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EUr� <br /> EUGENE Administrative Services <br /> Service Improvement Team <br /> City of Eugene <br /> MEMORANDUM Eugene, W. Park Street, Suite <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97401 -2793 93 <br /> (541) 682 -8413 <br /> (541) 682 -5802 FAX <br /> Date: March 11, 1998 <br /> To: Johnny Medlin <br /> From: Howard Schussler, 682 -8413 <br /> Subject: Revision of Tree Preservation Code <br /> As I looked at some of the proposed changes that reduce the compliance inspection burden on the City of <br /> Eugene, my professional background in quality systems /quality assurance compelled me to share a few <br /> thoughts. <br /> The issues around the proposed change to the tree preservation code appear to me to be very related to a <br /> typical quality control /assurance environment. In this case, the code exists to provide for the general <br /> benefit of the people of Eugene (overall quality of life). With that in mind, compliance with the code is a <br /> service to the people. If the City will no longer be providing that service who will? <br /> The proposed change is that certified arborists provide that service. In private industry, it is quite normal <br /> for a business to subcontract or get services from outside suppliers. In this case, the business (City of <br /> Eugene) is suggesting that this compliance service come from certified arborists. The question is, how <br /> do we ensure the quality of the service (which is defined by compliance with standards /requirements)? <br /> Professional Quality Concepts <br /> • The parallel in private industry is the application of a quality system such as supplier assessment, <br /> limited sampling of incoming materials, ISO 9000 registration, compliance with MIL - STD -105E <br /> or ANSI Z1.4, etc. <br /> • Certification of private contractors for the purpose of self - inspection (assuring compliance with a <br /> standard). <br /> • Being certified by some external agency or professional society is normally not enough <br /> in private industry to waive the need for inspection. For example, businesses do not <br /> normally assume that incoming supplies meet specifications; they perform some level of <br /> inspection to assure compliance. Unless the certifying agency or society has a clearly <br /> defined method for regulating and /or enforcing their certification standards and some <br /> effective method for vacating the certification, the certification will provide a very low <br /> level of confidence. <br />