Posted on by Allister Budlao
A Commitment to Quality Assurance
Quality is the cornerstone of any successful organization and in the field of agriculture and fisheries, it plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety of products and the competitiveness of the industry. The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (DA-BAFS), throughout the years, consistently strived to produce quality products and provide customer-focused services.
A testament to this commitment to maintaining processes that yield quality deliverables is the continued satisfaction of the DA-BAFS to the ISO 9001:2015-Quality Management System (QMS) requirements validated through the 2nd Surveillance Audit held last December 2, 2024.
Led by auditors Ms. Mary Danica Pelone and Ms. Zipporah Bernardo from TUV SUD PSB Inc., the surveillance audit aimed to review and verify the Bureau’s compliance with the ISO 9001:2015 requirements. BAFS OIC-Director Mary Grace R. Mandigma, process owners, and the concerned staff were actively involved throughout the audit process, demonstrating their commitment to quality assurance.
During the closing meeting, the auditors presented the results of the surveillance audit, which identified a total of seven findings, all categorized as opportunities for improvement. While it is not uncommon to have findings in such audits, the most significant news is that the auditors concluded that the Bureau’s current Quality Management System (QMS) fully satisfied the ISO 9001:2015 requirements.