The Department of the Interior and Local Government IV-A has taken on the challenge towards establishing a Quality Management System (QMS) at par with global standards.
Aimed in institutionalizing the Department’s systems and processes structures, mechanism, and standards of its day-to-day operations, DILG is now on the move as it endeavors to acquire an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 certification.
The DILG IV-A jump-started its QMS journey by conducting an initial capacity development training held on May 8-12, 2017 at the Development Academy of the Philippines, Tagaytay City, Cavite.
The five-day training workshop facilitated by Cynthia R. Ramirez Consulting Service has enabled the management and key personnel from the regional and provincial offices to deepen their understanding and appreciate the prerequisites of the QMS.
Quality Management Representative and Assistant Regional Director Ariel O. Iglesia, CESO V challenged the DILG IV-A personnel to break the traditional ways and embrace the changes they will encounter in the implementation of the said system.
“Many of us may not be comfortable but of course these changes will bring progress and development,” he said.
He added that the implementation of the QMS will lead the regional office towards the improved delivery of its services.
Among the topics discussed during the training workshop were the roles and responsibilities of the key personnel; timeline and phases of implementation; required processes for enrollment; and QMS documentation.
QUALITY POLICY
Also part of the initial capacity development was the formulation of the regional quality policy which serves as the overall strategic directive in the implementation and realization of the QMS. The Quality Policy states that DILG IV-A is committed to capacitate and nurture local governments to sustain peaceful, progressive, resilient and happy communities.
They will also take the lead in ensuring good local governance through performance oversight, capacity development, and an institutionalized incentives and rewards system. Following the initial capacity development, the DILG IV-A Quality Management Review Team also spearheaded and lined up sets of activities to refine the implementation of the QMS scheduled September this year.
ISO 9001:2015, the International Organization for Standardization’s latest version of quality management standard, is a process-oriented approach which enables an organization to plan its processes and their interactions using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and risk-based thinking.
The DILG IV-A gears to establish QMS in compliance to EO 605 directing all government offices to implement QMS that will institutionalize structures, mechanism, and standards to ensure quality in systems and processes of government operations.
ARD Iglesia said he is determined that the implementation of the QMS will help the Department demonstrate consistently improved services to its clients while fostering organizational excellence and productivity at the same time. —R4A
