Profiles in quality
The 2018 International Quality Award winners, finalists and their stories

ForewordT

he pages of this ebook offer arare treat for those of us whoare interested in how quality
professionals help organisations sustain
and improve their performance.
These are the stories of individuals,
teams and organisations around theworld who have, through the art andscience of quality management, madeorganisations more resilient, morecompetitive and more successful indemanding times.
You will find little of the hard scienceof quality management in these shortpages - but that, I think, is rather the
point. The true revelation is how ourwinners and finalists have brought
the tools of our trade to bear on
the context in which organisations
operate, to help them improve, andto inspire and support others to realisethat improvement.
In this sense these are stories of leadership,courage and determination at every level.
But they are also the stories of individuals,
teams and organisations the world over
who have understood the importanceof telling their own quality stories todemonstrate the unique value that thequality profession brings to the world.
I hope that hearing their stories
encourages you to follow in theirfootsteps by putting forward your own
work for future CQI International
Quality Awards, to stand proud and makeyour own contribution to the continuing
story of the quality profession.

Vincent DesmondCEO, CQI

ForewordWe held the first
CQI International
Quality Awards in
2017, and I’m delighted thatthey were so popular thatthey are now a key date in
our annual calendar.

11
winners9

The International Quality
Awards exist to celebrate
the achievements of quality
professionals from all overthe globe. With this ebook,we want to share those stories
as widely as we can, in thehope that people will learn
and be inspired to tell us
their own stories, by entering
future awards for themselves.
The award entries we
received in 2018 continued
to be international, with the
majority of entries comingfrom outside the UK. The
11 winners come fromeight different countries,
and the finalists bring thetotal number of countries
represented to 11.

The awards have grown andmatured in their second year.
The number of categories is up
from six to nine, giving many
more entrants the opportunity
to find a category that suitedthem. We were particularly
pleased to be able to introduce
an award for Quality
Organisation of the Year.
Also in 2018, some people
took the opportunity to enter asecond time, either in the same
category or a different one. In
all these cases we were delighted
to see that our second-timeentrants had implemented
the suggestions they received
from the judges last time, andin one case (Quality Team of
the Year), that has led them tovictory this time around.
We were also pleased towelcome some of our 2017
award winners as judges for2018 - their insights wereparticularly valuable to the
judging panel.

Another change in 2018 is
the much wider breadth of
sectors that the applicants
worked in, including manyfrom healthcare.
However, the most important
aspect of the 2018 awards
wasn’t what was different,
but what remained the same.
Entrants continued to take us
into the heart of their workand make us feel part of it. We
were, for a short time, able towalk in the shoes of quality
professionals and understandwhat drives them. I hope that
this ebook gives you some ofthat same experience.
If it encourages you to enter theInternational Quality Awards in
2019, it will have done its job!

Estelle Clark, CQP FCQI
Executive Director of Policy, CQI

categories
Words:
Katrina Rozal

EMERGINGTALENT | WINNER
Name: Khar Voen (Carmen) Chin, PCQI
Role: Project Quality Engineer
Company: Alstom Hong Kong Limited
Location: Hong Kong S.A.R., China

Carmen Chin traded a career in financefor the quality profession. After earning her
Masters in Accounting, Carmen becamea financial auditor with PwC Malaysia. But
two years ago, she left to join the quality
team at the Hong Kong office of Alstom,which manufactures trains and provides rail
infrastructure services.
“This award is a recognition for my work
after I made a big career change from financeto quality,” says Carmen. “I wasn’t sure it
was the right move, so this award boosts
my confidence, as I feel I have made theright choice.”

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

To deal with challenges related to the supply
chain and internal awareness of quality
policies, Carmen focused on training, audits
and improvement. She coordinated technicaltraining for suppliers, and governance training
for internal teams.

Carmen’s audit work helps to maximise
efficiencies and minimise compliance issues.
The rollout of an NCR portal led to theintegrated NCR management tool being
deployed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
Her approach to signalling upgrade work
led to improvements in tools, competences,purchased products and internal processes.

The language barrier was not an issue for
Carmen as she was able to communicate inEnglish, Cantonese and Mandarin to provide astrong interface between management teams,
workforces and suppliers.

As Project Quality Engineer, Carmen is
responsible for a variety of quality activities
supporting rail operators in Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Singapore.

To gain buy-in for audits, Carmen presented
auditing as an opportunity to improve systems,
such as warehouse stock management. She
also spearheaded improvements in the Hong
Kong office’s non-conformance reporting(NCR) by leading the deployment of a global
NCR portal for tracking supplier quality issues.

Carmen’s work helps to ensure that contract
quality requirements are met for signalling
projects, to ensure the reliable operationof rail networks that transport millions ofpassengers daily. This includes equipment
fitted in trains, stations, tunnels and control
centres. Carmen is part of the quality teamthat ensures early detection of potential issues
and leads cross-functional problem-solving
teams in root cause analysis exercises using
8D and other problem-solving techniques.

Identifying improvements in installation
activities is also under Carmen’s remit. Her
credibility is often challenged when carryingout inspections of the installation work ofteams of up to 100 people, where she is the
only woman. The group can only work whentrains aren’t running, which is generally in theearly hours of the morning, so to prioritiseareas that require quality checks, she performs
risk assessments before site visits and works
directly with the installation managers.

