Dr. Marek Bugdol
County Hall Racibórz (Poland)
The present article presents the first experiences of local governments
in the field of the implementation of quality assurance systems.
The process of the implementation of ISO standards in local government offices in Poland is not popularised adequately yet. Just one community office (in Dzierżoniów) is in possession of an ISO certificate and one county office (in Racibórz) has implemented a quality assurance system.
In 1999 the local government offices in Bielsko-Biała, Gliwice, Kwidzyń, Sopot and Kraków started the process of implementing ISO standards (Kwidzyń being the most advanced in the process). In view of the huge amount of work to be done (e.g. the City Office in Szczecin has developed about 240 procedures), some offices decide to obtain certificates for particular departments only. For example, the City Office of Toruń intends to implement ISO standards in the Department of Architecture, Geodesy and Urban Development. The first steps towards the implementation of a quality assurance system according to ISO norms series 9002 have been taken in the Community Office of Śrem.
70 offices representing various levels of administration applied for participation in the government's programme (carried out jointly by the Prime Minister's Office and the "Umbrella" Project). At the beginning of 2000, 67 applications for participation in the programmed entitled "Quality Management in the Public Administration" were registered. The applications were submitted by 55 community and town offices, 10 county offices and 2 provincial offices (there were no applications from provincial local government offices).
In Kwidzyń [1] the process of implementing the principles of quality management started in 1997. At that time the office developed 15 procedures used in the execution of various tasks. The procedures concerned the task carried out by community offices.
The office defined also the scopes of co-operation between teams of employees and individual officials with a view to improving the quality of serving customers. In 1998 the office prepared a schedule of implementing the ISO standards and decided to apply for the certification of the system. It opened a Citizen Service Office and published a Town's Information Booklet.
A special attention is put to training employees in the development of interpersonal skills. In order to improve the circulation of information among the employees, an internal Internet page was developed. The whole process of implementing the ISO norms was divided into 15 stages. A detailed schedule of developing necessary documentation was prepared as well. The developed stage comprised: training for the employees developing the documentation of the system as well as for the top officials of the community and all remaining employees, a preliminary audit and developing assumptions for quality procedures. The office's quality policy is an integral part of the developed operational strategy.
In January 1999 [2] the office conducted a preliminary evaluation of the functioning quality management system. It was decided that the employees implementing the system should concentrate on:
- adjusting the existing documentation to the requirements of the ISO standards,
- developing and documenting the quality policy,
- developing uniform principles of dealing with customers,
- further training of the employees.
The next task was the preparation of the schedule of implementing the quality assurance system.
The process of implementation comprised the following stages:
- training internal auditors,
- training all employees,
- developing the quality policy,
- preparing procedures and a quality book,
- preparing internal auditors and corrective measures.
Motivating the employees and analysing the customers' needs and expectations are of primary importance. All resolutions, complaints and postulates submitted by members of the community are studied carefully. Currently there are 51 procedures in force in the office. In April 2000 the Polish Register of Systems conducted a certification audit. It confirmed that the quality assurance system implemented by the Town Office of Kwidzyń was in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standards.
Some town offices (e.g. in Szczecin and Gliwice) decided to establish Citizen Service Offices. The establishment of such offices is to eliminate the most serious problems in contacts with customers: the problems of anonymity, knowledge of procedures and legal regulations and customers' knowledge about the progress in dealing with their affairs.
Other initiatives comprise: the implementation of internal procedures in particular departments and solutions based on computer systems. Local initiatives of pro-quality character (e.g. the Małopolska Programme of Quality Promotion) will have a considerable role to play.
The Town Office of Dzierżoniów [3] is the first local government office in Poland to introduce and then certify a quality assurance system according to the ISO standards series 9000.
The process of implementing the system and valuable experiences resulting from its functioning were presented at a seminar entitle "The Implementation of Quality Systems in Local Administration Offices".
The preliminary activities undertaken by the town authorities comprised the following:
1. Establishing co-operation with the Project Umbrella
firm, which is carrying out an assistance programme financed by the Polish
government and the United Nations Organisation.
