Carta Social

Table of contents

• Quality Management System - ISO 9001 Standard
• Social Response Qualification System (SQRS)
• Quality Certification of Social Services (EQUASS)

Quality Management System - ISO 9001 Standard

The design, planning and implementation of the Quality Management System - ISO 9001 © standard influenced by several variables such as the size of the entity, the type of product produced, the processes used, among others, it is not the intention of this standard to standardize the quality management systems. Being a process supervised by the Portuguese Institute of Quality, through several credited companies, the adoption of this System of a strategic and voluntary decision of the institution.

The main objective of the Quality Management System is to ensure the quality of the services provided, satisfying the implicit and explicit needs of its customers/users, through the organization and systematic improvement of the quality of its own operations and processes. This system will allow the institution to approach, organize and maintain, greater discipline in its processes, greater trust in management tools, greater trust in employees, greater trust for stakeholders, greater transparency in decisions, lower costs of failures and complaints.

The social response certified with this Standard brings together a set of good practices in a perspective of continuous improvement of procedures, less variation in the provision of services, greater transparency towards customers, greater trust and better image of the institution and its social response, which is a guarantee of quality of the services provided.

Social Response Qualification System (SQRS)

The Social Response Qualification System (SQRS) was developed by the Social Security Institute (ISS, IP) and is based on a set of criteria and requirements that once complied with by the Institutions, will give them the opportunity to hold a legally registered Quality Mark, which attests to the compliance of their services with these same requirements, although of voluntary application, starting from the interest and initiative of social support entities.

The certification is recognized by an external and independent entity to the Social Security (Certifying Entity), which certifies that the services provided effectively satisfy the clients and the legal and regulatory requirements to its operation. This certification shows compliance with the requirements set out in the quality assessment models, ensuring that when the citizen seeks the services of a social support entity, the satisfaction of their needs, expectations and quality requirements is guaranteed.

The Quality Mark "Certified Social Response" made available to institutions presents 3 levels of Qualification of increasing demand:

Level C Certification - compliance with the requirements established for the Level C qualification;

Level B certification - compliance with the requirements established for the cumulative qualification of Levels C and B;

Level A certification - compliance with the requirements established for the cumulative qualification of Levels C, B and A (the totality of the requirements of the Quality Assessment Model).

Quality Certification of Social Services (EQUASS)

The Quality Certification of Social Services is a system of recognition, guarantee and certification of quality aimed at organizations operating in the field of social services, represented in Portugal by the Portuguese Association for Quality.

This system was approved and is monitored by a European Quality Committee, designed and managed by EPR - European Platform for Rehabilitation, inspired by total quality systems, models of excellence, establishing an integrated approach, based on an external certification process that has as fundamental axes self-assessment and organizational learning, integrating three levels of quality recognition in organizations:

(EQUASS Assurance) Level 1 - Corresponds to the 1st level of fundamental requirement for the provision of services, meaning an affordable level of quality in terms of effort and costs. The criteria defined are certified for a period of 2 years;

(EQUASS Excellence) Level 2 - Certifies organizations that demonstrate results of excellence and continuous improvement. The certification is valid for a period of 3 years;

(EQUASS Award) level 3 Recognizes the particularly excellent performance of organizations. Its attribution results from an annual competition process between organizations with Certificate of Excellence of Social Services and is based on the evaluation and benchmarking of performance.