By Francis Wakefield
The Department of National Defense (DND) passed the Second Year Surveillance Audit with Transition conducted by SGS Philippines, Inc. on May 31 and June 1, 2018, for the certification of its Quality Management System (QMS) under ISO 9001:2015 standard.
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Raising no major non-conformity in the core processes of Defense System of Management (DSOM) and the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Procurement System which cover the scope of the QMS, the SGS auditors, likewise, found no major non-conformity in the support process.
The external auditors who conducted an on-site audit on all DND offices were Joel Portugal, Ellen Cruz, Wilfredo Samson and Jhoana Soriano.
“Bear in mind that we are all here to serve and be of service to our country and our people. And in pursuing excellence in the performance of our duties and mandates, we are also pursuing better service,” DND Undersecretary Cesar Yano said during the closing meeting of the two-day audit.
On behalf of Secretary Delfin N Lorenzana, Usec. Yano congratulated and thanked senior officers, men, and women of the DND, expressing satisfaction with the audit result.
"I am happy that the One Defense Team still managed to meet the challenges despite the limited time to transition and comply with the standard requirements,” he added.
He likewise thanked the SGS auditors, acknowledging their guidance for the continual improvement of the DND to attain its vision of being a credible defense organization that ensures Philippine security, sovereignty and territorial integrity; and a reliable partner in national development.
The Defense Department first attained ISO 9001:2008 Certification for its QMS in 2016 which is still valid until 2018. However, due to the revision of the ISO 9001 Standard in 2015 which will render obsolete the 2008 version starting September 2018, the Department was required to undergo the transition audit this year.
Consequently, DND Proper personnel underwent a series of ISO 9001:2015 Trainings to capacitate its personnel on the requirements of the new standard from January to March and had its transition activities only from April to May 2018.