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APPLICATION OF ISO 9001-2000 IN PUBLIC SERVICE: TOWARDS
BETTER PERFORMANCE?
(A CASE STUDY FROM CITY OF BANDUNG)
Mudiyati Rahmatunnisa, PhD
(Padjadjaran University, mudiyati@yahoo.com) Dr. Asep C. Cahyadi,
(Padjadjaran University, ascahyadi@yahoo.co.id)
ABSTRACT
The collapse of New Order regime in 1998 has brought significant changes in many aspects of Indonesia as a nation. One of them was in terms of the relationships between Jakarta and the regions. Without a doubt, the launching of radical decentralization policies Indonesia has ever had in 2001, brought profound ramification in the central-regional relations as well as in
the regions’ political dynamics. For the regions, among others, the laws have opened the way to manage their affairs based on their wishes, priorities and potential. In turn, this trend has resulted in various innovative and creative strategies by many local governments in Indonesia in fulfilling their authorities and responsibilities. City of Bandung is not an exception in this matter. As it is often claimed, the application of ISO 9001-2000 since 2007 in a number of local offices has been oriented toward improving public service quality. Why the government decided to apply ISO 9001-2000 in the first place? Has it genuinely applied for improving public service quality or only a short term political maneuver? How far this application of ISO 9001-2000 has been improving public service quality? What sorts of challenges have been faced? How sustainable the application would be? This paper will try to answer those questions through a case study at the Integrated Agency of Licensing Services (BPPT), City of Bandung.
Keywords: public service delivery, quality management system, ISO 9001-2000
INTRODUCTION
The collapse of New Order regime in the late 1990s has brought significant ramifications in many aspects of Indonesia as a nation. Among them was the relationship between Jakarta and the regions. In turn, this has brought further consequences with regard to, among others, the way the regions manage their local affairs. One of many interesting phenomenon in the regions has been the trend of practicing quality management systems based on the ISO 9001-20001 as a strategy to improve public service delivery. By and large, it is widely believed that by implementing the ISO 9001-2000, service providers – in this case local governments – could produce service products which are compatible with users or stakeholders’ expectations and also existing regulations.
Similar to a number of local governments and departments at national level, the local government of City of Bandung has started applying the ISO 9001-2000 since 2007 within its local offices. Why the government decided to apply ISO 9001-2000 in the first place? Has it genuinely applied for improving public service quality or only a short term political maneuver? How far this application of ISO 9001-2000 has been improving public service quality? What sorts of challenges have been faced? How sustainable the
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THE ADOPTION OF THE ISO 9001-2000: THE MOTIVES
All sorts of organizations have management procedures and instructions for creating and delivering their products (goods and services) to customers (CERCO, 2000). In order to achieve efficient organization, which characterized by:
Explicit awareness of, and concern for, the needs of customers and other stakeholders (e.g. suppliers, society, staff);
Senior and middle managers who understand and focus on business needs;
A commitment to improve products and services;
Staff development and training programmes that meet the needs of the organization
Process designed to identify and reduce waste effort or output;
Complete, current, clear and relevant documentation.
those organizations have started to implement formal quality management systems (QMS). It is widely believed that QMS will give an organization the ability to do
anything better. A QMS refers to “the managing structure, responsibilities, procedures,
processes, and management resources to implement the principles and action lines needed
to achieve the quality objectives of an organization.” (CERCO, 2000)
The use of management standards has been increasingly widespread worldwide these days. There have been several management standards introduced in the world of international standardization.2 One of them is ISO 9001. The ISO 9001 is an international standard for quality management systems as a response to demands for quality product and customer satisfaction (Sumedi, 2010). The first version of ISO was released in 1987, specifically intended for manufacturing industry. It is asserted that the essential backdrop for the issuance of ISO 9000 was the thought that for business advantage and even survival in the era of global economy, it is a must that business should focus on satisfying customer needs (Magd & Nabulsi, 2003). Historically, it was initiated with the issuance of standard BS 5750 by the British Standardization Organization in 1979 (Kodmon, 2008).
