In MET the official mention of quality standards now comes in the
revised STCW (IMO, 1996). All the elements required in the ISO 9000 standard are present
and although not specifically mentioned as it is not applied worldwide, this system will
provide the framework and will be used as the reference to relate the examples and
explanations to. Furthermore ISO 9000 is consistent with the recently adopted ISM Code
which makes it sensible to try to project this system on education and training in general
and on maritime education and training in particular.
ISO 9000 in fact consists of a series of three standards:
9001: specification for design, development, production, installation,
servicing
9002: specification for production and installation and servicing
9003: specification for final inspection and test
ISO 9001 can refer to almost all training establishments, while 9002
and 9003 are similar to 9001 with certain elements omitted. ISO 9001 consists of 20
standards of which some are more related to training and education than others. The
sections of major importance are sections 1,2,3,4,6,7,9,13,14,16,17,18.
The ISO 9001 topics, which are in a language unfamiliar to the training
and educational jargon, can be transformed into an itemized description given as:
management tasks in QA system
what is a qa system
how auditing to be done
checking the customers requirements
controlling course and materials design
making sure you buy exactly what is needed
keeping track of learning proces
using appropriate assessment methods
inaccurate and outdated materials not to be used
helping learners after course completion
keeping appropriate records
maintaining safe working practices
4. QA in relation to MET.
The revised STCW explicitly tackles the matter of quality standards in
the chapters I/8 of the Annex, Part A and Part B and the sections of importance are quoted
hereafter:
Annex I/8 Quality standards:
all training, assessment of competence, certification, endorsement and
revalidation activities carried out by non-governmental agencies or entities under its
authority are continuously monitored through a quality standards system to ensure
achievement of defined objectives including those concerning the qualifications and
experience of instructors and assessors,
where govenmental authorities perform such activities there shall be a
quality standards system,
