The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is gradually inching towards getting the International Standard Organization, ISO 9001:2015 Certification as it concludes training for Port Managers and officers of its harbours department.
Speaking at the end of the training, Ibby Iyama, Country Director of Renner and Renner, the consultant contracted by the NPA to prepare the agency for the certification project, said the training combined both implementation and training of staff on the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standards and incorporated key clauses like context of the organisation, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement.
Besides, the training which covered context of the agency’s internal and external issues, like stakeholders’ perception of the agency’s operations, risks and opportunities for NPA harbours.
“In addition, exercise on workplace hazard identification and control for the department, ISO internal audits and management reviews were covered.
“The buy-in and cooperation of management and staff was crucial to successful implementation of the standards and we are humbled by the incredible commitment of the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman and her management staff.
“The QMS Implementer and sensitization finalized policy, processes and procedures, as well as roles, responsibilities, KPIs for the entire harbours department of NPA,” Iyama said.
Recently, the Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman, said that the idea to improve its efficiency and reduce the cost of cargo clearance was what informed the agency’s decision to obtain the ISO Certification.
Usman said NPA decided to improve its harbour operations since that is its core department.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.