Short Description of the ISEMOA Quality Management System

Transcription

1 Short Description of the ISEMOA Quality Management System

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3 The project ISEMOA started in May 2010 and will run until May ISEMOA is co-funded by the European Union under the IEE 2009 STEER programme. Publisher: Austrian Mobility Research FGM-AMOR (Project coordinator). Photos: org (7), FGM-AMOR (1). The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the EACI nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. 3

4 Towards a more sustainable mobility for all Accessibility matters Why should local and regional authorities care about accessible mobility? Every day almost a third of the population encounters barriers in public spaces and on public transport. Among them are people with baby buggies or heavy luggage, people with mobility problems, those with hearing or visual impairments, or people with learning difficulties. Because of the existing barriers, for many people it is difficult or even impossible to move around independently in our public spaces. Consequently, these people often have to depend on a car for much of their regular travel. Local and regional authorities, with the support of public transport bodies and local organisations, can help inhabitants and visitors of their municipalities, cities, and regions to adopt a less car-dependent lifestyle by ensuring that public space and public transport services are fully accessible. Improved accessibility for pedestrians (including wheelchair users), cyclists, and public transport passengers to daily activities contributes directly to increased quality of life in the area. Improved access to retail, employment, education, childcare facilities, health and essential services, sports and leisure facilities, etc. by sustainable transport modes helps to bring about energy-savings in transport and reduction of harmful traffic emissions. ISEMOA supports municipalities, cities, and regions in their efforts to remove barriers in public spaces and public transport and to improve the accessibility of day-to-day services by sustainable transport modes. 4

5 ISEMOA, an efficient and effective path towards improved accessibility What is ISEMOA? The ISEMOA 1 method is a quality management system that supports local and regional authorities in their work for the continuous improvement of the accessibility of the door-to-door mobility chain with sustainable transport modes. The underlying principle of Total Quality Management looks at quality from the users perspective and points out that excellent quality is the result of a repetitive cycle of planning implementation evaluation with a view to fulfil the users needs. ISEMOA builds on well-known quality management methods like the ISO9000 standards and the EFQM Excellence and CAF models, which are applied successfully also in quality management tools for mobility management (MaxQ), bicycle planning (BYPAD), and accessible public transport (MEDIATE). 1 The ISEMOA quality management system is being developed within the European project ISEMOA that involves partners from 14 European countries. The project ISEMOA started in May 2010 and is a 3-year project supported by the European Commission within the IEE-programme. 5

6 ISEMOA takes into account... all categories of people with reduced mobility (PRM) the whole door-to-door mobility chain with sustainable transport modes a comprehensive view of accessibility all kinds of barriers ISEMOA is unique in its holistic view ISEMOA takes into account all categories of people with reduced mobility (PRM), such as people with permanent disabilities or temporal impairments, people with communication difficulties, older people, people with small children or heavy luggage ISEMOA takes into account the whole door-to-door mobility chain with sustainable transport modes, such as walking (also with mobility aids), cycling, public transport, and multi-modal mobility ISEMOA takes into account a comprehensive view of accessibility, which comprises of the geographical perspective (distances, location), and service and network issues (density of pedestrianand cycling-infrastructure, maintenance, frequency of public transport services), as well as barrier-free design and construction of facilities, services and information (pavements, cycle lanes, stops/ stations, vehicles, passenger information, guidance systems) ISEMOA takes into account all kinds of barriers, such as barriers related to physical conditions, organisational and regulatory aspects, attitudes and behaviour of people, safety and security concerns 6

7 ISEMOA is suitable for all municipalities, cities, and regions that are motivated and willing to improve accessibility in their area. There are no restrictions regarding the characteristics and framework conditions of the municipality, city, or region (like e.g. number of inhabitants, size of the area, economic structure, etc.), and it does not matter, whether a municipality, city or region has already implemented many measures for improving accessibility or is just about to begin improving accessibility. Thus, all municipalities, cities, and regions can implement the ISEMOA quality management system. The ISEMOA method provides a structured framework to assess and improve a municipality s, city s, or region s accessibility work. ISEMOA helps municipalities, cities, and regions to identify their strengths and weaknesses in accessibility work ISEMOA gives guidance on which parts of the work to focus on ISEMOA helps to establish a structure for a systematic and effective approach on accessibility planning, implementation and evaluation ISEMOA gives inspiration for effective measures for continuous improvement of accessibility. However, ISEMOA is neither a benchmarking tool nor an award scheme, since the methodology is not designed to obtain comparability between different municipalities, cities, or regions, and it is not the aim of ISEMOA to find out the best performing municipality, city, or region. 7

8 How does the ISEMOA methodology work? According to the principles of Total Quality Management, excellent quality is the result of continuous improvement achieved by applying the repetitive cycle of planning implementation evaluation with a view to fulfil the users needs. Based on this, ISEMOA considers accessibility work as a dynamic process that can be depicted with the following quality cycle. At the core of the ISEMOA method is a moderated audit process: Together with an external auditor, the stakeholders of a municipality, city or region critically review all stages of this quality cycle, assess strengths and weaknesses, and develop actions to continuously improve those stages of the quality cycle that have been assessed as being rather weak. It is crucial that both users (especially people with reduced mobility) and providers of the elements of the door-to-door mobility chain (staff responsible for city planning, transport planning, road construction and maintenance, etc.) are involved in the ISEMOA process. MONITORING & EVALUATION PRECONDITIONS PRECONDITIONS User needs and involvement, Legal/administrative context, Current state POLICY Policy on paper, Leadership IMPLEMENTATION ISEMOA Quality management for improving accessibility POLICY STRATEGY Programme/Plan, Partnerships, People, Budget IMPLEMENTATION Supportive Measures, Public Spaces, Public transport, Information, Land-use planning STRATEGY MONITORING & EVALUATION Management review, Stakeholder feedback User/society results 8

9 The ISEMOA process step-by-step STEP 1 Initiation of the implementation of ISEMOA STEP 5 STEP 2 Consensus meeting STEP 3 STEP 4 Preparatory meeting Creation of the ISEMOA team Introduction meeting STEP 6 STEP 7 STEP 8 Strategy meeting ISEMOA report Follow up 9

10 STEP 1 Initiation of the implementation of ISEMOA Several different bodies play a role in the actual accessibility of public spaces and sustainable transport modes within a municipality, city, or region, and each of these can take the initiative for implementation of ISEMOA and contact an ISEMOA auditor. A list of ISE- MOA auditors is available at It is essential that the municipality, city, or region appoints a person (or a small team), who will act as the contact person of the ISEMOA implementation on behalf of the municipality, city, or region, and will be the main contact point for the ISEMOA auditor. STEP 2 Preparatory meeting In the preparatory meeting with the contact person, the ISEMOA auditor explains in detail the ISEMOA process, all necessary preparatory steps, the actors involved (forming the ISEMOA team ), their tasks, and the anticipated outputs. The aim of this meeting is to clarify all open questions, and to begin the preparatory steps for the ISEMOA process. The ISEMOA auditor explains thoroughly to the contact person the importance of the involvement of all relevant stakeholders, and gives advice regarding the composition of the ISEMOA team, which will work together with the ISEMOA auditor in the ISEMOA process. The ISEMOA auditor hands over to the contact person a list of accessibility indicators and asks the contact person to provide local/ regional data for these indicators within the following weeks, in order to support the development of a comprehensive overview of the actual accessibility conditions in the municipality/city/region. The contact person compiles, together with the ISEMOA auditor, a list of relevant documents (policy- and planning-documents, maps, statistics, etc.), which should be provided to the ISEMOA auditor by the contact person within the coming weeks, as the analysis of these documents will form part of the assessment procedure. 10

11 STEP 3 Creation of the ISEMOA team Structured discussions with users and providers of public spaces and public transport are the central element of the ISEMOA system, and therefore it is essential for the success of the ISEMOA methodology that all relevant stakeholders are involved in the process. Thus the contact person has to establish an ISEMOA team in close cooperation with the ISEMOA auditor. This ISEMOA team needs to include both, users (i.e. representatives of all groups of people with reduced mobility) and providers (i.e. representatives of authorities that are responsible for walking, cycling, and public transport issues, as well as representatives of authorities that are responsible for city-, traffic-, and land-use-planning). The final composition of the ISEMOA team depends on location-specific characteristics, such as type of governments involved, distribution of competences related to accessibility issues, type of public transport system, organisational structures of the PRM user groups, etc. STEP 4 Introduction meeting The introduction meeting is the first meeting of the ISEMOA team. At the introduction meeting, the auditor explains in detail the aims of the ISEMOA implementation, and how the procedure works. The auditor distributes the ISEMOA self-assessment questionnaires, which are organised according to the modules of the ISEMOA quality cycle, to the ISEMOA team. These ISEMOA self-assessment questionnaires are to be filled-in by each of the members of the ISEMOA team individually and preferably during the introduction meeting itself. 11

12 STEP 5 Consensus meeting The consensus meeting is the second meeting of the ISEMOA team. The aim of this meeting is to arrive at a common understanding of the actual level of development of each of the elements of the ISEMOA quality cycle. First the ISEMOA auditor presents the results of the analysis of the accessibility indicators and the documents provided by the contact person, as well as the results of the ISEMOA self-assessment questionnaires, that have been filled-in by each member of the ISEMOA team. The different roles and backgrounds of the members of the ISEMOA team are reflected in the individual assessment of the elements. The most important part of this meeting is the discussion about these different, sometimes conflicting, points of view. The ISEMOA auditor takes care that this discussion focuses on understanding differences in the assessment of the individual members of the ISEMOA team and detecting strong elements and points for improvement rather than blaming each other. This meeting gives an insight into the stronger and weaker elements of accessibility work, and highlights whether additional interviews with other stakeholders might be necessary to complete the picture. STEP 6 Strategy meeting The aim of the strategy meeting of the ISEMOA team is to develop a strategy and action plan for improving accessibility. First the ISEMOA auditor presents a summary of the results of the consensus meeting (and completes the picture with the results of any additional stakeholder interviews conducted). Based on this insight of strong and weak points of accessibility work, the ISEMOA team agrees on goals for the future, and develops an action plan which includes concrete measures, responsibilities, and timeframes for improvement of accessibility work. It is important for the success and actual effect of the action plan, that it is developed by the local/ regional actors themselves rather than by an external advisor. Thus the role of the ISEMOA auditor is to guide and moderate this process, and to give inspiration, input and advice wherever necessary to support the members of the ISEMOA team with the development of a tailor-made action plan, which meets the needs of the local/regional stakeholders in the municipality/city/region. 12

13 STEP 7 ISEMOA report The ISEMOA auditor prepares the ISEMOA report, including the assessment of the current situation, and the agreed detailed action plan. If required, the ISEMOA auditor also prepares a presentation file that can be used by the ISEMOA team to present the results of the ISEMOA process to politicians, media, etc. Municipalities, cities, and regions that have successfully gone through this ISEMOA process will receive a certificate. STEP 8 Follow up About one year after the implementation of the ISEMOA process, the auditor contacts the local/regional authority again, in order to learn about the experiences of the municipality/city/region, the lessons learnt, suggestions for improvement of ISEMOA, progress of work in the municipality/city/ region with respect to the planned actions, plans for the future improvement of accessibility, etc. Furthermore, according to the understanding of quality improvement being a continuous process, and in order to keep momentum with the improvement of accessibility, it is strongly recommended to schedule a follow-up audit every 2-5 years after the first implementation of the ISEMOA process in a municipality, city, or region. 13

14 Questions and Answers How long does the ISEMOA process take?? The results of the ISEMOA process will be available about 3 to 6 months after the start of the procedure. The duration of the process depends on the local/regional circumstances, e.g. availability of the members of the ISEMOA team, amount and availability of relevant documents and indicators to be analysed by the ISEMOA auditor, etc. How much time will the stakeholders have to spend on the ISEMOA process?? The implementation of the ISEMOA methodology in a municipality, city, or region requires some input from local/regional stakeholders: The contact person will need to dedicate apx hours and members of the ISEMOA team apx hours for the ISEMOA process. 14

15 Will the results of the ISEMOA process be published?? It is up to the municipality, city, and region whether or not they want to publish the results of the ISEMOA process. ISEMOA will not publish these results! The action plans and reports resulting from implementations of the ISEMOA process will be regarded as confidential by the ISEMOA auditors. What are the main benefits of implementing ISEMOA in a municipality, city or region?? ISEMOA helps to: raise awareness regarding the importance of accessibility, and the role of accessibility for creating an energy-efficient and sustainable transport system for all improve credibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of the work with accessibility identify strengths and weaknesses in the work with accessibility get inspiration and new ideas for improving the work with accessibility establish a structure for a systematic and effective approach for accessibility planning, implementing, and evaluation establish a structure for efficient stakeholder involvement in accessibility planning, implementing, and evaluation establish communication channels among all relevant stakeholders show that the municipality, city or region is proactively working towards improved accessibility establish a comprehensive view on accessibility in the municipality, city, or region 15

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