GALAPAGOS NATIONAL PARK ENHANCES ' TOP TEN ' COMPETITIVENESS WITH ISO 9001:2000

Autor: Edwin Armijos

Gestión de la calidad

09-2004

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 A ranger surveys
Isabela Island, one of
three populated islands
within the Galapagos
National Park.
If you don't change, park with the objective of " protecting
you will become extinct. Spencer Johnson * and conserving the ecosystems and
biological diversity of the archipelago
Edwin Armijos, is quality cuador's Galapagos Natio- for the benefit of humanity, the local
manager of the Galapagos nal Park and Marine Reserve population, science and education ".
National Park, Ecuador. E
(GNPS), a governmental ins- This article outlines our experien-
titution responsible for the manage- ces in implementing a quality mana-
Quito address : Pasaje Donoso de ment of the protected areas of the gement system (QMS) for a national
Barba #226, y José Tobar Vicentina,
Quito, Ecuador. Galapagos archipelago, is rated among park, based on ISO 9001:2000, as we
Galapagos address: Parque Nacional the ten most important World Herita- ready ourselves for the certification
Galáapagos, Avenida Charles Darwin ge Sites. It dates back to 1959, when audit next October.

s/n Galápagos, Ecuador. first designated as a protected area,
Tel. + 593 5 52 6189 ext. 230. and today welcomes more than 90 000 * Spencer Johnson is author of numerous books
Tel. + 593 98 43 1488. on management and change, including The One
tourists per year.
E-mail earmijos@spng.org.ec Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese ­ An
E-mail edwinarmijos@hotmail.com The GNPS employs some 250 peo- A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work
Web www.galapagospark.org ple in the daily management of the and in Your Life
Meeting future challenges The QMS implementation process
In this age of change, we accept Client satisfaction and continual
that our managerial projects and con- improvement were the key objectives
cepts must be in a permanent state of behind ISO 9001:2000-based QMS
development to meet future challen- implementation at GNPS. We adapted
ges and to create a common vision for some of the requirements to suit the
the future. It is time for managers of particular needs of a national park,
protected areas such as national parks principally in training, the system of
to move beyond the traditional tech- evaluation, writing of conservation
nical-scientific models of the 80's and procedures, the institutional mission,
90's. Many modern-thinking national and in adopting a new management
parks are now adopting social and model. Indira Medina, coordinator
eco-systematic managerial concepts, of tourism monitoring at ISO
Diagnosis. A QMS implementation 9001:2000-certified Galapagos
with the capacity for technical and feasibility study took place in October National Park.
financial self-management, in addition 2002, with the help of Bureau Veritas.
to those traditional systems. This included interviews with institu-
The principle that " the only per- tion personnel and revision of existing
manent thing is change " is a reminder documentation.
of the changing environment and the
Implementation planning. Once
instability of organizations in the new
we had decided to go ahead, we
millennium. This has motivated us to Many modern-thinking
drew up an implementation plan for
design and implement a new model the areas and sub-areas governed by national parks are now
of institutional management for the
:
GNPS, to enhance its competitive our four technical offices located on adopting social and
the islands of Isabela, San Cristobal,
position worldwide.
The pursuit of competitiveness, Floreana and Santa Cruz. The system eco-systematic
covers all areas of management,
continual improvement, employee managerial concepts
including marine and land resources,
commitment, customer satisfaction,
tourism, environmental education,
and community participation in
communication, control and patrolling,
the management of the Galapagos
eco-systems are the challenges that GNP rangers
have driven GNPS' administration. monitor one of the
We have worked on ISO 9001:2000 famous Galapagos
implementation and certification since tortoises, some
October 2002 with the support of the weighing up to
200 kg, and living
Environmental Programme for the 200 years.
Galapagos Islands, and in consultation
with Bureau Veritas 1).
GNPS' mission
Our mission at GNPS is " to be the
leading institution worldwide in the
eco-system management of protec- 1) Bureau Veritas
ted areas, involving the community, (contact: Marco
Esparza), Avenida
using investigation and technological Republica de El
innovation to ensure the sustainabi- Salvador N35 182 y
lity of its natural resources, and the Portugal, Piso 3, Quito,
Ecuador.
environmental services generated by
Tel.
the National Park and the Galapagos + 593 2 227 3190.
Marine Reserve, for the benefit of Fax
present and future generations ". + 593 2 225 8437.

2) SGS-Société Générale de institutional development, financial prepared for its certification audit by
Surveillance (contact: Mauricio management, directorship and general Société Générale de Surveillance S.A.
Rodriguez), Avenida Republica de management. (SGS) 2) in October 2004.
El Salvador N35 182 y Suecia edif.
Almirante Colon, Piso 2, Quito, The corporate launch. In Novem- Continual improvement: In our
Ecuador. ber 2003, we presented the framework endeavours to ensure continual impro-
Tel. + 593 2 225 2300 ext. 515. of the ISO 9001:2000-based QMS to vement, suggestion boxes have been
E-mail Mauricio_Rodriguez@sgs.com the GNPS' technical committe, and placed around the park office areas
publicized it on notice boards, via for use by both internal and external

* Ray Bradbury is author of over 500 e-mail and through meetings with the clients, and park wardens are also
hundred published works including area and sub-area offices. encouraged to suggest improvements.
The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Thus the local community benefits
Man and Fahrenheit 451. Training and education. Park
from the enhanced quality service
Warden training workshops were held
carried out by the GNPS.
from January 2003 covering the QMS
and its documentation and implemen-
tation, management processes, conti- The future
nual improvement, technical statistics
Should we be successful in achie-
and internal quality audits.
ving ISO 9001:2000 certification,
ISO 9001:2000 documentation. Fol- GNPS will become one the first natio-
lowing the advice of Bureau Veritas, we nal parks in the world to enjoy such
drew up quality, process and continual recognition. It would undoubtedly be
We plan to implement improvement manuals, and developed a source of great pride and encoura-
61 ISO 9001:2000 procedures. gement for all at GNPS, and a spur to
an ISO 14001-based Implementation. Following the continue our vital conservation work
environmental training and documentation steps, at this World Heritage Site.
we were now ready to apply the new What is more, we plan to implement
management system system to the everyday operation of an ISO 14001-based environmental
the organization. management system (EMS) to raise
awareness of our responsibility in
Evaluation and monitoring. We
offering a quality service in conserva-
verified the extent to which the system
tion. It is also important for us to com-
fulfilled ISO 9001:2000 requirements
municate. I would welcome contact
from staff feedback and by monitoring
with other national parks or protected
procedures, in the run-up to internal
areas of the world to exchange our
and external auditing.
experiences in this area.
Internal quality audits. Some 21
GNPS internal auditors carried out To quote author Ray Bradbury*:
three internal quality audits, These We continue to be imperfect, dange-
audits identify opportunities for rous and terrible, yet at the same time
GNP rangers maintain tourist improvement. marvellous and fantastic. But we ARE
footpaths as part of the ISO learning to CHANGE.
9001:2000-based quality Certification. Following the imple-
programme. mentation process, GNPS is fully
Park rangers participate in
a quality and continual
improvement workshop.

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Edwin Armijos V.

COORDINADOR SISTEMA DE GESTION DE CALIDAD ISO 9001:2000 PARQUE NACIONAL GALAPAGOS Teléfono: 593-05-526189 ext. 230  GALAPAGOS-ECUADOR www.galapagospark.org 

earmijosarrobaspng.org.ec  edwinarmijosarrobahotmail.com