The University of Northern Philippines (UNP) Quality Management Office (QMO), in collaboration with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), conducted a four-day training on Capacity-Building on ISO 19011:2018 Guidelines for Auditing Management System at the Tadena Hall from August 13 to August 16, 2024.

The training was attended by 30 UNP personnel from various units and colleges within the University. The event aimed to prepare participants in understanding and developing an effective approach to auditing ISO 9001 as a tool for identifying and implementing improvements.

The DAP Project Team, represented by Ms. Jelriz Joi Lanip (project lead/facilitator) and Mr. Mark Allan Lepatan (course facilitator) led the training course on ISO 9001:2018 Guidelines for Auditing Management Systems (QMS) requirements and addressing audit findings.

Dr. Rolando Navarro, Vice President for Academic Affairs, emphasized that the training could empower participants with comprehensive learning and effective approaches in auditing. He also highlighted the need for utmost commitment from the participants in performing quality audits.

Mr. Bobby Jones Domdom, Assessor from the Philippine Quality Award (PQA), served as the learning service provider for the four-day training. On the first day, he started with an introduction to audit and the Philippine National Standards (PNS). The next day, he discussed the roles and responsibilities of an auditor and the audit process itself. On the third day, the training focused on the management of learning and the audit process, in preparation for the audit simulation.

The fourth day was dedicated to the audit simulation, where participants had the opportunity to experience a mock audit with selected process owners as auditors and observers. The offices involved in the simulation were the Human Resource Management Office, Registrar’s Office, General Services Office, Internal Quality Audit (IQA), College of Engineering (COE), and College of Communication and Information Technology (CCIT).

The event concluded with course integration and a speaker evaluation, followed by closing remarks from Dr. Eva Marie Avila, Director of the Quality Management Office.

In her speech, she stressed the ongoing nature of quality improvement, stating, “Remember, quality is not just a goal, but a continuous journey. Let us all work together to uphold the highest standards of excellence at the University of Northern Philippines.”

Article by Rocelle Villanueva. Photo by Joel Tipon.