Further development shows that although ISO 9001 was originally intended for private sector, it has been argued that because it is considered as a generic standard, it is applicable for all organizations regardless the size, products or sectors (Van den Heuvel, 2005). In particular, the ISO 9001 has been applied in various economic sectors. These include industry, as well as regulatory frameworks established by governments in many areas (UNIDO, 2012). Nonetheless, it is argued that ISO 9001-2000 is also suitable for implementation by service providers, whether in private or public sectors, and the development of guidelines specifically for local government authorities will encourage the spread of quality management systems where they can make a positive contribution to the lives of the citizens served by those authorities. (Frost, 2005) The stated objective of ISO 9001 is:
“to specify requirements for a quality management system where an organization
(a) needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and
(b) aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for improvement of the system and the assurance
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requirements”.
Meanwhile, a study shows that in terms of motives and benefits of ISO 9001 implementation can be divided into two different types, namely internal and external motives and benefits (Sampaio, Saraiva, & Rodrigues, 2009). For internal motives and benefits, it is asserted that it relates to the intention of achieving organization’s improvement. While external motives and benefits are related to the issue of, among others, promotion and marketing, pressure from customers and increase market share.
In the case of Indonesia, the adoption of ISO 9000 series was begun in early 1990s. Since then, it has been applied not only by private sectors, but also public sectors such as schools, ministries, and also local governments, including the government of City of Bandung.
Beginning with the result of the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) findings about the index of integrity of public service in 20083 in which City of Bandung was among those that had low score (6.69) compared to other regions across Indonesia, the City of Bandung government began to take action to improve the quality of its public service units in 2008. Instead of initiated by the local leaders, it is claimed that the adoption of ISO 9001 originally came from middle-level of management of City of Bandung government. Considering the result of KPK Survey, it is argued that implementing ISO 9001-2000 would be a strategic way not only to improve the quality of public services, but also to obtain an international standard of managing local government units.
Further investigation also found that the result of KPK Survey was not the only factor that motivated those staff to adopt ISO 9001 in the first place. Such an action was also affected by bureaucratic reform program which was launched since 2007 by the government of City of Bandung. As a strategic part of the program, between 2008-2010 there were 35 (thirty five) local government units in City of Bandung have implemented ISO 9001. It is targeted by the stated local government that gradually in 2013, all of the local government units in City of Bandung will have implemented ISO 9001 standard. Such a plan also has been strengthened by the issuance of a Decree of Administrative Reform Minister Number 20 of 2010 about Road Map of Bureaucratic Reform which obliges Ministries, Government Institutions including Local Governments to undergo nine bureaucratic reform programs in their respective units. 4
Thus, based on the above findings, it can be argued here that the adoption of ISO 9001-2000 in City of Bandung was buttressed by a number of factors, both internal and external. Within the former is the intention of staff within the middle level of management to improve the quality of public services due to the low score of KPK Survey, while within the latter, bureaucratic reform program imposed not only by the government of City of Bandung, but also by Ministry of Administrative Reform. Needless to say, the implementation of ISO 9001-2000 was ultimately motivated by the intention to gain the potential benefits of the standard, namely the improvement of the organizations so that they can provide better services to the local citizens. According to a staff at the
The index of integrity of public service is a benchmark or standard applied by KPK to measure the degree of transparency and accountability of public service units at national as well as regional governments. The index is obtained through survey specifically to the users. The survey has been conducted since 2007. For further details, see http://www.kpk.go.id
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4 IMPLICATIONS ON PUBLIC SERVICE QUALITY: A CASE OF BPPT (INTEGRATED LICENCING SERVICE AGENCY) OF CITY OF BANDUNG
Since their initial publication in 1987, the ISO Standards which have been revised three times (in 1994, in 2000 and in 2008/2009) are claimed to have great impact on quality management systems of a variety of organizations throughout the world, including economic sectors, industry as well as regulatory frameworks established by governments in many areas (UNIDO, 2012).The ISO standards focus on the management of the processes needed for an organization to be able to demonstrate its ability to satisfy customer needs and expectations on a constant basis. In turn, successful application of ISO 9001 by an organization requires the formal auditing of its quality management system by a certification body. Nevertheless, concerns have been expressed by a number of organizations, such as the ISO, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and others, whether accredited certification to ISO 9001 has been achieving the desired outcomes, and whether excessive focus on getting certification has shifted the focus away from the effectiveness of the quality management systems of organizations involved. In this regard, a case study of BPPT of City of Bandung offers an interesting discussion.
