spaces for various utensils and provisions. All containers were labelled, all vegetables were chopped and stored, fixed menu for the different meals were planned for the whole year. Every room in the house was given a name. When we built our house, we ensured that all rooms were well-lit and ventilated so that power consumption was at a bare minimum during the day. By procuring good and healthy ingredients for our food, we also ensured that family members did not fall ill often. These are some of the parameters that we had to follow,” points out Rashmi.

“While setting our own parameters and adhering to it, it was also necessary to show improvement in whatever we did, periodically. Every six months, ISO officials visit us for an audit and that’s when these statistics are inspected for renewal. Like in any commercial establishment, we even maintain a visitor’s book, where every guest who comes in makes an entry with their comments,” says Vinod.

Credit: Nikhil Raghavan

Incidentally, all family members are designated, too. Parasmal, being the grandfather in the family, is designated household head. Leelavathy Surana is household representative. Rashmi is management representative, while Vinod and the children are permanent customers. Guests and visitors are temporary customers.

The current generation—the two sons of Rashmi and Vinod—are still in college, but growing up in an environment that is structured and disciplined has rubbed off on them. “When we plan a holiday, I find that they immediately get down to making a list of things to do, to take, to see and, while on the trip, will follow a set timetable to the last bit. I can still recall my father’s experiences in the initial days of his legal practice—he had neither the time nor resources to waste,” recalls Vinod. The third generation of Suranas have surely inherited the best qualities of the founder.

The Surana & Surana law firm was certified with ISO 14000 and SA 8000 in the same year (2004) that their household was certified ISO 9000.

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Topics : #ISO home | #Chennai

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