Applying ISO to administrative agencies: Many localities and units are still formal.

(Baonghean) - The implementation of the quality management system according to the national standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 has actively supported administrative reform in the province. However, in reality, the application of this system in agencies and administrative units in the province in the past has had many shortcomings and limitations.

The administrative reform inspection team and officers of the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality assess the application of the quality management system of administrative units. Photo: Thanh Le

Positive effects

Immediately after announcing the quality management system (QMS) in accordance with the requirements of TCVN ISO 9001:2008, the town organized the completion of the Steering Committee, organized the review and announcement of the Ministry of Public Administration, updated changes in legal documents related to work processing activities into the QMS and built quality goals for 2015 and 2016; updated the list of internal documents and the list of external documents.

Accordingly, the implementation in specialized departments must comply with the operating procedures of the Quality Management System, and monitor and evaluate the results of handling administrative procedures.

“The town pays attention to and regularly directs the application and maintenance of the unit’s quality management system. That has brought positive results in management work. The town’s leaders can control the administrative procedure settlement process of departments and offices, contributing to the settlement of administrative procedures for organizations and individuals quickly and conveniently,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Cua Lo town.

At the Department of Transport, develop, apply, maintain and expand the quality management system according to ISO standards in the operations of agencies and units; regularly update the list of internal documents and the list of external documents in the quality management system; direct specialized departments to comply with operational procedures.

The application of the quality management system and process according to ISO 9001:2008 standards has created favorable conditions for the effective implementation of the reception and settlement of administrative procedures, especially in the fields of transport business registration, issuance and renewal of driving licenses... Currently, many organizations and individuals in need have researched and learned about administrative procedures via the Internet, facilitating the preparation of documents requesting settlement of administrative procedures.

In the province, the quality management system according to the national standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 has been deployed since 2007. After nearly 10 years of implementation, up to now, 58/59 agencies and units have participated in building, maintaining, applying and improving the system in actual work.

Comrade Tu Thi Nhu Quynh - Head of TBT Department - Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality (Department of Science and Technology) said: The implementation of the system has helped administrative units actively support units in administrative reform, especially for agencies and units that handle many administrative procedures for organizations and individuals; limiting the occurrence of negative issues, and the work is resolved publicly and transparently in accordance with the prescribed order and administrative procedures.

Many units are not interested

However, in reality, the application of the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 in administrative agencies has encountered many difficulties in the past time. The implementation is still formal, not really extensive and not fully exploited.

According to the assessment of the provincial inspection team on the quality management system according to the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 in 2016, the common problem in the units is that the document system has not been regularly updated into the quality management system, the storage of related records is still limited; the internal assessment plan has not been developed and reviewed by the unit's leaders.

The Department of Transport has implemented a "one-stop" mechanism, applied IT and a quality management system according to national standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008. Photo: Thanh Le

The reason is that awareness among officials and civil servants about the application of the ISO system is still uneven. The system of legal documents is not synchronized and constantly changing, causing the guiding procedures and forms to also change, causing many difficulties in the implementation process.

For example, in the mountainous district of Ky Son, although the District People's Committee issued Decision No. 154 dated May 13, 2015 on the announcement of the QMS in accordance with the requirements of the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008. However, through the inspection of the Provincial Inspection Team on the construction, application and maintenance of the QMS according to the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 dated September 14, 2016, the application of this system has not been closely directed by the unit.

Updating changes in legal documents related to work processing activities into the QMS has not been implemented yet. The agency's compliance and implementation of all requirements of the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 has not been met. Internal review and assessment activities have not been implemented yet.

Not only in the mountainous area of ​​Ky Son but also in the districts in the plains such as Do Luong, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen... as well as many departments and branches, the application of the national standard system TCVN ISO 9001:2008 has not received due attention. For example, in Hung Nguyen district, although the district People's Committee has issued quality targets for 2015 and 2016, the departments and branches have not yet issued quality targets.

The District People's Committee has issued an internal assessment plan and an internal quality assessment program, but they have not yet been implemented. Some records have not been fully archived, the process has not been reviewed in a timely manner in accordance with new QPPL documents, and the internal and external document lists have not been updated in a timely manner.

The agency's compliance and implementation of all requirements of the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 (document control process, record control, internal assessment, management review) from 2015 to present has not been implemented...

It can be affirmed that the quality management system according to the national standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 applied in the State administrative agencies in the province has brought satisfaction to the people, created a comfortable working environment and mentality for cadres and civil servants.

Therefore, in the coming time, to improve the effectiveness of maintaining and applying this system in administrative units in the province, the Provincial Steering Committee for applying the quality management system needs to continue to strengthen propaganda and training to improve understanding of the quality management system for units.

According to comrade Phan Ngoc Quang - Head of the Provincial Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality, in order to effectively apply, the Provincial People's Committee needs to identify and classify administrative procedures performed at agencies and units and regularly update new documents.

At the same time, enhance the role and responsibility of the head to clearly understand the role of applying and maintaining the QMS to direct the implementation in the unit. The application of the National Standard TCVN ISO 9001: 2008 needs to be maintained and improved regularly, thereby contributing effectively to the modernization of the province's administration.

Thanh Le