As a local licensing agency, BPPT of City of Bandung has undergone changes in terms of structure and procedures. Such changes have been buttressed particularly by the intention to improve public service quality which considered has been neglected due to complicated, unclear, extended, inaccurate, irresponsible licensing processes. A critical turning point occurred when the government of City of Bandung decided to adopted the ISO 9001-2000 in 2008. Until 2011, there have been 35 local offices within the government of City of Bandung implementing the ISO 9001 – 2000 standards, including BPPT. Based on the fact that BPPT has successfully getting the ISO 9001 – 2000 certificate, it can be assumed that the QMS of the agency has met the ISO standards.
As it is stressed that ISO 9001 requires “a documented QMS”, in the implementation of the ISO 9001- 2000 BPPT has fulfilled minimum requirements of procedures documentation: (1) document and record control; (2) control of quality records; (3) control of non-conforming product; (4) internal audits; (5) corrective action; and (6) preventive action. Besides that, BPPT also has fulfilled minimum required records by ISO 9001 – 2000:
1) Management Review Meetings (clause 5.6.1)
2) Education, training, skills and experience (clause 6.2.2 e)
3) Evidence that the realization processes and resulting product fulfill requirement (clause 7.1 2)
4) Results of the review of requirements related to the product and actions arising from review (clause 7.2.2)
5) Design and development inputs relating to product requirements (clause 7.3.2)
6) Results of design and development reviews and any necessary actions (clause 7.3.4)
7) Results of design and development verification and any necessary actions (clause 7.3.5)
8) Results of design and development validation and any necessary actions (clause 7.3.6)
9) Results of the review of design and development changes and any necessary actions (clause 7.3.7)
10)Results of supplier evaluations and any necessary actions arising from the evaluations (clause 7.4.1)
5 12)The unique identification of the product, where traceability is a
requirement (clause 7.5.3)
13)Customer property that is lost, damaged or otherwise found to be unsuitable for use (clause 7.5.4)
14)Basis use for calibration or verification of measuring equipment where no international or national measurement standards exist (clause 7.6 a)
15)Validity of the previous measuring results when the measuring equipment is found not to conform the requirements (clause 7.6)
16)Results of calibration and verification of measuring equipment (clause 7.6) 17)Internal audit results and follow-up action (clause 8.2.2)
18)Indication of the person (s) authorizing release of product (clause 8.2.4) 19)Nature of the product nonconformities and any subsequent actions taken,
including concessions obtained (8.3) 20)Results of corrective action (clause 8.5.2 e) 21)Results of preventive action (clause 8.5.3 d)
Another important aspect is related to the use of eight quality management principles on which the quality management system standards of the ISO 9001 series are based. 5 These principles are:
1) Customer focus
It is stated that organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations. What can be done by an organization are:
Researching and understanding customer needs and expectations
Ensuring that the objectives of the organization are linked to customer needs and expectations
Communicating customer needs and expectations throughout the organization
Measuring customer satisfaction and acting on results
Systematically managing customer relationships
Ensuring a balanced approach between satisfying customers and other interested parties (such as owners, employees, suppliers, financiers, local communities and society as a whole)
2) Leadership
It is stated that leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization’s objectives. The activities include:
Considering the needs of all interested parties including customers, owners, employees, suppliers, financiers, local communities and society as a whole
Establishing a clear vision of the organization’s future
Setting challenging goals and targets
Creating and sustaining shared values, fairness and ethical role models at all levels of the organization
Establishing trust and eliminating fear
Providing people with the required resources, training and freedom to act with responsibility and accountability
Inspiring, encouraging and recognizing people’s contributions. 3) Involvement of people
5 The framework of the discussion is based on the Quality Management Principles developed by ISO. Available
6 It is stated that people at all levels are the essence of an organization and hence their full involvement allows their abilities to be used for the benefit of organization. Applying the principle of involvement will lead to:
People understanding the importance of their contribution and role in the organization
People identifying constraints to their performance
People accepting ownership of problems and their responsibility for solving them
People evaluating their performance against their personal goals and objectives
People actively seeking opportunities to enhance their competence, knowledge and experience
People freely sharing knowledge and experience People openly discussing problems and issues.
