The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) has completed its combined first and second surveillance audit for ISO 9001:2000 certification.

The government body, which first received the certification last year from Bureau Veritas International (BVI), is now eligible to continue its registration. The department will also incorporate ISO-certified logo on all its official documents.

In accordance with the criteria for ISO 9001:2000, DED incorporated systemic, management, resource, realisation and remedial requirements into its quality management module.

This included developing a quality system at the department in addition to ensuring that the DED management satisfies its customers by systematically implementing a quality policy at all levels.

Some of the areas that have been enhanced and updated include human resource development, client servicing and communication and measurement of performance by defining performance indicators that can be measured against set indices.

"The ISO 9001:2000 has incorporated several new features into its model and is now specifically focused on customer satisfaction, which is a key component in our operations at DED," said Ali Ibrahim, deputy director-general.

The department has also adopted Smart (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Timely) objectives for each section.

The identified objectives also have a clear customer focus. In addition, performance indicators have been developed for each initiative, which enable the department to keep continuous track of improvement and development.

"We opted to have a combined first and second surveillance audit within a year of receiving the ISO certification because this gave us sufficient time to critically review our performance and implement several improvements and upgrades in each of the departments," said Ibrahim.

"It also ensured that no non-conformities were identified during the surveillance audit."