THE CHALLENGE“Carmen is what this award category is allabout: a young woman in a male-dominatedindustry who is working hard and emerging
in the quality world,” says category judge and2017 Emerging Talent Award winner Charlotte
Laverty, CQP MCQI, Quality and BusinessContinuity Manager at BT Global Services.
“Carmen has real talent and a ‘quality’ mindset.
She will go far!”Co-judge Laura Fletcher, Commercial andCustomer Experience Director for NQA
Certification Ltd., says: “Not everyone has thecourage to change careers after 10 years in.
She has a good attitude and a strong analyticalskillset. Carmen is aware of the challenges thatface her as a woman within a male-oriented
industry and I encourage her to embrace thesechallenges and use them as an opportunity.”“Carmen is what
this award category
is all about”

INNOVATION THROUGHQUALITY METHOD | WINNER
Organisation: The Register of Enterprises
		of the Republic of Latvia
Innovation: UNA virtual assistant
Location: Riga, Latvia

The Register of Enterprises of the Republicof Latvia is the government body responsible
for helping entrepreneurs register newcompanies and update company documents.
The register has introduced UNA, a virtualassistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI),to enhance customer service on its online
platforms. UNA is the first chatbot of its kindin Latvia’s public services. It is available 24/7 andis able to answer more than 16,000 questions.
“UNA helps to make Latvia a country in which
everyone can realise their dream of setting up

a business,” says Guna Paidere, the register’sChief State Notary. “UNA is the futureambassador of the public administration.”
Winning an International Quality Award is a
powerful validation of the register’s efforts tomodernise the quality of its customer service
management, says Guna. “This award means alot for me and my organisation. It is the firstinternational award we have received andit also provides important recognition for
our work.”

THE CHALLENGE
Before UNA, the primary means ofcommunication for the register’s customers
were face-to-face visits, email, telephone andsocial media including Facebook and Twitter.

“UNA is theconsequenceof insights
collected in the
QMS. Quality
management
has driven
innovation”

Marika Jancenko, Quality Manager,
and Guna Paidere, Chief State Notary

One of the register’s strategic goals is thatby 2020, entrepreneurs should be able toremotely and independently register legal
entities and update details. Data gatheredfrom the quality management system suggeststhat customers prefer to submit registration
applications electronically. This feedback
spurred the register to pursue AI solutions inearnest in 2015, and make technology more
prominent in its key performance indicators.
The register decided to use AI as a wayof providing users with a more efficient
way to submit documents. For example,
one recurring issue was the delay in theregistration of documents as a result oferrors in online submissions. Having a virtualassistant to address questions 24/7 in realtime can prevent such issues, and keep theregistration process running smoothly.

THE JOURNEY
The register collaborated with technology
developer Tilde to create a virtual assistant.
The register’s quality management system
was used to create a risk management system
which considered factors such as the impact
of innovative projects on financial risks, andthe impact of personnel turnover risks on
the quality of customer service. In designing
the application, the register prioritised
the questions asked most frequently
by customers, which related to new
registrations, and the progress of registrations
and liquidations. After the successful
implementation of a pilot project, the registerlaunched UNA on its website and on the
Facebook Messenger app on 13 June 2018.

THE OUTCOME
As of October 2018, UNA has already responded to more than
18,000 individual questions from nearly 3,000 unique users, and hashelped the register make savings on human resources.
“The team did good work with their technology and in capturing
and analysing information,” says category judge Paul Simpson,CQP FCQI, Chair of the CQI Milton Keynes branch and Principal
Consultant and Owner of s2a2s Ltd.
“What I particularly like about this entry is that UNA seems to
be a direct consequence of the feedback and insights collected in
the quality management system via the KPIs that were introduced
in 2015,” says category judge Dr Bettina von Stamm, founder of
the Innovation Leadership Forum. “Here, quality management has
driven innovation.”IRCA CERTIFICATED AUDITOR
OF THE YEAR | WINNER
Name: Arlene Ollano-Aguilar, IRCA Lead Auditor
Role: General Manager
Company: Amaria Training and Consulting
Location: Doha, Qatar

Arlene Ollano-Aguilar is an electrical engineer
by profession, with a background in computer
programming and systems analysis. As amanagement system consultant, she is a trainer,
Six Sigma professional and IRCA Lead Auditor.
Her experience stretches across multiple
sectors including aviation, infrastructure, mixeduse developments, manufacturing, educationand oil and gas. She has worked withmanagement consultancies Faithful+Gould,
Atkins and engineering company Bechtel.
“An excellent auditor does the job right eventhough no one is looking,” says Arlene. “Thisaward means so much to me. It symbolises thevery best person I can be.”

THE CHALLENGE

THE OUTCOME

Throughout her career, Arlene has been
involved in numerous ventures and highprofile projects in Qatar, including the Dukhan
Highway Central project, which involved theconstruction of a 15km-long dual four-lane
expressway, to improve the flow of traffic
between Doha and the west of Qatar.

Arlene has gained substantial recognition
from her clients and auditees, which include
major contractors, suppliers, subcontractors
and internal teams. Her audit approach has
helped her clients save time and money.
Currently, Arlene is the General Manager ofAmaria Training and Consulting, a member ofthe Amaria Group.