4) Process approach
Based on the ISO standards, it is stated that a desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process. This can be done by:
Systematically defining the activities necessary to obtain a desired result
Establishing clear responsibility and accountability for managing key activities
Analysing and measuring of the capability of key activities
Identifying the interfaces of key activities within and between the functions of the organization
Focusing on the factors – such as resources, methods, and materials – that will improve key activities of the organization
Evaluating risks, consequences and impacts of activities on customers, suppliers and other interested parties.
5) System approach to management
This requires organization to identify, understand and manage interrelated process as
a system in order to achieve organization’s objectives effectively and efficiently. This can be done though:
Structuring a system to achieve the organization’s objectives in the most
effective and efficient way
Understanding the interdependencies between the processes of the system
Structured approaches that harmonize and integrate processes
Providing a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities necessary for achieving common objectives and thereby reducing cross-functional barriers
Understanding organizational capabilities and establishing resource constraints prior to action
Targeting and defining how specific activities within a system should operate Continually improving the system through measurement and evaluation.
6) Fact-based decision-making
This requires organization to have effective decisions which are based on the analysis of data and information. This can be achieved through:
Ensuring that data and information are sufficiently accurate and reliable
Making data accessible to those who need it
Analysing data and information using valid methods
Making decisions and taking action based on factual analysis, balanced with experience and intuition.
7 This principle requires organization to undergo continual improvement of the
organization’s overall performance and make a process as a permanent objective of the organization. This can be done by:
Employing a consistent organization-wide approach to continual improvement
of the organization’s performance
Providing people with training in the methods and tools of continual improvement
Making continual improvement of products, processes and systems an objective for every individual in the organization
Establishing goals to guide, and measures to track, continual improvement Recognizing and acknowledging improvements.
8) Mutually-beneficial supplier relationships
It is stated that an organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create values. Hence , applying this principle will lead to:
Establishing relationships that balance short-term gains with long-term considerations
Pooling of expertise and resources with partners
Identifying and selecting key suppliers
Clear and open communication
Sharing information and future plans
Establishing joint development and improvement activities
Inspiring, encouraging and recognizing improvements and achievements by suppliers
Based on a series of interviews and observation, the BPPT has not optimally fulfilled the above practices. However, it is claimed that the BPPT management has put constant efforts to meet all the requirements of those required standards and principles. In other words, they have been gradually conducted a series of changes in various aspects of management organization. So far, the implication of such efforts shows mix pictures.
Up till now, there are thirty (30) licensing services under the jurisdiction of BPPT. One strategic standard of evaluating the performance of BPPT as a licensing agency is from the quantity of issued licenses. It is claimed that since the application of the ISO 9001 – 2000, there has been significant improvement in terms of BPPT’s QMS. In turn, this has contributed to the significant increase in the issuance of licenses by BPPT as depicted within following figure.
8 Source: Performance Evaluation Report of BPPT of City of Bandung 2012
Increase in issued licenses has been followed by similar increase in the revenue realization target. In fact, the 2011 achievement exceeded the target (107,52%).
Figure 2. Revenue Realization Target
Another important criterion to evaluate the performance of BPPT is with
regard to users’ satisfaction towards services given by BPPT. A survey of the service quality of BPPT shows a positive trend concerning the users’ satisfaction.
Figure 3. Service Quality by BPPT 2.112
29.968
36.191 36.287
5.000 10.000 15.000 20.000 25.000 30.000 35.000 40.000
2008 2009 2010 2011
LINCENSES VOLUME
0,00%
70,83%
90,89%
107,52%
0,00% 20,00% 40,00% 60,00% 80,00% 100,00% 120,00%
2008 2009 2010 2011
9 : very satisfy : satisfy : less satisfy
Source: Performance Evaluation Report of BPPT of City of Bandung 2012
It is hard not to say that the above two figures clearly indicate that there have been
positive trend with regard to the licenses issued and users’ satisfaction level.
Significant changes in various aspects of management system in BPPT following the application of ISO 9001 – 2000 have been the factors behind such achievements. Nevertheless, such progress is not free from problem. A survey also shows that there has been disturbing fluctuation in users’ complaints as well. The figure below depicts the result of the survey.
Figure 4. Public Complain
Source: Performance Evaluation Report of BPPT of City of Bandung 2012
The figure shows that although there was significant decrease in 2009, the complaint quantity rose significantly in 2010. Then, there was a slight decrease in
280
195
251
236
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
2008 2009 2010 2011
10 2011 from 251 to 236 complaints. By and large, users complained about time uncertainty and expensive costs. It is also admitted that the fluctuation of complaints from users indicate that those complaints have not been followed by effective corrective and preventive action.
It is also interesting to note here that up till now BPPT is still faced with a number of challenges. Investigation shows that staffs within BPPT have not performed as expected. Their professionalism, competence, discipline and loyalty have not reached satisfactory level. It is interesting to note here that staffs in BPPT will be in good performance when they are facing auditing or surveillance. After these two processes finished, the staffs will go back to their old habits. It is admitted that
changing procedures and structures are a lot easier than changing the staffs’ mind set.
Most of the staffs are still trapped within the old paradigm which tends to be passive, static and unprogressive. In turn, it is considered that this factor has been the main factor behind those existing poor performance.
Another important challenge is consistently and continually fulfilling the required standards of ISO 9001 – 2000. As mentioned before, up till now, BPPT has just fulfilled the minimum required standards. It is also admitted that even for fulfilling those minimum standards, BPPT management has not been able to optimally deploy the suggested strategies to achieve maximum benefits of the whole quality management principles.
CONCLUSION
Sustainability of the ISO 9001 – 2000 application has become a strategic issue in BPPT amidst some skeptical opinion that the application is considered only as political maneuver of certain political elites in the government of City of Bandung. However, such a skeptical point of view obviously faces a totally different phenomenon. Based on interviews with the upper management of BPPT, there has been ongoing fulfillment of ISO 9001 – 2000 required standards. Improvements of various aspects of BPPT management have become the agenda for 2010 – 2013. This includes
a. Developing the quality of personnel resources
b. Increasing use of information technology
c. Improving quality of service licensing
d. Intensifying the handling of complaints
e. Improving the quality of facilities and infrastructure to support the
implementation of licensing services.
It is also claimed that the main rationale for such ongoing efforts is not only because of intention to obtain certification, but more importantly is because of the commitment to achieve the effectiveness of the quality management system which so far has contributed to the positive performance of BPPT of City of Bandung.
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REFERENCES
Cahyadi, A. C. (2012). The Implementation of QMS of ISO 9001 - 2000 in Public Service, Disseration. Bandung: Universitas Padjadjaran.
CERCO. (2000). Handbook for Implementing A Quality management System in A
National Mapping Agency. Paris: CERCO.
11 Magd, H., & Nabulsi. (2003). ISO 9000 Implementation: A Study of Manufacturing Companies in Saudi Arabia. Managerial Auditing Journal, 18 (4), 313-322.
Sumedi, S. (2010). ISO 9001 Implementation Studies on Small Medium Enterprise: Motives, Problems, and Benefits. Jurnal Standardisasi, 12 (3), 197-201.
UNIDO. (2012). ISO 9001 - Its Relevance and Impact in Asian Developing Economies. Vienna: UNIDO.
