Micoteca da Universidade do Minho (MUM): implementation of a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2008

Abstract

Micoteca da Universidade do Minho (MUM, www.micoteca.deb.uminho.pt/) is a fungal culture collection that was created in 1996 and is hosted by the Biological Engineering Research Centre which is a centre of excellence integrated in the Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IBB, www.ibb.pt/). It has been proving itself for more than one decade of work and services. The mission of MUM is: 1) to provide the highest quality services to its customers and 2) to be a centre of knowledge, information and training in mycology, operating at a global level and under national and international regulations. MUM is member of European Culture Collections’ Organisation (ECCO) and World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC), is registered at the World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) and BioCase. It is partner of Global Biological Resource Centres Network (GBRCN) and of the project European Consortium for Microbial Resource Centres (EMbaRC). MUM is data provider and Node Manager for Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and it was also involved on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) working group for Biological Resource Centres (BRCs). BRCs to have international status and to act in network need to implement and maintain a Quality Management System (QMS) and best practices accordingly to the OECD recommendations. In order to keep its high standards MUM is already implementing a QMS based on the normative reference ISO 9001:2008. The main aim of this work is presents the activities that MUM has performed and developed on the scope of implementation of QMS refereed above. The implementation of QMS has been done by steps: 1) creating work teams; 2) performing a “gap analysis” in order to analyse the current situation; 3) designing and documenting the system; 4) using it and recording its use and 5) reviewing the system. So far processes are identified and documented in a results-focused system with minimum administration. Is has been applied methods to monitor, measure and analyse each process through the establishment of performance indicators that define effectiveness and efficiency measures, and these measures align with the organisation’s overall goals and objectives. This overall process will be shared and discussed.