She also conducted audits during thedevelopment of Hamad International
Airport, which currently receives 30 million
passengers and 360,000 flights a year.

THE JOURNEY“An excellent
auditor does the jobright even though
no one is looking”

Arlene takes a client-centric and risk-based
approach in all her projects. To embed quality
in any project team, she integrates audits as
a management tool. Arlene earns the trustof her auditees by making them feel that she
is committed to helping them improve, notto finding blame. When contractors question
her abilities as a female auditor, she remains
steadfast in her application of a holistic dataapproach. She applies robust data analyticaltechniques and cost-benefit considerations
to derive audit evidence. Arlene also goesbeyond the traditional compliance audits
by collating her findings and providing thebest recommendations that result in valueadding insight.

“Arlene sees the big picture,” says Estelle
Clark, chair of the judges and Executive
Director of Policy at the CQI. “She shows
resolve and determination.”
Category judge Richard Green, CQP MCQI,Managing Director at Kingsford Consultancy
Services Limited, says: “In order to be able toaudit effectively in the 21st century, auditors
must possess a diverse range of knowledge
and skills. They must be technically competent,
must understand how organisations work andmust be able to leverage their interpersonal
skills to influence and drive through change.
Arlene was able to evidence all of thesecharacteristics in spades, with her central
contribution to the audit programmes ofhigh-profile construction projects.”

QUALITY PROFESSIONAL IN
A NEW PROJECT | WINNER
Name: Richard Hawke, CQP MCQI
Role: Principal Engineer
Company: Amway Corporation
Location: Ada, MI, United States

THE CHALLENGE
Amway is a direct-selling company thatprovides nutrition, beauty and home careproducts to independent business owners
around the world. It operates in more than
100 countries and reported sales of US$8.8
billion (£6.7 billion) in 2018. One of thechallenges facing Amway is the introductionof the new Foreign Supplier Verification
Program (FSVP) by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). As an importer of foodand dietary supplements, Amway is required to
implement the FSVP to ensure that suppliers
from outside the United States provide thesame level of food safety as domestic suppliers.

THE JOURNEY

Richard Hawke learned his craft on thewarehouse floor, inspecting goods for amajor UK department store. Today, he
has more than 30 years of experience in
implementing quality systems and auditingand evaluating consumer goods.
As Principal Engineer at Michigan-based
Amway, Richard oversees the governanceand compliance of food safety regulations
for the company’s suppliers. He is amember of the CQI and the American
Society for Quality.
“It’s important that quality professionals
bring knowledge and confidence, so thatwhen things are falling apart, they standtall, stay calm and work through theissues,” says Richard. “These awards showthat dedication is recognised and valued.”

Amway is required to review and approve
232 raw materials from 79 global suppliersin 27 countries. Richard determined that thecompany’s longstanding approval process andquality management system audit was nolonger fit for purpose under the new FSVP.
Richard has the necessary training andexperience to be recognised as a Preventive
Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) under
US food safety legislation. He createdan FSVP team with representatives from
Amway’s various business groups and set the
team’s deliverables and timelines. The teamestablished the format for key data points,
document control and storage.
Richard subscribes to the servant leadershipphilosophy. To build a culture of ownership,
Richard established FSVP training for Amway
quality engineers, regulatory compliance teams
and global trade partners.

Richard also spearheaded Amway’s
FSVP involvement with the Council for
Responsible Nutrition, which works
directly with the federal government
and the FDA. Amway also reviewed andcommented on the FDA’s draft guidanceby joining the FSVP Industry Task Force.

THE OUTCOME
The training programme built a high level ofconfidence in achieving FSVP compliance andan understanding of the required processes
among Amway’s supply base. In less thana year, the project has reached several
milestones because of the data structure
established by the FSVP team Richard leads.
In joining the FSVP Industry Task Force,
Amway has also been able to raise issues andpresent industry views on new regulations.
The category judges are impressed by
Richard’s work. “Richard is clearly a seasoned
quality professional using an array of quality
techniques to plan, manage and deliver theobjective of the project,” says Karen Young,
CQP MCQI, who has more than 30 yearsof quality management experience. “A good
relationship with all stakeholders is a very
positive influence to benefit all.”Amanda McKay, CQP FCQI, Quality
Director for Major Projects at Balfour
Beatty, says: “This was a good submission
and presentation, which showed an effective
approach to a difficult project. The depthof knowledge and leadership approach
was refreshing and demonstrated anunderstanding of regulatory issues and goodquality practice.”“Quality professionals
need to have theconfidence to stand tall,stay calm and workthrough the issues”

LEADERSHIPAWARD | WINNER
Name: Howard Cooper, CQP MCQI
Role: Head of Quality, Aerospace, Technology
and Nuclear International
Company: Jacobs
Location: Cumbria, United Kingdom“Howard is an excellent ambassador for quality”
Jacobs leads the global professional services
sector, providing a full spectrum of engineering
services for the industrial, commercial,government and infrastructure sectors. The
company has a workforce of more than 80,000(including 10,000 in the UK) and turnoverof US$15 billion (£11 billion) in 2018. In2017 it further extended its capabilities withthe acquisition of global engineering andprogramme management firm CH2M.
As Head of Quality, it is Howard Cooper’s
responsibility to embed quality within thecompany’s Aerospace, Technology and Nuclear
International (ATN-I) operation.
Howard has been with Jacobs for four years,
and previously spent 30 years at the Sellafield
nuclear site. He describes his leadership style asconsultative. “I’ve learned to listen first before
I speak. This award shows how organisations
are starting to respond to different sets ofleadership behaviours. I’m really pleased andproud to have won the award.”

