KFS Embarks On Journey Towards ISO Certification

The Kenya Forest Service has embarked on a process that will see it acquire the International Organisation of Standardization certificate 2008:9001 also known as ISO 2008:9001. The one year process which begun in July 2010 will end in June this year and put KFS in the league of Kenyan organisations that have embraced international standards in customer service delivery.

The government has directed that all its institutions adopt internationally recognized customer service delivery approaches in its general bid to improve the lives of Kenyans as it accelerates social-economic development in the country. Already a number of government institutions led by parastatals and ministries have embraced the process while many others are in the process of implementing relevant certification standards.

According to the Quality Management Representative (QMR) for KFS Mr. Abraham Watta, the Service took up ISO certification at the appropriate time as it is still in its formative stages of development. He added that with the establishment of quality management systems, KFS will be at a vantage position both in service delivery to its many customers as well as being able to implement its various programmes in an efficient, effective and transparent manner.

The process which is being spearheaded from the Corporate Services Division has seen the sensitization of staff in eight conservancies with the remaining two expected to be sensitized by the beginning of February 2011. This has been done with the guidance of a consulting firm Afri-Aviation Ltd who are also assisting with the whole certification process.

At a recent workshop by the KFS ISO Steering committee, the different procedures and processes that affect service delivery were documented and the report handed over to the Director for comments. Following its approval by management, an implementation launch will be held in late February pending the official certification in June 2011.

Story by Leakey Sonkoyo