International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 4
Number 1
March 2010
105
1 INTRODUCTION
Seafarers are the core elements of the shipping in-
dustry and the demand for skillful and competent
seafarers has been growing. Due to the global na-
ture of shipping industry, a necessity for a quality
standards geared towards the assurance of attaining
the mandated competencies by (STCW Convention
’78, ’95) has gained due importance.
This research was anchored with Quality Assur-
ance as a philosophy and a process in which all the
functions and activities of an institution shall be
treated equally, planned, controlled and implement-
ed in a systematic and scientific manner (Venkaiah,
1995:159).
Among the various maritime academies in the
Philippines, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime
College is imperative in the attainment of quality as-
surance, as it indicates a strong workforce in the
global shipping market. The JBLMC is recognized
as one of the bearers of maritime education and
training of excellence in the Philippines and in the
world. As an educational institution, it has its quali-
ty standards geared toward the quest for excellence.
Guided by the quality policy which is “to comply
with national and international standards and strive
to exceed stakeholders expectations”, the school as-
serts the full implementation of quality standard sys-
tem which will lead to the attainment of quality as-
surance in the education and training of cadets.
Among the various maritime schools in the Phil-
ippines, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Col-
lege is imperative to realize the importance of the es-
tablishment of a quality management system.
Since, its establishment in 1948 as Maritime
Academy, the first in the coastal region of the Visa-
yas and Mindanao, it has turned out competent, dis-
ciplined and values-oriented marine deck officers
and engineers for both domestic and foreign ship-
ping companies.
In 1997, JBLFMC in its intense propensity to be
internationally competitive in maritime education
started to seek registration of its Quality Manage-
ment System (QMS) to the ISO 9000 series of
standards/Rules for Maritime Academies and Train-
ing Center under a reputable international assessor
the Det Noske Veritas (DNV), hence, the school was
the first accredited maritime learning institution in
the Philippines (Review Journal, 1998).
2 THE PROBLEM
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent
of deployment of quality standards system of John
B. Lacson Foundaiton Maritime College and estab-
lish its implication to the International Shipping In-
dustry.
Specifically, this study sought to answer the fol-
lowing questions:
Standard for Quality Assurance: the Case of
Philippine Maritime College
A.C. Doromal
John B. Lacson Colleges Foundation-Bacolod, Inc., Bacolod City, Philippines
ABSTRACT: Higher education is challenged to be responsive to the current demands of quality education
through the translation of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that conform to internationally accepted standards.
SCTW ’95 mandates that maritime academies should ensure the development of competent manpower for
maritime industry. John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime College has articulated adherence and compliance
with ISO series of standards for Maritime Academies in the Philippines. This study evaluated the extent of
deployment of QSS in eight key areas and its implication to the International Shipping Industry. Findings re-
vealed that JBLFMC has a very high extent of deployment in all areas of QSS that indicates an extensive im-
plementation of its processes, procedures and services. A remarkable implication signifies the global compet-
itiveness of the graduates and an assurance of a world-class workforce trained in the academe with total
quality system, committed to meet the challenges of the maritime industry.
106
1 What is the extent of deployment of the Quality
Standards System (QSS) by JBLFMC according
to the following areas: (1) Mission, Goals and
Objectives, (2) Corporate Plans, (3) Organization
and Management, (4) Internal Control, (5) Hu-
man Resource Administration, (6) Plant and Fa-
cilities, (7) Academic Affairs, (8) Accounting and
Finance
2 What are the implications of the findings to the
Shipping Industry?
2.1 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
In today’s climate of intensely competitive interna-
tional trade, companies must identify and put into
place mechanisms that will facilitate success in
world markets. Foremost among such mechanisms
is International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) certification. ISO has agreed on a set of
quality assurance and quality management standards
and will certify companies that meet the quality
standards worldwide (Anschutz, 1996).
In Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award,
Anthony C. Fletcher (2004), discussed that hundreds
of thousands of organizations around the world have
pursued the development and registration of their
Quality Management System (QMS) to the Interna-
tional Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000
series of standards with the perception that this is the
first step in their pursuit of world-class performance.
In the words of Drystad (1994), by sharing and
working together through the total quality systems
approach, the schools can improve and provide bet-
ter learning options to students, thus ensuring a
world-class workforce.
The implementation of the Quality Standards
System in maritime schools in accordance with the
Rules for Quality Standard System is a vital tool in
ensuring that all the requirements of the Standards of
Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW
’78; as amended ’95) are complied with, thus assur-
ing that the Filipino Seafarers shall continue to be
globally competitive (CHED Memorandum, 1998).
Section 35 of Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) Memorandum #51 dated 1997 (Article 13)
(Quality Standards System), provides that “Every
maritime school shall develop and implement a qual-
ity standard system in accordance with the provi-
sions of the policies, standards and guidelines”
(CHED Memorandum, 1997).
Moreover, Section 36 of the same memorandum
informs that “Recognizing that Filipino seafarers
shall be globally competitive in compliance with
1995 amendments to STCW ’78 as amended ‘95 and
other international laws and conventions, the school
facilities, equipment and teaching competencies
shall be upgraded to meet the quality standards.
Owing to the fact that the country’s economy de-
pends heavily on seafarers and the quality of seafar-
ers depends on the quality of graduates that the mari-
time schools produce, the only way of ensuring the
quality of graduates in maritime schools, specifically
in JBLFMC, is to fully implement the QSS.
The JBLFMC took the lead and got certified in
1997, way ahead of the CHED mandate. JBLFMC
was the first in the Philippines and third in the world
to get certified under the Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
Rules for Maritime Academies
(http://jblcfbac.lasaltech.com/jblcf%20system.htm).
It is a guideline providing a systematic structure
to assess the quality standards system of John B.
Lacson Foundation Maritime College.
The context determines that JBLFMC formulated
the Quality Standards System in order to establish
quality management system. Included in the context
is the Det Norske Veritas and Commission on High-
er Education (CHED) that ensures the deployment
and compliance with quality standards.
Moreover, Input evaluation which is based in the
eight (8) areas of Quality Standards System needs
looking into.
Process includes the assessment of the Quality
Standards System and the identification of the
strengths and weaknesses, which was made the ba-
ses for implications to the shipping industry.
3 METHODOLOGY
The participants of this study were the total popula-
tion of 175 which includes the faculty members and
administrative staff of JBLFMC in the Philippines.
A descriptive quantitative and qualitative research
was employed to conduct this study.
This investigation utilized a modified research in-
strument adopted from the study of Magramo
(2003). It was based on the Quality Standards writ-
ten in the Quality Management Manual of JBLFMC.
The data-gathering instrument was interpreted by
the use of rubrics. Heidi Goodrich (2008) defines
rubrics as a scoring tool that lists the criteria and
specify the level or extent of performance for several
levels of quality.
To determine the extent of deployment of QSS as
indicated by the compliance of the respondents, the
weighted mean was used, due to the varied number
of respondents.
Analysis of documents gathered from manage-
ment review reflective of internal audit and academ-
ic audit, was used as research method.
107
Moreover, personal observations were conducted
by the researcher in several classes, to observe the
teacher’s teaching and student’s learning.
It further looked into the implications of the find-
ings to the shipping industry.
4 RESULTS
On the Extent of Deployment with the QSS in
JBLCF according to Eight (8) Areas.