THE CHALLENGE
Jacobs’ ATN-I business has 3,000 employees,
including 70 quality professionals. The
operation’s new quality strategy consolidates
quality management arrangements and aligns
the business and quality strategies to deliver
focused improvement. It is also flexible
enough to fit the needs of Jacobs’ teams andclients operating across various geographies,
regulatory regimes and industry sectors.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

Howard incorporated Jacobs’ overall business
management system (BMS) to simplify
and standardise core procedural content
across the ATN-I operation. He created ateam of quality leaders and engaged withinternational colleagues to understand theirunique business needs and challenges.

Howard’s work has injected a clarity of
purpose into the quality management
community. Senior management provided
positive feedback on the performance of thequality network. The quality strategy increased
the value of client-approved savings ideas.
There has also been a three-fold increasein audit completion, with smarter outcomes
reflected in audit findings.

The quality strategy Howard establishedand implemented focused on six themes:
effective management systems, audit
assurance and oversight, effective quality
capability, supply chain quality management,
culture of improvement and quality
innovation. The quality metrics and targets
implemented across the business empower
its network of quality professionals todrive performance and hold the businessaccountable for continuous improvement.
Howard also used this project as anopportunity to help colleagues manage andadvance their careers. He designed a quality
career pathway and quality competency
framework, which is based on the CQI
Competency Framework, to provide a clear
route to progress from entry-level projects
to senior assignments. This includes the
skillset, competence and experience thatvarious job roles require.

The category judges are impressed by
Howard’s gravitas and leadership style.
“Howard is an excellent ambassador for
quality,” says Paul Vaughan, CQP MCQI, Lead
Quality Manager in Projects for Siemens.
“He has a strong commitment to quality andhelping others develop.”
Paul Phyall, Managing Director UK and
Ireland at SAI Global, says: “He identified
and quantified the structure and role of thequality organisation. He has a good approachto developing and communicating the quality
strategy across the business, including training.”QUALITY PROFESSIONALOF THE YEAR | WINNER
Name: Charlie Versi, CQP MCQI
Role: National Quality Manager
Company: Buildcorp Group Pty Ltd
Location: Sydney, Australia

Buildcorp Group is a construction company
that undertakes a diverse range of projects
across Australia, including new build, fit-out
and refurbishment, remedial infrastructure
and architectural joinery. As National Quality
Manager since 2013, Charlie Versi hasdeveloped and continually improved Buildcorp’s
quality management programme.
In 2018, Charlie gained the attention of both
the Australian construction industry andthe Chartered Quality Institute when theimplementation of his quality programme
consistently led to outstanding results.

THE CHALLENGE

THE OUTCOME

In the highly competitive construction market,
Buildcorp recognised that quality is a key
source of competitive advantage. But to truly
deliver high-quality projects, companies mustmeasure quality. Charlie believes that this is at
the heart of why many construction companies
have been making the same mistakes for
decades. Instances of poor quality construction
can be so frequent, that to report, measureand manage every issue can seem like a
mountain of work, so most contractors resort
to fire-fighting issues as and when they occur.

In 2018, more than half a dozen Buildcorp
projects were handed over defect-free.
Significantly, there was also 50% overall
reduction in defects across the whole
company compared to the previous year.

THE JOURNEYCharlie recognised that, in order to understandwhether his quality programme was truly
resulting in better client satisfaction and lower
costs of poor quality, he had to figure out away to measure tangible quality performance.

“Charlie is focusedon measurement,
but also on using
measurement toanalyse businessstrategy andimprovement”

Onsite™, developed by Charlie and his teamin July 2015, is a mobile software that allows
anyone to record live quality assurance
practices and record construction errors,
providing large amounts of accurate data.
This data represents the true cost of poor
quality to stakeholders. Furthermore, whenanalysed in collaboration with the supply chain,it empowers them to better understand root
causes and implement much more effective
preventative controls.

Charlie says: “I am overwhelmed andsurprised. Winning this award not only
recognises the work I have done over several
years, but also gives me the opportunity
to establish relationships with people that
ordinarily I wouldn’t have the chance to meet.”“Charlie is very focused on measurement,
but also on using measurement to analyse
business strategy and improvement,” says
category judge and 2017 Quality Professionalof the Year winner John Feltham, CQP FCQI,
Systems and Standards Compliance Manager
for Portsmouth International Port. “Hedemonstrates key leadership values.”
John’s co-judge Len Robinson, Quality
Director at Costain, says: “Charliedemonstrated good business acumen, which
he applied to all aspects of his role to create
a step change in quality management in hisorganisation with the potential to influence achange in the region’s sector.”

