Profiles in quality The 2018 International Quality Award winners, finalists and their stories Foreword he pages of this ebook offer a to inspire and support others to realise rare treat for those of us who that improvement. are interested in how quality Tprofessionals help organisations sustain In this sense these are stories of leadership, and improve their performance. courage and determination at every level. But they are also the stories of individuals, These are the stories of individuals, teams and organisations the world over teams and organisations around the who have understood the importance world who have, through the art and of telling their own quality stories to science of quality management, made demonstrate the unique value that the organisations more resilient, more quality profession brings to the world. competitive and more successful in demanding times. I hope that hearing their stories encourages you to follow in their You will find little of the hard science footsteps by putting forward your own of quality management in these short work for future CQI International pages - but that, I think, is rather the Quality Awards, to stand proud and make point. The true revelation is how our your own contribution to the continuing winners and finalists have brought story of the quality profession. the tools of our trade to bear on the context in which organisations Vincent Desmond operate, to help them improve, and CEO, CQI Foreword e held the first The awards have grown and Another change in 2018 is CQI International matured in their second year. the much wider breadth of Quality Awards in The number of categories is up sectors that the applicants W2017, and I’m delighted that from six to nine, giving many worked in, including many they were so popular that more entrants the opportunity from healthcare. they are now a key date in to find a category that suited our annual calendar. them. We were particularly However, the most important pleased to be able to introduce aspect of the 2018 awards The International Quality an award for Quality wasn’t what was different, Awards exist to celebrate Organisation of the Year. but what remained the same. the achievements of quality Entrants continued to take us professionals from all over Also in 2018, some people into the heart of their work the globe. With this ebook, took the opportunity to enter a and make us feel part of it. We we want to share those stories second time, either in the same were, for a short time, able to as widely as we can, in the category or a different one. In walk in the shoes of quality hope that people will learn all these cases we were delighted professionals and understand and be inspired to tell us to see that our second-time what drives them. I hope that their own stories, by entering entrants had implemented this ebook gives you some of future awards for themselves. the suggestions they received that same experience. from the judges last time, and The award entries we in one case (Quality Team of If it encourages you to enter the received in 2018 continued the Year), that has led them to International Quality Awards in to be international, with the victory this time around. 2019, it will have done its job! majority of entries coming 11 from outside the UK. The We were also pleased to Estelle Clark, CQP FCQI winners 11 winners come from welcome some of our 2017 Executive Director of Policy, CQI eight different countries, award winners as judges for and the finalists bring the 2018 - their insights were total number of countries particularly valuable to the 9 represented to 11. judging panel. categories Words: Katrina Rozal EMERGING TALENT | WINNER Name: Khar Voen (Carmen) Chin, PCQI Carmen Chin traded a career in finance THE OUTCOME for the quality profession. After earning her THE JOURNEY Masters in Accounting, Carmen became To deal with challenges related to the supply Carmen’s audit work helps to maximise Role: Project Quality Engineer a financial auditor with PwC Malaysia. But chain and internal awareness of quality efficiencies and minimise compliance issues. two years ago, she left to join the quality policies, Carmen focused on training, audits The rollout of an NCR portal led to the team at the Hong Kong office of Alstom, Company: and improvement. She coordinated technical integrated NCR management tool being Alstom Hong Kong Limited which manufactures trains and provides rail training for suppliers, and governance training deployed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. infrastructure services. for internal teams. Location: Her approach to signalling upgrade work Hong Kong S.A.R., China led to improvements in tools, competences, “This award is a recognition for my work The language barrier was not an issue for purchased products and internal processes. after I made a big career change from finance Carmen as she was able to communicate in to quality,” says Carmen. “I wasn’t sure it English, Cantonese and Mandarin to provide a “Carmen is what this award category is all was the right move, so this award boosts strong interface between management teams, about: a young woman in a male-dominated my confidence, as I feel I have made the workforces and suppliers. industry who is working hard and emerging right choice.” in the quality world,” says category judge and To gain buy-in for audits, Carmen presented 2017 Emerging Talent Award winner Charlotte auditing as an opportunity to improve systems, Laverty, CQP MCQI, Quality and Business THE CHALLENGE such as warehouse stock management. She Continuity Manager at BT Global Services. As Project Quality Engineer, Carmen is also spearheaded improvements in the Hong “Carmen has real talent and a ‘quality’ mindset. responsible for a variety of quality activities Kong office’s non-conformance reporting She will go far!” supporting rail operators in Hong Kong, (NCR) by leading the deployment of a global Taiwan and Singapore. NCR portal for tracking supplier quality issues. Co-judge Laura Fletcher, Commercial and Customer Experience Director for NQA Carmen’s work helps to ensure that contract Identifying improvements in installation Certification Ltd., says: “Not everyone has the quality requirements are met for signalling activities is also under Carmen’s remit. Her courage to change careers after 10 years in. projects, to ensure the reliable operation credibility is often challenged when carrying She has a good attitude and a strong analytical of rail networks that transport millions of out inspections of the installation work of skillset. Carmen is aware of the challenges that passengers daily. This includes equipment teams of up to 100 people, where she is the face her as a woman within a male-oriented fitted in trains, stations, tunnels and control only woman. The group can only work when industry and I encourage her to embrace these centres. Carmen is part of the quality team trains aren’t running, which is generally in the challenges and use them as an opportunity.” that ensures early detection of potential issues early hours of the morning, so to prioritise and leads cross-functional problem-solving areas that require quality checks, she performs teams in root cause analysis exercises using risk assessments before site visits and works 8D and other problem-solving techniques. directly with the installation managers. “Carmen is what this award category is all about” INNOVATION THROUGH QUALITY METHOD | WINNER Organisation: The Register of Enterprises of the Republic a business,” says Guna Paidere, the register’s The Register of Enterprises THE JOURNEY of the Republic of Latvia of Latvia is the government body responsible Chief State Notary. “UNA is the future for helping entrepreneurs register new ambassador of the public administration.” The register collaborated with technology companies and update company documents. developer Tilde to create a virtual assistant. Innovation: UNA virtual assistant The register has introduced UNA, a virtual Winning an International Quality Award is a The register’s quality management system assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI), powerful validation of the register’s efforts to was used to create a risk management system to enhance customer service on its online modernise the quality of its customer service Location: which considered factors such as the impact Riga, Latvia platforms. UNA is the first chatbot of its kind management, says Guna. “This award means a of innovative projects on financial risks, and in Latvia’s public services. It is available 24/7 and lot for me and my organisation. It is the first the impact of personnel turnover risks on is able to answer more than 16,000 questions. international award we have received and the quality of customer service. In designing it also provides important recognition for the application, the register prioritised “UNA helps to make Latvia a country in which our work.” the questions asked most frequently everyone can realise their dream of setting up by customers, which related to new registrations, and the progress of registrations THE CHALLENGE and liquidations. After the successful implementation of a pilot project, the register Before UNA, the primary means of launched UNA on its website and on the communication for the register’s customers Facebook Messenger app on 13 June 2018. were face-to-face visits, email, telephone and social media including Facebook and Twitter. One of the register’s strategic goals is that by 2020, entrepreneurs should be able to remotely and independently register legal entities and update details. Data gathered THE OUTCOME from the quality management system suggests “UNA is the that customers prefer to submit registration As of October 2018, UNA has already responded to more than applications electronically. This feedback 18,000 individual questions from nearly 3,000 unique users, and has consequence spurred the register to pursue AI solutions in helped the register make savings on human resources.