A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

Scott G. Beach · 2003-10-23 22:07:00

?On September 17, 1999, all of NASA Centers, NASA Headquarters, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and all of NASA?s Government Operated Facilities achieved ISO 9001 registration. With this achievement, NASA became the first Government Agency in the World (Federal or State) to have multiple sites under an ISO 9001 registration? (www.hq.nasa.gov/iso).

NASA is setting an example that Martians should follow. Martian settlements should have governance systems that are certified by the International Organization for Standardization (www.iso.org). To achieve this, the people of a martian settlement could establish a governance system which has four branches; legislative, executive, judicial, and audits.

An essential component of maintaining ISO certification is the performance of periodic audits. Auditors review an organization?s written policies and procedures to determine whether such documents are being maintained in accordance with the organization?s standards for maintaining those documents. Auditors also observe what the members of the organization are actually doing. For example, an Auditor might take a ?Work Instruction? to a workshop and, while observing work being performed, determine whether the worker is performing his duties in accordance with the Work Instruction. If there is a discrepancy between the procedures specified in the Work Instruction and what the worker is doing then the Auditor would note that discrepancy and recommend that either the Work Instruction be revised or the worker be retrained. This kind of auditing can prevent small mistakes from building up to the point that they trigger catastrophes.

In an unforgiving environment like Mars, it is very important to prevent small problems from growing into major incidents. An ISO certified governance system could be an important component of preventing major incidents.

clark · 2003-10-24 09:41:08

Aduitor?

Don't you mean 'voter'?

Scott G. Beach · 2003-10-24 13:44:03

Clark:

Conducting an ISO audit is not something that the average voter can do.

I have worked as the Document Administrator at a chemical manufacturing plant. In that capacity, I maintained the plant?s ISO documentation. Those documents were crucial to the operation of the plant. A small error in one of the documents could result in a valve being opened at the wrong time. This error could cause the explosion of equipment worth several millions of dollars. Furthermore, the explosion could kill a dozen or more people.

A number of NASA astronauts have been killed during ground operations. Working around rockets is a dangerous business and Martians will have to be even more careful than their terrestrial cousins. On Earth, people can run out of a burning building to escape a fire. In contrast, Martians will not be able to just run outside to escape a fire. They will either fight and defeat the fire or they will all die. I therefore believe that Martian settlements should have very high-quality governance systems that are ISO certified. I also believe that the curriculum of a settlement?s educational system should include required courses about quality management.

On Earth we say that ?An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.? Martians will probably tell their children that ?An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.? The unforgiving environment of Mars will make Martians very safety-conscious and very careful. For example, before they leave their workshops for the day, Martians will make double-sure that all oily rags have been placed into steel containers that have tight-fitting lids.

clark · 2003-10-24 13:50:51

Your reasons are sound, I just balk at the inclusion of a beuracratic function included into the system of checks and balances... how exactly are you envisioning the relationship between the other branches and this new fourth one?

Would the auditors have the power to over-turn judicial decisions? Veto legeslative laws? Impeachment powers against the executive branch for gross mismanagement? What are the other branches checks on the auditors?

Auditors are in essence non-politcal media (also known as the fourth branch of goven'ment)- they inform the populace of problems, right? And then the populace makes their own determination based ont he information presented to them (either by electing new officals or calling for reforms). Yet it seems you are presenting the role of the Auditor as an actual politcal entity unto itself.

Perhaps you could explain a bit more what you were thinking.

Scott G. Beach · 2003-10-24 21:49:58

Clark:

In the Meta New Mars section of this Forum I posted draft Articles of Association for an organization that would undertake to build a prototype martian settlement. That settlement would start out as a neighborhood of 100 people and eventually grow into a city of 10,000 people. I have drawn a simple site plan for the city. Next, I am going to work on a set of draft ordinances for the city. In the course of drafting those ordinances, I will figure out a way to incorporate ISO quality management systems into the city?s educational and governance systems. To some extent, I am going to use NASA?s ISO systems as a model for the ordinances of the City of Euthenia. I plan to post preliminary drafts here for you and others to review and comment on.

Cobra Commander · 2003-10-25 13:54:22

I must admit I'm skeptical about this "auditor" branch. If politics is the machinery of government, this seems like a big ball of sand in the works. I await the drafts.

Scott G. Beach · 2003-10-25 20:51:25

Clark:

I posted a site plan for a prototype martian settlement on the web. Click here.

Take a L k!

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#1 2003-10-23 22:07:00

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

#2 2003-10-24 09:41:08

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

#3 2003-10-24 13:44:03

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

#4 2003-10-24 13:50:51

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

#5 2003-10-24 21:49:58

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

#6 2003-10-25 13:54:22

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

#7 2003-10-25 20:51:25

Re: A Fourth Branch of Government - ISO Certified Government on Mars

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