QUALITY TEAM OF
THE YEAR | WINNER
Name: Business Improvement Team
Company: Costain
Location: Maidenhead, United Kingdom“Costain built on learnings fromlast year to come back and win.
Their enthusiasm is infectious”

Costain provides smart infrastructure
solutions across the UK’s energy, water andtransportation networks. The company helps
to safeguard security, increase capacity, improvecustomer service and drive efficiency in clients’
infrastructure programmes.
Costain’s business improvement team (BIT)
have made an impressive comeback: after being
selected as finalists in the 2017 International
Quality Awards, they used the feedback theyreceived to spark further improvements intheir management system and audits, and thisyear they have returned victorious.
“We are really chuffed,” says David Sanders,Business Improvement Manager. “It’s a teameffort, a team award, and I know that everyone
contributed to it. It also gives us the opportunity
to build on what we’ve done, to spread theword of quality, not just within Costain but toshare it with other organisations as well.”

THE CHALLENGE
The BIT is responsible for embedding quality
among Costain’s workforce of 4,000, who
are scattered around the UK. They mustask challenging questions, provide insightful
opinions and be seen as quality leaders. The
BIT are the designers and custodians of thecompany’s web-based management system,
the Costain Way. They built it five years ago
and continue to manage the production andintegration of other management systems
within it.

THE JOURNEY
The BIT bolstered their team strategy
by refining their approach to risk-based
governance, consistency-based assurance andbehaviour-based improvement. They reviewed
the governance strategy’s effectiveness in key
risk areas, set out measurable deliverables for
the Costain Way, automation of processes
and integration of assurance. The team also
maintains direct contact with Costain’s top
leadership.
The BIT wanted to move the business culture
from one that relied on audits, to one of selfassessment and self-assurance. They designeda three-level structure of assurance measures
and weaved them into the Costain Way.
The enhanced audits now involve business
improvement assessments (BIAs).

They embedded RADAR logic (results,
approaches, deploy and assess, refine) into
the BIA. After analysing all contract data andfinding a mix of leading and lagging indicators,
they introduced a quality dashboard in 2017
to foster data-driven, sustainable improvement.

THE OUTCOME
The BIT’s work created improvements in the
Costain Way’s functionality, new mandatory
audits across the business, e-learning
governance training, consultancy andtechnology, and review of risk and controls. The
new audit approach contributes to reducing
the risk of auditor inconsistencies, which stood
at 3% in 2018.
“There is a clear linkage of quality strategy tobusiness strategy with the development of the
Costain Way,” says category judge Dr Roger
Cliffe, CQP FCQI, Associate at Bourton Group.
“The Business Improvement Team from Costain
both looks like a team and acts like a team– their enthusiasm is obvious and infectious,”says category judge Niall Pembery, Quality
and Technical Manager for DNV GL Business
Assurance. “I found it very impressive that thisyear’s submission was clearly built on learnings
from being a finalist in 2017.”

The Costain Business Improvement Team. Back, from left to right: Tim Shaw, Tony Blanch,
Matthew Taylor, and David Sanders. Front, from left to right: Len Robinson, Victoria Yates, Phil Jones,
Nancy Eley, and Marc Van De Velde. Not pictured: Annie Gianini, Systems and Performance Manager

QUALITY TEAM OF
THE YEAR | WINNER
Name: Pathology Service, Hull University
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Organisation: NHS
Location: Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom
As part of the UK’s National Health Service(NHS), Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS
Trust serves around 500,000 people acrossthe region.
The laboratory of the Trust’s pathology service
is managed in line with the highest standards inthe healthcare sector. The quality team in thepathology service provides clinical services andscientific advice based on analytical evidence.
“I think healthcare is a fundamental human rightand the foundation of a quality of life. Without
ensuring the quality of the services that

support healthcare, I believe that the qualityof healthcare for everyone in the UK would
be compromised,” says Ernesto Jr N. Quider,
Pathology Quality Manager.
“We are really excited to have won, it is abrilliant recognition for the public sector
and for a small team. It recognises where wecame from and where we are going to,” says
Mandy Bryan, Quality Coordinator in the
Blood Transfusion Department.

THE CHALLENGE
The pathology team at Hull University
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust works in ahighly-regulated environment. It is criticalthat all laboratory services are safe for staff
and that they deliver consistent, accurate andreliable services. The sector’s ever-changing
nature makes it crucial that the teamconsistently drives up the quality of carewhile delivering efficiencies and productivity.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

The team incorporated stringent quality
control and quality assurance in all aspectsof the lab’s quality management system(QMS). They weaved the Trust’s governanceframework into their own strategy, and work
closely with the Trust Governance Directorate.
Corrective action and preventative action(CA/PA) forms one of the foundations of theteam’s QMS. This covers trends and evaluations
related to all quality issues including equipment
management, training and competence.

The pathology service is one of the first labs
in the region to receive accreditation from
UKAS in accordance with the ISO 15189:2012
standard for medical labs. Its approach toquality management has increased quality
reporting, which led to more timely reviews of
CA/PA and quality processes. Improvements
were also made in the training culture.

