The Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center‘s (AMTEC) Quality Management Team attended a three-day training on Internal Quality Audit facilitated by the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Metal Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) in Taguig City last May 22-24, 2024, as part of the ongoing preparations to equip its laboratories for accreditation. 

Three (3) AMTEC Engineers and one (1) representative from the CEAT Department of Industrial Engineering attended the training. They were Engr. Marie Jehosa Reyes, Engr. Yaminah Mochica Pinca, Engr. Feliciano Mendoza Jr., and Engr. John Kenneth P. Punongbayan, respectively.

DOST-MIRDC facilitated the 24-hour activity to help institutions and companies realize the significance of internal quality audit for the improvement of their own Quality Management Systems (QMS). The team has gained valuable knowledge and skills in auditing systems and processes that is essential to ISO 17025 requirements.

 Apart from the auditing principles in quality management, the participants were also taught about the audit process in accordance with ISO 19011:2012 Standard and the crucial roles and responsibilities of the audit team. As a culmination of the training an exam and an actual audit exercise were conducted by the attendees.

The said activity was deemed vital as the Center moves forward on its preliminary steps to apply for its laboratories’ accreditation under ISO 17025: 2017. The accreditation would not only emphasize AMTEC’s credibility but would also pave the way for the quality of the operations to be constantly ensured.