The JCA: successful in ISO stage 1 & 2 external Audits
As a modern customs administration, the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has been adopting modern legislation, operating modalities, and technology to drive its efforts towards a more resilient and sustainable organisation. In addition to these transformational initiatives, the JCA has been strengthening its partnerships with stakeholders and enhancing the development of a professional service culture in executing its core mandates of coordinated border management, trade facilitation and revenue collection.
A professional service culture embodies more than just courteous service. It includes consistent and predictable service delivery, commitment to continuous improvement, effective management of relationships and the effective management of risks. It requires the preservation of organisational knowledge and a team of professional service executors.
The implementation of the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems in the JCA is one approach to achieve a professional service culture. Customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, continuous improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management are the hallmarks of these systems. Subscribing to these principles allows the JCA, a critical component in the international trading ecosystem, to transform into a more customercentric and resilient organisation to boost its contribution to Jamaica’s safety, security and economic stability and competitiveness.
The implementation has been a journey of continuous learning and growth for the JCA; one that demanded improvement to the entire spectrum of the organisation including planning, execution and monitoring and evaluation. Many invaluable experiences, lessons and improvements have added significantly to internal developments. Process reviews and process crosswalking for comparisons to attain the requisite level of uniformity across similar areas of execution have been a part of the rewarding experience on this journey.
The JCA, like many other organisations across the globe, aspires to benefit from improvements in process execution, governance and ethics, resource management, customer satisfaction, public perception and global stakeholder recognition as a ‘quality’ organization with the attainment of the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems designation.
As such, the certification process was initiated and both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the certification audits were completed. These activities challenged the JCA to demonstrate that its QMS is effectively designed and implemented to the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 Standard to promote the achievement of the quality objectives including reliable service delivery and customer satisfaction. The JCA now awaits the outcome of the Stage 2 Audit exercise which was conducted by the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ).
In a rapidly and constantly changing international trading landscape, the JCA is strategically positioned to be a catalyst for improved competitiveness and sustainable growth and development. Service excellence is therefore paramount to the JCA. The JCA is also demonstrating its commitment to become the national model organisation and a global leader in Customs administration through endorsement by the International Organisation for Standardisation via its certification process.
Achieving ISO 9001:2015 Quality
Management Systems certification will reinforce the Agency’s commitment to excellence by inculcating a culture of quality throughout all areas of the Agency to encapsulate all processes and procedures, maintaining a high level of professionalism, adhering to international standards and best practices, and to continuously revolutionise our efforts to the benefit of all our stakeholders.
Recognising the important role played by our stakeholders, the JCA is compelled to develop and maintain that culture of quality in ensuring that our systems, processes, and business practices remain on the cutting edge and that our service delivery always achieves the desired outcome which is customer satisfaction. Implementing quality management will increase efficiency in our operations, delivering on promises, thus improving/exceeding customer satisfaction among our stakeholders and propelling the JCA to that point of global excellence in service delivery.
Contributed by: The ISO Project Office of the JCA