ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Recertified to ISO 9001:2008

MONTRÉAL, 26 January 2012 ─ The Continuous Monitoring and Oversight (CMO) Section of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been recertified to the ISO 9001:2008 standard for quality management systems. It is the first Section within ICAO, and one of the very few within the United Nations, to receive such compliance.

The CMO Section of ICAO‟s Air Navigation Bureau manages the overall development, implementation and quality of the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) and its transition to the Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA).

“Since the beginning of the audit programme, the ICAO Council expressed the need for a mechanism that would „audit the auditors‟. Recertification to the ISO 9001 standard provides ongoing confidence and assurance for the Council and States regarding the quality, transparency and consistency of the USOAP”, said Roberto Kobeh González, President of the ICAO Council.

The recertification audit was conducted by National Quality Assurance (NQA), an independent, non-governmental certification body. The CMO certification scope covers the collection, processing and sharing of safety oversight information, the conduct of continuous monitoring activities and the provision of safety oversight training and seminars for the enhancement of global aviation safety.

“CMO has been certified to ISO 9001 since 2002. This is a sign of our determination to maintain and improve the quality and effectiveness of the USOAP and to further improve the level of aviation safety worldwide. A certified quality management system ensures that the needs and expectations of stakeholders are met, that we are proactive in identifying best practices, that processes are closely monitored and that activities are performed and managed in a more structured way”, said Raymond Benjamin, Secretary General of ICAO.

Launched in 1999, the USOAP promotes global aviation safety through regular auditing of safety oversight systems of ICAO Member States, assessment of their safety oversight capability and their level of implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices.