By Miriam Humbe
A year after migrating to ISO 9001: 2015 certification, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) is to begin first maintenance audit to ensure the agency is sustaining the standard as enshrined in the certificate.
Speaking at the briefing with the external auditor, the DG/CEO NiMet, Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi expressed his gratitude for the advice and encouragement by the auditor last year towards the attainment of the certification. He noted that as at today, NiMet “is still the only meteorological institution in Africa that is so certified”.
Prof. Mashi further assured that NiMet is not resting on its oars, as it intends to continue to maintain the certification adding that all the issues that might arise from the audit will be addressed. He disclosed that NiMet has been receiving requests from sister meteorological institutions in Africa to help them achieve the ISO certification.
In his briefing, the External Auditor in charge, Mr. Frank Stromhier, gave a purview of what the audit will entail as he revealed that the audit is a requirement within the International Standard Organization (ISO).
He said that once an organization is registered and certified, they would require an audit at least once a year to ensure that the institution is still following the established registration requirement.
Mr. Stromhier disclosed that the scope of the audit will include the agency’s infrastructure, human resources, environment and instruments. He added that it would also involve inspecting the four international airports in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Lagos as covered in the scope of NiMet certification. The maintenance audit will be for two years.
The ISO 9001:2015 certification is a standard ICAO requirement that has brought international visibility to NiMet, being the first African meteorological institution to acquire it, and also enhanced the agency’s operational activities and drawn commendations from both domestic and foreign airlines.
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