Mission
The mission of the Tarragona Port Authority is the rendering of the services to the vessel, cargo, and passengers linked to the call at the Port of Tarragona. The management of the port public domain. The rendering of coordination services and control of the operations related to port services. The coordination and control of the commercial activities and services directly related to port activity.
The Tarragona Port Authority carries out its mission with a firm commitment to the quality of its management, the undertaking of an environmentally-respectful activity and in line with criteria of sustainability, contributing to the economic and social development of its surroundings and promoting modernisation and the adaptation of its infrastructures and services to the needs and requirements identified by its interest groups.
Its commitments are:
To ensure that infrastructures adapted to the needs of our clients are available to them, and are at all times in line with the criteria of reducing environmental impact to a minimum, allowing them to carry out their activities at the Port of Tarragona.
To foster the continued improvement of the services provided at the Port of Tarragona.
To foster the implementation of technological management platforms within the port community in order to expedite the administration processes.
To maintain the current legal regulations updated in order to ensure the fulfilment of legal requirements.
To carry out the continued improvement of the processes in order to attain the satisfaction of those interest groups identified and to review these processes periodically.
To publicise the quality assurance and environmental policies and their aims to persons within the company and to society as a whole.
To report to interested parties in line with transparency criteria.
Vision
The Port Authority focuses on growth by basing its efforts on:
Being recognised as an economic driving force in the areas of Tarragona, Catalonia and the Ebro Valley.
Consolidating its international projection as a major port in southern Europe.
Promoting traffic diversification.
Consolidating the Tarragona Cruise Port brand among target operators.
Providing the Port of Tarragona with an intermodal terminal.
Values
Experience and knowledge of the port sector
Commitment to the optimisation of quality services
Trustworthiness, honesty and dignity
Leadership and reference
Transparency and accessibility to information
Focus on satisfying the requirements of interested parties
Corporate social responsibility
Technological innovation and management
Respect for the environment and a contribution to sustainability
Commitment to the social environment
Tarragona Port Authority’s Quality Management System (QMS)
The Port Authority has implemented a Quality Management System (QMS) aimed at managing the processes and the resources needed to contribute value to its activities and to increase customer satisfaction, both internal and the external ones (Port Community, end customers, etc.), by applying the system effectively, with the goal of continuous improvement and ensuring conformity with customers’ requirements as well as applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Various certifications attest to the effectiveness of the QMS, both those obtained by the Port Authority (ISO, Service reference standards) and those obtained by the Port of Tarragona’s various maritime terminals based on Service quality reference standards for various kinds of traffic and for Port Services in accordance with Service quality reference standards that are applicable, approved by the TAP’s Board of Directors.
Certifications
ISO 9001:2015 certification
ISO 9001 promotes a system focused on management by processes, which develops, implements and improves the effectiveness of a quality management system based on the cycle of continuous improvement: Plan Do, Check and Act.
The focus on processes involves the systematic administrative definition of the processes and their interactions, with the objective of reaching the results anticipated in accordance with the quality policy and strategic management of the TPA.
On April 9th 2013, the Tarragona Port Authority obtained the UNE-EN ISO 9001 Certification issued by AENOR, and On 25 May 2018 the certification was renewed in accordance with the new ISO 9001:2015 Standard.
SCOPE
Integral management of Port Authority operative, technical and administrative processes for the rendering of services to stakeholders, including the coordination and control of the commercial activities and services directly related to port activity.
This certification is an international recognition by the IQnet association (International Certification Network) which brings together the leading certification authorities in the major countries of the world and guarantees a wide recognition and appreciation by the Port of Tarragona’s client companies and users. By obtaining this certification, the Port Authority demonstrates to society and to companies that it has a work system that is consistent, reliable, in accordance with the applicable regulations and that meets the requirements of its customers, and that it is capable of adapting to those determined by new customers wishing to work with the Port of Tarragona.
Quality of service certifications
The aim of the quality of service certifications at the TPA is none other than the recognition of the quality provided by the Port Authority, providing customers and society in general with an image of professionalism, transparency and safety, in line with the quality standards agreed upon at a national level, in the development and possible certification of other management systems.
These certifications are based on Service Quality Reference Standards approved by the Board of Directors of the APT and ratified by the State Ports Body.
The TPA has the following Service Quality certifications:
Would you like to see other Port of Tarragona certifications?
