Minister Says 30 To 40 Public-Sector Entities Should Be ISO 9001 Certified By End Of 2021/22

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Government is working to have between 30 and 40 public-sector entities certified to the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) standard by the end of the new financial year.

“[We] are now undergoing an aggressive approval of a number of public-sector [entities] that have already received their ISO 9001 certification, which is a global standard of excellence,” Minister Shaw informed, at the virtual inaugural meeting of the National Quality Policy Council, on Thursday (February 25).

Having ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification demonstrates the entities’ commitment to significantly improving their quality of service.

Mr. Shaw noted that about eight entities have been approved, so far, and “we have another 10 or so lined up”.

In the meantime, the Minister commended the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) for its work relating to the approval for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines for Jamaica.

“JANAAC has come in to help with that process, because it is all about the pursuit of excellence,” he said.

The ISO 9001 Implementation Programme is a strategic Government intervention to assist in the transformation and organisation of Jamaica’s public sector and is being administered under the World Bank-funded Strategic Public Sector Transformation Project.

Implementation of the ISO 9001 QMS is intended to improve the quality of public services delivered by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), improve the business environment and attractiveness of Jamaica for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and improve the global competitiveness of the country.

The ISO 9001 Quality Management System is the world’s most popular international standard, and focuses on the quality of goods and services produced by an organisation.

Certification to this standard will allow companies to significantly improve their processes, procedures and overall profits.

The certification procedure is undertaken by the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ), which offers this service in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.