2. Adopting an initiating resolution by the Town
Council.
3. Conducting a preliminary audit by external consultants;
the conclusions of the audit became the basis for preparing the first drafts
of correctional activities.
4. Adopting a resolution by the Town's Executive Board about the terms
and conditions of providing consulting assistance.
The scope of the consulting
assistance was relatively small and comprised the following:
- conducting training for the top officials with stress put on the
ISO standards series 9001,
- conducting training for all employees in the basis of the system
and training for a selected group of the employees in the development of
quality system procedures,
- conducting training for internal auditors,
- consulting services for the employees developing a documentation
of the quality system: procedures, quality books, instructions and other
indispensable documents,
- verifying the developed documentation of the quality system with
respect to its completeness and accordance with the requirements of the
ISO 9000 standards,
- co-operating with the external auditors,
- evaluating the implementation of the quality assurance procedures,
- consulting services while initiating corrective and preventive measures,
- evaluating the implementation of recommendations resulting from audits,
- conducting a pre-certification audit by a group of independent consultants,
- assisting in the selection of a certification instruction and preparation
of an application for a quality certificate.
The course of the implementation of the quality assurance system is presented in "The Schedule of the Quality System". The process of the implementation of the system started in May 1998 and was completed successfully in December 1998.
Various initiatives to implement quality assurance systems in town offices show that the acceptance of undertaken activities by all organs of a given community was of primary importance. Besides active participation in all trainings, local government officials had to support the changes with adequate financial resources and develop the necessary documentation.
Also, employees needed to be convinced that the implementation of a system was not connected with downsizing their numbers or with bureaucratic procedures. It was obtained by informative meetings and numerous trainings. There are always fears and doubts connected with the necessity to implement a new system, or even to describe many dispersed activities within a framework of just one procedure.
The organisational structure of the system consists of:
a) a quality proxy reporting to the authorities on the implementation and
maintenance of the system,
b) a team developing administrative procedures (19 people),
c) a team of internal auditors,
d) consultants.
The documentation of the quality assurance system comprises the following:
a) a quality book,
b) 33 procedures,
c) 14 instructions (see appendix).
Within the framework of the training for the internal auditors, 11 selected employees received training and after passing an examination, they were authorised as internal auditors. From September to December 1994, 27 audits were conducted in the office, according to the approved of schedule. The survey of the top officials was conducted in October 1999. The next stage in the implementation of the quality assurance system was a pre-certification audit, which made it possible to identify some flaws to eliminate by means of corrective activities.
Within just a few months' time the employees responsible managed to prepare the documentation indispensable for applying for certification.
According to W. Ostrowska, the advantages resulting from the functioning of the system are the following:
a) effective utilisation of all resources (especially human resources),
b) constant improvement and pursuit of guaranteeing a constant standard of
services and full information for the customer,
c) achieving the compatibility between the services offered and the adopted
procedures,
d) better protection against legal liability,
e) improvement in the level of control and current management,
f) optimisation of all procedures.
The quality assurance system
in the Town Office of Dzierżoniów was the first to receive a certificate
in Poland. It means that the system meets all basic requirements of the
standard. Currently, the office is taking measures aimed at the optimisation
of the system. The authorities of the town are perfectly aware of the fact
that improving the quality of services is a process that never ends. Their
next task is the development of a quality improvement plan that will take
into consideration the recommendations from the audits, the employees'
proposals and the councillors' wishes.