The pathology team has also developed an
in-house QMS training programme, which
resulted in improved staff understanding of
QMS processes and engagement. The teamcollaborates with all departments across the
hospital to conduct reviews of their QMS tofoster good communication on all aspects oflab services. Their Q-Pulse software maintains
transparency by empowering all staff to reportincidents and positive feedback. Innovative ideas
are also encouraged to improve the lab’s QMS
and associated operational processes.
The team’s collaborative approach also
extends to external organisations. They pursue
partnerships to improve integration between
internal and external primary and acuteservices and social care agencies. Outreachto schools, shopping centres and community
hubs are part of their initiatives to promote
pathology and careers in healthcare sciences.

Category judge Dr Roger Cliffe, CQP
FCQI, an Associate at Bourton Group, says:“The team operates in a vital, but often
unrecognised part of the NHS. The judges
were impressed with the development,
governance and improvement of their quality
management system, which resulted in an
impressive boost in their quality indicators.
The team is recognised for having created aquality culture in the Trust which has made ita benchmark for the whole NHS Pathology
laboratory service.”“The team created aquality culture which has
made it a benchmark for
the whole NHS Pathology
laboratory service”

The Pathology Service team Quality Links representatives.
From left to right: Kay Anderson, Quality link/Chief BMS-Microbiology Dept; Amy Duckles,
Quality Link/Acting Chief BMS-Cellular Pathology Dept; Mandy Bryan, Quality Coordinator,
Blood Transfusion Department; and Ernesto Jr N. Quider, Pathology Quality Manager

CQI HONORARY
AWARD | WINNER
Organisation: Dr Nigel Croft, CQP FCQI
Role: Various key roles in ISO standards
development for more than two decades
Organisation: ISO (International Organization
		for Standardization)
Location: Geneva, Switzerland

The CQI Honorary Award is not open to
entries - it is reserved for individuals who have
moved the quality profession forward over anumber of years. The 2018 award goes to Dr
Nigel Croft, for his substantial contribution to
the evolution of the ISO 9000 family of quality
management standards.

THE BACKGROUND
ISO’s standards support quality management
at millions of organisations around the world.
They range from highly technical productspecifications and inspection methods, to moregenerally applicable standards for management

systems and conformity assessment, covering
areas including quality, environmental and healthand safety management.
The ISO 9000 standards provide the quality
management principles, requirements andguidelines for organisations to ensure they
not only provide consistent products andservices to their customers, but are also able tocontinually improve their overall performance.
Today, more than one million organisations
across 170 countries are certified to the ISO
9001 quality management system standard.

Nigel’s final meeting as Chairman of SC2 wasin the Azores, Portugal, in November 2018.
He will now head up the ISO Task Forceto revise “Annex SL” of the ISO directives,
which provides the structure, format, and asignificant part of the text for over 40 ISO
management system standards, including ISO
9001, ISO 14001 (environmental), ISO 45001(health and safety), ISO 22000 (food safety),and ISO 37001 (anti-bribery).

NIGEL’S STORY
Nigel Croft was born and raised in South
Yorkshire, and after graduating from Cambridge
and Sheffield universities, spent much of his
professional career in Brazil. He attributes his
passion for quality to the lessons he learned in
the 1970s as a student apprentice at the British
Steel Corporation, as well as the pragmatic“hands-on” approach of his wife and late fatherin-law during his career in the Brazilian steel
industry, and later while studying with quality
legends Deming and Juran.

“Nigel is one of
the key architectsof the world’s
most popular
set of quality
management
standards”

9001 published in 2015, the 2018 revisionof the ISO 9004 guidelines for achieving
sustained success, and the development ofother key standards.

Nigel’s involvement with ISO began in 1995
as a member of the Brazilian delegation to
TC 176, the technical committee responsible
for the ISO 9000 series. He was Task Group
Leader for the global implementation of ISO
9001:2000, and from 2010 to 2018 served as
Chairman of TC 176’s Subcommittee SC2,
in which over 80 countries and 20 liaisonorganisations (including the CQI) participate.
During this period, Nigel provided overall
leadership for the updating of the quality
management principles on which the ISO 9000
standards are based, the major revision of ISO

A WELL-DESERVED HONOUR
Nigel’s contribution to the advancement of
the ISO 9000 series has helped promote
and perpetuate the practice of quality
management in all sectors, all over the world.
He is keen to acknowledge the contribution ofhis many professional colleagues at ISO. “I amaware that I am getting the award, but it reallyneeds to be shared with all of those who
helped me along this quality journey,” he says.
Category judge Ian Mitchell, CQP FCQI, said:“The ISO 9000 family is the world’s mostpopular set of quality management standards.
Nigel is one of the key architects responsible
for their evolution. For decades, he has
provided leadership on standards that givecompanies the tools to drive improvement
and embed quality across all aspects of
their business.”CQI HONORARY
AWARD | WINNER
Name: Donald Berwick, MD
Role: President Emeritus and Senior Fellow
Organisation: Institute for Healthcare		Improvement
Location: Boston, MA, United States

Donald Berwick has been given the CQIHonorary Award for his work strengthening
quality in the healthcare sectors in the US andthe UK.
Donald started his career as a paediatrician
and has become a respected leader in driving
continuous improvement in healthcare delivery
and policy. He was appointed by former US
President Barack Obama as Administratorof the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS), where he served from July2010 to December 2011. In 2013, Donald
performed a review of patient safety in the
UK’s National Health Service (NHS) on behalfof the then Prime Minister David Cameron.
Donald is proud to receive the CQI Honorary
Award. He says: “This recognition is deeply
meaningful to me. I have thought more andmore throughout my professional life about
the fact that we are one planet, one humanity,
and that working together around this globe
is crucial to our health and wellbeing of all. So,
receiving recognition from a non-Americanorganisation feels especially gratifying.”“Don Berwick has beenpushing the boundaries
of quality in healthcare
for decades”

