05 Sep 2019

The Aeronautical Meteorological Services (AMS) division of the Department of Meteorological Services (DMS) has attained a BOS ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certificate.

When accepting the certificate award at a ceremony held at DMS on September 4, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism Mr Thato Raphaka said the DMS was still the only central government department to have successfully transitioned and one of the few within the country to be certified on the new standard.

He stated that by achieving the ISO certification, DMS had gained a global status through which it strived to send the message to its stakeholders and customers.

“Although the upgrade to the new ISO standard was a mandatory requirement, it was also under-pinned by DMS’ core value of customer-focus and the desire to ensure continual improvement in the provision of quality service based on customer-driven products that meet customer requirements and expectations,” said Mr Raphaka, adding that the upgrade, once achieved, would in turn help to enhance the safety, efficiency and regularity of air transport both locally and internationally.

He further expressed his gratitude to DMS for having complied with the critical and stringent requirements set by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for all services provided in support of the daily and routine operations of international aviation clients and operators.

For his part,  Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) deputy managing director Mr Theko Fako said the certificate was testimony, and an acknowledgement that the quality management system of the AMS section, as assessed by BOBS was found to be in conformance to the requirements of BOS ISO 9001:2015 standard.

“The scope for your certificate covers all the processes involved in the provision of meteorological products and services, namely, weather and climate information at your headquarters as well as the stations at Francistown, Kasane, Maun and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport,” he said.

He further said the DMS’ transition from the BOS ISO 9001:2008 to attaining BOS ISO 9001:2015 certificate had required them to be unwavering in their commitment to ensuring that they delivered their mandate to a standard that had been attested to be compliant with international standards. 

He further said that with the certificate, the DMS was under obligation to ensure that there was continued conformance with the requirements that formed the basis of the certification. ends