Environmental certifications
The Tarragona Port Authority has other environmental certifications.
Information Security Management System certification
The Tarragona Port Authority has the Information Security Management System certification.
Reference Standards
Specific service quality reference standards for types of traffic
The Tarragona Port Authority, in its Quality Management System via the Port Community, has several tools at its disposal that allow improvements in the quality of service.
Among these instruments of service quality, specific service quality reference standards for traffic have a preferential place, establishing as they do the level of quality that the customer can expect and the issues that need to be verified in order to ensure compliance with the characteristics by means of a certificate issued by a certifying body.
The Port Authority has developed, drawn up and approved the following reference standards, which have been ratified by the State Ports body:
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for bulk solid and liquid cargo traffic in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for container traffic in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for container traffic in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for vehicles as goods in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for conventional goods in general in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for cruise ship traffic in the Port of Tarragona.
Specific Quality Reference Standards for Port Services
The Tarragona Port Authority, in its Quality Management System via the Port Community, has several tools at its disposal that allow improvements in the quality of service.
Among these instruments of service quality, specific service quality reference standards for Port services have a preferential place, specifying as they do the commitments relating to the service that is provided, using a system involving the continuous monitoring of the parameters and indicators for each of the parties involved.
Compliance with these commitments is the basis for the service quality certification issued by a certifying body.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for piloting in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for mooring and unmooring in the Port of Tarragona.
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for tugging in the Port of Tarragona
A specific Service Quality Reference Standard for waste receipt in the Port of Tarragona.
A Service Quality Reference Standard for Aids to Navigation.
EFQM model
In 2002, as a result of its concern for continuous improvement, the Tarragona Port Authority adopted the EFQM Excellence Model as a reference model.
The Port Authority has continued to analyse its progress, and carried out a second self-assessment in order to determine its current position. This second self-assessment produced a score of over 300 points.
The Self-assessment is an overall, systematic and regular examination of the organisation’s activities and results carried out by comparing the reality of the company’s situation with a business excellence reference model.
The results of the assessment have revealed a highly positive evolution in the scores obtained compared to the previous one carried out in 2002, and have allowed us to prioritise and implement the resulting improvement projects, which have resulted in operating goals for the TPA’s Business Plans and Quality Management System.
Of the 35 improvement projects resulting from the last self-assessment, 16 have been implemented in their entirety, while another 6 have been implemented partially and are under development.
Internal Suggestions System (ISS)
The Internal Suggestions System (ISS) is a process that is built into the Port of Tarragona’s Quality Management System, created with the aim of channelling and implementing any original and specific idea suggested by the TPA’s employees.
The ISS manages any suggestion capable of being implemented, designed to optimise resources, as well as improving the processes and services provided by the Port Authority: processes involving work, environmental safety, quality improvement, facilities, infrastructure and the work environment. All this with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the Port Authority and the Port, as part of the commitment to continuous improvement that our organisation’s Quality Policy establishes.
Customer satisfaction study
The Tarragona Port Authority is carrying out its mission of contributing to the economic and social development of its surroundings in a sustainable way and applying criteria of sustainability, with a strong commitment to the quality of management and with an activity that respects the environment.
The CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STUDY is carried out every two years, within the TPA’s QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM VIA THE PORT COMMUNITY, certified in accordance with Quality Standard ISO 9001.
For any quality system it is essential to establish a FEEDBACK PROCESS THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO LEARN THE EFFECTIVENESS AND THE LEVEL OF QUALITY OF THE SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED. This is the fundamental reason for the study, which is carried out using anonymous face-to-face surveys.
Customer Satisfaction Study 2016
Quality Management System body
The Reference Standard Monitoring Committee
The Reference Standard Monitoring Committee is the body that oversees compliance with the evidence, indicators and records arising from the application of specific quality reference standards for Port traffic and services in the period between certifications or in the phase prior to obtaining these quality certifications for the first time.
It is made up of:
Interlocutors authorised in quality matters appointed by the respective companies, in accordance with that envisaged in the respective Reference Standards.
Representatives of the Port Authority, of the managements/departments involved in the reference standards.
Publication of quality initiatives
At the Port Authority we publicise the quality initiatives of the companies of the Port Community, and to this end we publish the certificates on your digital card, which you can find in the Port Community’s Directory Of Companies of the Port Community, on our website.
In this section you can also download the form you need to publish the details about your company in our Port Community’s directory of companies.
