The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) concluded its three-week long conduct of ISO 9001:2015 internal quality audit (IQA), which officially opened on June 28, 2021 and ended on July 16, 2021.
The IQA was held in preparation for the upcoming ISO 9001:2015 re-certification audit to be conducted by SOCOTEC Certification International Philippines, Inc. formerly AJA Registrars, Inc. on August 19, 2021.
The IQA confirmed that PCAARRD implements its Quality Management System (QMS) in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standards and the QMS requirements established by PCAARRD and other relevant regulatory and statutory requirements of the Philippines.
Due to PCAARRD’s current skeleton workforce set-up, the PCAARRD IQA Team, led by Ms. Rowena A. Parducho, proposed use of mixed modes of auditing, which combines onsite and online auditing, as applicable to both auditors and auditees. During the opening meeting, she informed the body that the definitions of Minor and Major nonconformity (NC) were revised to reduce the number of lapses that need to be observed and recorded during IQA thereby improving the quality of the management system. Specifically, the following were incorporated in the revised IQA documented process:
1. To be considered a minor NC, the number of lapses was reduced from ten to five; and
2. To be considered a major NC, the number of minor NCs was reduced from five to three.
In addition, audit trailing activity was also improved to consider and determine appropriateness and relationships of the different QMS processes in satisfying the needs of PCAARRD customers. Unlike the IQAs conducted during the recent years, the team decided to conduct full audit trails on two processes: 1) Management of Research and Development (R&D) and R&D Results Utilization (RDRU) Programs/ Projects, one of the Council’s core processes; and 2) Control of Documented Information, a required process for continual improvement. Following the approved 2021 IQA Program & Plan, a total of 63 areas of the PCAARRD Business Process were audited.
PCAARRD Deputy Executive Director for Administration, Resource Management and Support Services Melvin B. Carlos said that PCAARRD’s mandate is to improve the auditing process as the Council has been conducting quality audits for several years already.
At the closing meeting, no non-conformity was raised against the PCAARRD QMS. While there were observations and suggestions for improvement, QMS Process Owners were commended on their efforts in maintaining the system’s quality in delivering the Council’s products and services amidst risks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PCAARRD’s Executive Director Reynaldo V. Ebora thanked all staff members involved in the audit and expressed his confidence that the Council is ready for the upcoming Recertification Audit of its QMS aligned to ISO 9001:2015. This was confirmed and reiterated by the Quality Management Representative, Dr. Lilian G. Bondoc.