Tacloban City – Focused to consistently meet the quality standards and continual enhancement of its services through its established Quality Management System (QMS), the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) has been recommended for continued certification for the quality management system under ISO 9001:2015, following the 1st surveillance audit of the SOCOTEC Certification International Philippines, virtually held on 24 March 2022.
The auditors from SOCOTEC led by Ms. Merian J. Domingo with Technical experts Capt. Victor del Prado and Dr. Mark Vera conducted a stringent surveillance audit to determine and assess NMP’s continued compliance to the management system based on the requirements specified under the ISO 9001:2015 Standards.
NMP’s quality procedures, manuals and other systems documentation, for both its main office at Brgy. Cabalawan, Tacloban City and its liaison office located at LGLC Building, San Jose cor. General Luna Streets, Intramuros, Manila, were reviewed based on the 3Ps (paper, practice and people) approach, wherein the agency’s compliance with the management system was examined through objective evidence in the form of records, interview of process owners and internal auditors and actual checking of the procedures and processes related to the services offered by the agency.
In the audit’s exit conference, Ms. Domingo presented the positive findings which were gathered from the activity. These include the organization’s consistent implementation of the management system, and the division’s involvement in the implementation were commended. She also lauded the top management’s commitment for continual improvement and all the initiatives for the agency. While credits were given to process owners and auditees for being well-versed and knowledgeable of their respective responsibilities and accountabilities.
Though there were challenges in the virtual scheme of the audit, the audited divisions and concerned personnel exerted best efforts to provide and present the necessary documents as requested by the auditors, enabling them to have a more objective evaluation on the processes.
With NMP’s very consistent implementation of the management system, there were no Non-conformities (NC) raised, thus, the agency has been recommended for continues certification. Along with this, NMP was encouraged to consider the recommendations in relation to some opportunities for improvement which may enhance the agency’s management system, and internally address some observations as cited.
In can be noted that NMP has been aggressively pursuing the establishment of its QMS in compliance with the requirements of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Convention (STCW) 1978. In April 2000, NMP obtained its first ISO Registration Certificate, and underwent continuous certification and surveillance audits, passed and was eventually re-certified in the succeeding years under ISO 9001: 1994, ISO 9001: 2000, ISO 9001: 2008, and the latest in 2018 under ISO 9001:2015.
Remarkably, NMP gained a special recognition from the Office of the President in 2009 for being among the forty (40) government offices across the country to be ISO-Certified. The Agency likewise earned a commendation from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in 2015 for continuously improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its Quality System
Meanwhile, NMP continues to pursue its mandate of providing quality service through upgrading and specialized training programs (conducted online, face-to-face and blended) to maritime and allied personnel, and its pool of competent instructors, and by sustaining an advanced and upgraded training facilities and equipment. For more information and updates about NMP trainings, visit the NMP website at www.nmp.gov.ph/ or https://register.nmp.gov.ph/ to register online, while the ongoing and completed researches can be accessed through our e-Research Portal at https://research.nmp.gov.ph/.