Surveyors must anticipate int'l competition
Surveyors must anticipate int'l competition
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian surveyor companies must start
changing their working methods if they want to survive
international competition, an executive of the Association of
Indonesian Independent Surveyors (AISI) said yesterday.
AISI Chairman Moedjiono said here that national surveyor
companies currently rely too much on the "old" method of checking
the quality of final products, and not enough on conducting
quality assurance inspection of all aspects of the production
process.
"Right now the world demands quality assurance. People need to
know that whenever and wherever they buy a certain product, they
can expect a standard quality," said Moedjiono, who is also
president of the PT Sucofindo surveyor firm.
Speaking at the association's general assembly here yesterday,
Moedjiono said quality assurance inspections would also be the
trend in the upcoming free trade era, when more countries demand
products coming from manufacturers with ISO-9000 and ISO-14000
quality management and environmental management certificates.
"Quality assurance is a market-driven international demand
which every independent surveyor firm should be able to
accommodate," Moedjiono told The Jakarta Post. Presently, only 10
percent of the 60 independent survey companies registered at the
Ministry of Industry and Trade can provide such services, he
said.
As a result, he said, only 130 Indonesian firms currently
carry ISO-9000 quality management certificates. Ideally, 30,000
national firms should be carrying such a certificate.
Moedjiono said another problem AISI often has to face is
ensuring that its members abide by the association's code of
ethics.
Independent surveyors, he said, should demonstrate high
integrity, reliability and trustworthiness. "The code of ethics
means fair play. Independent surveyors must not take sides, even
if they are paid by clients."
He said that over the last few years, AISI has had to give
warnings to several members which failed to abide by the
association's guidelines.
Moedjiono said AISI members have not standardized their
service fees, but they must observe the association's standard
procedures.
"Their competitiveness depends totally on their ability to
maximize efficiency and the quality of their work should never
fall below standards," he said.
AISI presently has 44 members which conduct inspections,
studies and analyses on various products, ranging from their size
and contents to their packing.
Their services consist of cargo surveys, which include
sampling, quality inspection, cotton inspection and freight
container inspections; marine surveys, which include supervision
of shipbuilding, hull and engine damage survey and towing
surveys; technical inspections; insurance surveys; quantity
surveys; geography surveys; environmental impact assessments
(Amdal); and non-destructive tests. (pwn)