Quality Team (EQ)

A vital service to the Community

The service provided by the quality team is contracted by the Barcelona Port Authority under a public tender and is currently provided by the company SGS. Its activity allows the quality system of the Port of Barcelona to control the standards required by the end customer regarding the safety, integrity, agility and traceability of the different types of goods as they pass through the port.

The EQ's collaboration with the Inspection Services has resulted in better coordination and optimisation of the time allocated to this activity, as well as more exhaustive sampling control. Furthermore, the implementation of the EQ has meant an improvement in the quality indices of the services provided by the different terminals and in the different types of traffic in which it has carried out its verification, support, monitoring and incident detection activities. This has made it possible to achieve the annual objectives established by consensus between the terminals and the Barcelona Port Authority.

The Port of Barcelona considers that the EQ service is vital for the Port Community, since it is fundamental in the detection of areas for improvement in port processes.

Certifications and a long history of quality

The Port has the ISO 9001 certification for the management of the Quality System in recognition of compliance with the requirements of the standard. The scope of the certification is Management of the Port's Specific Service References, Management of Safety Claims in the goods and Management of the Quality Team (EQ) of the Port of Barcelona.

The beginning of the Quality System of the Port of Barcelona dates from the 90s, within a set of initiatives that were developed with the leadership of the Port Authority and with the participation and involvement of the entire Port Community. These initiatives (Quality Team, Barcelona Port Authority Quality Systems department, Guarantees Programme...), meant positioning the Port as the pioneer, at state level, in the implementation of a Quality System.