THE BACKGROUND
The structure and workings of healthcare
systems vary greatly between countries, butthey all share a need to ensure the highest
levels of quality. The insurance-based system in
the United States has undergone major change
in recent years, with the aim of reducing thenumber of uninsured people. Meanwhile
the United Kingdom’s government-funded
National Health Service has also seen several
rounds of reforms, and has faced high-profile
quality challenges.
Amid these changes, efforts to measureand implement quality and improvement inprocesses and outcomes, aim to make surethat users of healthcare services get the best
possible care.

During his career Donald has published morethan 160 articles in professional journals on
healthcare policy, decision analysis, technology
assessment, and healthcare quality management.
He has authored or co-authored seven books
including New Rules: Regulation, Markets, and the
Quality of American Health Care.
In the UK, Donald has helped design newcare models in various NHS trusts, including
acute care hospitals, multi-specialty groups,
accident and emergency departments, andmental health and nursing homes. He also
led a report into patient safety in England
following the breakdown of care at Mid
Staffordshire Hospitals.

A CAREER SPENT PUSHING THE BOUNDARIESDONALD’S JOURNEY
Donald began as a paediatrician at theChildren’s Hospital Medical Center and at theHarvard Community Health Plan (HCHP),
becoming HCHP’s first vice president ofquality-of-care measurement in 1983. In thisrole he investigated how quality management
methods from industries such as aeronautics
and manufacturing could be applied
to healthcare.
Between 1987 and 1991, Donald headed the
National Demonstration Project on Quality
Improvement in Health Care. Out of this work
grew the Institute for Healthcare Improvement(IHI), which Donald founded to work for better
healthcare worldwide.

Donald’s contributions to the field havehelped institutions improve their approach
to innovation and delivery of care. In theUK, he was knighted in 2005 for his help
in developing new models and improving
care in the NHS. He continues to serve as alecturer in the Department of Health Care
Policy at Harvard Medical School.
“Don has been pushing the boundaries
of quality in healthcare for decades,” says
Ian Mitchell, CQP FCQI, category judge
and Chair of the CQI Board of Trustees.
“His leadership has contributed to theadvancement of healthcare in the US and theUK. We at the CQI are proud to recognise
Don’s work with the CQI Honorary Award.”

QUALITY ORGANISATION
OF THE YEAR | WINNER
Name: Quality Team
Company: Hiab AB
Location: Malmö, Sweden

Hiab’s story exemplifies what is possible
when companies use quality to unlock growth.
Established 75 years ago, Hiab is the inventorof truck-mounted loader cranes, and has
become the world’s leading provider of onroad load handling equipment and services. Itsannual sales exceed €1 billion and its cranes
division has 1,170 employees. Cranes areassembled in Sweden, Poland, Spain, Italy, Brazil
and South Korea, and exported to more than
120 countries. Four years ago, the company
embarked on a journey to put quality at theheart of its business.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

Hiab analysed its entire value chain to identify
core, direct and indirect stakeholders. It
created a forum where senior leaders met
regularly with stakeholder groups face-to-face,to supplement traditional data analysis andanonymous customer surveys. The outcome
was a strategic program, ‘Quality for Growth’,
which ran from 2015-18.

Hiab saw a spike in its operating profit while
doubling order intake in some productsegments, and hit a 90% customer satisfaction
score. It almost doubled the speed ofcustomer support and reduced its warranty
claim rate to 30%. Communications about
the quality strategy resulted in over 200,000
social media interactions. Its annual employee
survey found 84% believe management gives
people the chance to voice their opinion,
resulting in 75% employee engagement index.

The company built strong financial connections
between lifetime quality costs, operating
profit and a solid KPI structure. Through thisjourney Hiab expanded its focus from supplierassembly-delivery to full end-to-end value.
To secure long-term sustainable stakeholder
input, Hiab merged core customer interaction
processes: customer care (warranty), customer
product support and product lifetime care.
Lean Six Sigma, Advanced Product Quality
Planning (APQP) and performance testing
were also deployed.
Hiab made fundamental cultural changes byleveraging its core leadership dimensions: ‘Leadwith Purpose’, ‘Empower for Performance’ and‘Collaborate to Win’.

THE CHALLENGE
An insight study that the company conducted
in 2015 indicated that it needed to strengthen
its competitive advantage. Top management
recognised quality as a foundation forgrowth and sustainable performance, andwanted to go beyond the company’s existing
reactive approaches to quality. This presented
challenges, and required a commitment fromall interested parties. Initially, the most delicate
challenge was to determine which areas tofocus on to get the right resources in place.