Table 1. Deployment with the QSS in JBLCF on Eight (8) Are-
as
___________________________________________________
AREAS EXTENT OF INTERPRETATION
DEPLOYMENT
IN PERCENTAGE
___________________________________________________
Mission, Goals, 94.90% Very High
Objectives
Corporate Plans 94.86% Very High
and Strategies
Organization and 92.65% Very High
Management
Internal Control 92.40% Very High
Human Resource 93.10% Very High
Management
Plant and Facilities 92.50% Very High
Academic Affairs 97.28% Very High
Accounting/ Finance 100.00% Very High
As a Whole 94.84% Very High
___________________________________________________
Figure 1. Graphical Presentation on the Extent of Compliance
with the QSS in JBLCF on Eight (8) Areas
Table 1 above, demonstrates the extent of de-
ployment of Quality Standards System (QSS) in
eight (8) areas in JBLFMC. It is apparent that all
eight (8) areas show great extent of deployment as
experienced by respondents. Mission, Goals and
Objectives, showed the interpretation that 90.94% of
the respondents were convinced process and proce-
dures mandated by the Quality Management Manual
(QMM) relative to Mission, Goals and Objectives
were deployed, thus attaining Very High extent.
Moreover, 94.86% of the respondents indicated
that Corporate Plans and Strategies were implement-
ed. Likewise, in Organization and Management, In-
ternal Control, Human Resource Management, Plant
and Facilities, Academic Affairs and Account-
ing/Finance, obtained a corresponding respondents’
percentage of 92.65, 92.40, 93.10, 92.50, 97.28 and
100.00 respectively. As a whole, 94.84% of the re-
spondents manifested that JBLFMC is full deploy-
ment of its QSS. Consequently the school organiza-
tion is in full conformity with QSS.
A qualitative analysis is presented hereunder:
The result showed that there was a very high ex-
tent of implementation in all areas of the quality
standard system, which indicates that a well-
integrated and innovative approach is deployed to all
functional areas or work units.
4.1 Vision, Mission and Objectives
The appropriate and clearly defined mission, vision
and objectives are most important in the college.
The school’s quality assurance system is articulated
through the active integration of teaching, research,
extension and engagement, which creates an innova-
tive learning environment that stresses mastery of
fundamentals, intellectual, discipline, creativity,
problem solving and responsibility. Core values of
the college is integrated in the classroom instruction,
and the harmonization of school objectives and ac-
tivities was established. Enhancing its historic
strengths in Maritime education, a full commitment
to excellence is demonstrated in the academic disci-
plines that ensure leadership for intellectual, cultur-
al, social, economic and technological development
in the nation and the world.
4.2 Corporate Plans
To ensure a quality plan that addresses the functions
and operation of the school, a periodical environ-
mental scanning is conducted through needs assess-
ment, continuous improvement reports, internal and
external audit. All concerns are reviewed, analyzed
and used as springboard for institutional plan. All
personnel were involved in the formulation of de-
velopment plan, thus, giving sense in the implemen-
tation wherein synergy was apparent rather than
competition. Coherence in every task was prevail-
ing in the organizational climate. Resistance in the
implementation of corporate plan was not remarka-
ble. Institutional plan is anchored with vision, mis-
sion and objectives.
4.3 Organization and Management
Indicating an assurance of the full-commitment of
faculty and administrative staff, a total involvement
was explicitly demonstrated in quality related activi-
ties such as goal setting, planning, implementation
and output utilization. This gave a sense of self-
92.50
97.28
100.00
94.84
94.90
94.86
92.65
92.40
93.10
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
Miss ion, Goals &
Objectives
Corporate Plans &
Strategies
Organization and
Management
Internal Control Human Resource
Management
Plant and Facilities Academic Affairs Accounting/Finance As a Whole
108
worth to every member of the organization, thus, re-
alizing the value of commitment.
Various approaches and strategies were deployed
to ensure that employees (faculty and staff) are em-
powered thru enhancing their competencies and
skills in-line with their specialization, thus responsi-
bility and initiative for innovations are evidently ar-
ticulated.
4.4 Internal Control
Various departments of the college is interrelatedly
functioning following a systemic approach. Appro-
priate documentation is strictly observed, to ensure
the authenticity of information, activities and other
related operations of the school.
