Introduction

Quality Management Systems or better known as QMS, which is 'Quality Management Systems' is a process approach for an organization to function well and meet the needs of customers or stakeholders. ISO 9001 is a set of international standards to ensure the quality management of an organization is always at an optimal level.

The history of the Quality Management System (QMS) at UPM begins with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FPV) where the faculty was awarded MS ISO 9001:2000 certification in July 2000 which made it the first higher education institution in the country to receive comprehensive certification in teaching and professional services. After FPV successfully obtained MS ISO 9001:2000 certification, this initiative was followed by other Responsibility Centers (PTJ) at UPM.

In 2010, UPM has obtained 28 MS ISO 9001:2008 certificates and only four (4) PTJs have not yet obtained certification, namely the Infocomm Development Center (iDEC), Centre for Academic Development and Leadership Excellence (CADe-Lead), PUTRA International Center (i-PUTRA), and the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Industry and Community Networks). This is the result of the merger and expansion of the certification scope for PTJ that has an administrative entity under it. 

In 2010, the University has set Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the UPM Registrar which is a proposal towards a single MS ISO 9001:2008 certification targeted in 2011. This single certification means the merging of 28 certificates obtained by PTJ into one certificate for the entire UPM Campus. This approach can save resources to UPM in terms of time, human and financial resources where the frequency of PTJ internal audits can be reduced, audits by certification bodies are centralized, training implementation is coordinated, the use of documentation is standardized and documentation reference sources are centralized.

To realize this certification, the University Management Committee (JPU) has appointed Dato' Wan Azman Wan Omar, UPM Registrar at that time as the Management Representative in accordance with the requirements of the Standard which states that a Management Representative must be among the management members of the organization. (Excerpt from the 366th JPU Minute dated 28 April  2010).

Implementation to achieve an MS ISO 9001:2008 certification started in July 2010 and came into effect on January 3, 2011.

This single certification covers all the University's main processes, namely teaching and learning, research and innovation, professional services, and support services. In order to achieve the target of single certification, documentation such as Quality Manuals, Procedures and Support Documents have been coordinated and the same document is used by all UPM staff. Documents such as Quality Manuals and Mandatory Procedures are developed and maintained by the Quality Assurance Division, while the Main Procedures, Support Procedures and Support Service Operating Procedures are coordinated and standardized by their respective Process Leaders.

After UPM implemented actions as required by the ISO 9001 Standard and passed the audit by the certification body, UPM obtained MS ISO 9001:2008 certification on 27th December 2011 and successfully achieved the KPI one of the QMS certification.

Starting in 2017, UPM has started the process of transitioning to the new standard which is the MS ISO 9001:2015 standard through a series of discussions, workshops, briefings and meetings to ensure that the documentation and implementation of the QMS meet the requirements of the standard. As a result of these actions, UPM has been successfully certified with MS ISO 9001:2015 certification after passing SIRIM's 2nd Review Monitoring Audit in September 2017.