Procedures and instructions in force in the Town Office of
Dzierżoniów
| I | The principles of developing and supervising procedures. |
| II | Making administrative decisions. |
| III | The procedure of taking corrective and preventive measures. |
| IV | The overview of the functioning of the Town Office. |
| V | The supervision over the documentation indispensable for the work of the Town Office. |
| VI | The development and execution of annual plans of employees' trainings. |
| VII | The employment of new people in the Town Office. |
| VIII | The procedure of an investment process. |
| IX | Entering into a civil and legal contract. |
| X | The principles of transferring and receiving real estate. |
| XI | Concerning the applications and motions about residential matters. |
| XII | Adopting resolutions about local plans of architectural development. |
| XIII | Dealing with people abusing alcohol. |
| XIV | The development of a local plan of preventing alcohol abuse and solving alcohol problems. |
| XV | The preparation of resolutions made by the organs of the office and the office's internal regulations. |
| XVI | The evaluation of work of a school director. |
| XVII | The procedure of entering into a contract for a subsidy from the town's budget with other subjects. |
| XVIII | The procedure of accepting an organisational project (annex) of a school. |
| XIX | The procedure of employing heads of the town's organisational units. |
| XX | The development, acceptance and execution of the town's budget. |
| XXI | Granting exemptions and preferences to businesses. |
| XXII | International co-operation. |
| XXIII | The Dzierżoniów Presentations. |
| XXIV | The instruction concerning the preparation of opinions about applications for loans from the Wałbrzych Region Fund. |
| XXV | The employment of people and the maintenance of personnel documentation. |
| XXVI | The supervision over data; protection and security. |
| XXVII | Planning and conducting audits. |
| XXVIII | The issue of certificates. |
| XXIX | The management of the movables in the Town Office. |
| XXX | The detailed procedure of granting public orders. |
| XXXI | Gathering and analysing information on the services offered in the Town Office. |
| XXXII | The instruction about the principles of signing documents and their graphic forms. |
| XXXIII | The instruction concerning offices |
| XXXIV | The instruction on the circulation and control of documentation in the Town Office. |
| XXXV | The uniform register of files. |
| XXXVI | The instruction on delivering official correspondence directly to local addressees. |
| XXXVII | The instruction on the protection of strict registration. |
| XXXVIII | The instruction on the organisation and functioning of the archives and dealing with documentation in the Town Office of Dzierżoniów. |
| XL | The instruction on the activities conducted in the registry office. |
| XLI | The instruction on the organisation, receiving and dealing with complaints, motions and letters. |
| XLII | The instruction on the management of the protection of the computer system and personal data. |
| XLIII | The instruction on the monitoring of the environment in the archives and the supervision over the measuring devices. |
Source: Conference papers. The Implementation of Quality Systems in Local Government Offices. Dzierżoniów 2000, pp. 40-41.
According to "Gazeta Samorządu i Administracji" [4] [Local Government and Administration Magazine] the Town and Community Office of Pniewy has also started the process of the implementation of the principles of management through quality. A model of complex quality management was presented at a conference entitled "The Role of the Modern Public Administration in the Economic Development of the Country" organised in Dychów (the Lubelskie Province). The implementation of quality systems in local government administration [5] is possible thanks to the ISO standard 9004-2:1995. Quality Management and Elements of Quality Systems; Guidelines for Services. Appendix A to the above-mentioned standard provides examples of its application in various areas:
- the area of utilities: waste treatment and disposal, water, gas and electricity
supply, fire brigade, public services,
- the area of professional services – law enforcement,
- the area of administration – office services.
Summing up, it can be said
that currently there are no well-developed patterns of the functioning
of quality assurance systems. The first, maybe imperfect, examples are
merely clues for local government officials who have decided to try to
implement the ISO standards.
Literature
[1] A. Krzysztofiak: The Implementation of ISO in Town Office of Kwidzyń. In: Quality Management in Public Administration. Conference papers. Dębe near
Warsaw 1999, pp. 2-3.
[2] G. Krzysztofiak: Kwidzyń Confirms: ISO 9001 Improves the Quality of Work.
"Gmina", issue 44/2000; pp. 2-5
[3] The author has used the informational brochure published by the Town Office
of Dzierżoniów: The Implementation of Quality Systems in Local Government
Offices. Conference papers, 13-14 January 2000. Town Office of Dzierżoniów
2000.
[4] B. Sztoczyk: The Quality of Communication between the Office and the Citizen.
"Gazeta Samorządu i Administracji", issues 14, 15/2000, p. 11.
[5] B. Pytko: The ISO Standards Series 9000 in Local Government Administration.
"Problems of Quality", issue 8/2000, pp. 31-33.
Contact to autor:
E-mail:
Marek.Bugdol
Zveřejněno: Listopad 2000