The Hiab team. From left to right: Alberto Ruiz,
Quality and Environment Manager, Marcel Boxem,
Director Heavy Range, Frameworks and Sales Area
Support, Adam Brzozowski, Senior Quality Manager,
Tobias Bunne, Quality and Product Support Director,
Nils Gjerstad, Senior Communications Manager, andFernando Garcia, Area Support Manager“Bottom line: today we have a provenapproach to turning quality and culturalchange into sustainable revenue growth.
Quality doesn’t just have top management
attention, it is central to strategy
development and deployment at HIAB,” says
Tobias Bunne, Hiab’s Quality and ProductSupport Director.

Estelle Clark, chair of the judges, and Executive
Director of Policy at the CQI, says: “Theorganisation achieved outstanding results withshort-term wins as well as long-term KPIs. Their
presentation used data-rich slides, the best of
any of the finalists. I liked the clear use of somany quality toolsets such as Hoshin, PDCA
(plan-do-check-act), value stream mapping,stakeholder analysis and Lean Six Sigma.”“Hiab embarked on a pretty sophisticatedapproach to quality, in my view, very rapidly,”says category judge Martin Brenig-Jones,
Managing Director of Catalyst Consulting.

“Hiab achieved outstanding results,
with short-term wins as well as
long-term KPIs”

EMERGINGTALENT | FINALISTName: Ashleigh Pritt
Role: Quality Engineer
Company: Jacobs
Location: Carlisle, United Kingdom

The determination to improve drives AshleighPritt, who returns to the International Quality
Awards, having been a finalist in 2017. Ashleigh’s
background is in mechanical engineering andconstruction design. Most of her five years at
global technical and professional services firm
Jacobs has been focused on project design. Her
expertise has recently expanded to asset careand construction in the nuclear sector. She isalso a STEM (science, technology, engineeringand maths) ambassador and mentors two
quality apprentices.

THE CHALLENGEOne of Jacobs’ major clients in the nuclear
clean-up sector is Sellafield Limited. Ashleighworks with Sellafield Ltd., its joint venture
partners and sub-contractors to achieve therequirements for a licensed nuclear site and forkey management systems such as ISO 9001,
ISO 14001 and the new occupational healthand safety standard ISO 45001.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

Ashleigh is part of an integrated asset careteam and has been involved in more than 40
clean-up and asset care projects. She monitors
the application of the Jacobs value ‘Enhancing
Processes’ to ensure that risks are effectively
managed, and that governance, assurance andcorporate requirements are met. To improvegovernance of asset care tasks, Ashleigh worked
with her team’s engineering manager tocreate a task delivery workbook. She has also
challenged the method for compiling Lifetime
Records (LTRs) and helped pilot an LTR index.

Positive feedback from client, partner and
LRQA Certification audits prove that Ashleigh’s
initiatives have been successful. Ashleigh has
helped her team elevate the reputation ofquality, change mindsets through company
forums and exercises, and deliver greater value
for money for Sellafield.

“Ashleigh takes
improvement
and leadershipto the next level”“Ashleigh has accomplished a lot,” says
category judge Laura Fletcher, Commercial
and Customer Experience Director at NQA
Certification. “She also takes improvement
and leadership to the next level in her extracurricular activities.”“Ashleigh has made strong links of assurance
at different levels: organisation, client, joint
venture and the supply chain. She has a strong
mindset that improvement sits across theentire company, not just in the quality team,”says Laura, adding that Ashleigh’s attitude ofchallenging existing methods and mindsets
highlights her drive to change the industry.

EMERGINGTALENT | FINALISTName: Oliver Wadsworth
Role: Quality Engineer
Company: Orchid Orthopedic
Location: Sheffield, United Kingdom“Oliver has a clear passion for improving quality
and increasing the performance of the organisation”
As a Quality Engineer, Oliver Wadsworth is
responsible for safeguarding the manufacturingof medical devices at Orchid Orthopedic. He
encourages open communication with shop
floor operators to foster a culture of quality.
Oliver was trained in mechanical engineeringand pursued the quality profession because
he loves finding different ways to solve
problems. He has worked in quality for five
years and is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. His
quality hero is W Edwards Deming.
“I believe in leading from the front by setting
an example to others in the way that we,as quality professionals, promote quality,”says Oliver.

THE CHALLENGE
Orchid Orthopedic has locations in the US,
the UK, Switzerland and China. Its site in
Sheffield, UK, has 230 staff. It is vital for thecompany to maintain compliance and productquality, because failure to do so could have a
direct impact on safety and quality of life forend users. Orchid Orthopedic is certified tothe medical devices standard ISO 13485:2016,
with some product ranges regulated against
the code of regulations issued by the US
Food and Drug Administration.

THE JOURNEY
Oliver introduced warning limits to prevent
non-conformances from occurring at Orchid
Orthopedic. He also created a Statistical
Process Control (SPC) chart to allow
operators to receive direct feedback in theevent of machine component wear.
Oliver classifies non-conformances as either
internal or external product quality, andmonitors internal product quality by using
trend analysis. He also uses Pareto analysis.
External product quality is handled ascorrective or preventative action, using tools
such as the 5 Whys, Process Flow Diagrams,
and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. In 2018,
Oliver played a key role in designing a newcomplaints system to improve response times
at Orchid Orthopedic.
The company recently implemented assisted
automation. Oliver has helped develop processcontrols to monitor data and performance toensure shop floor robots are fit for purpose.

THE OUTCOME
Oliver’s work helped improve on-time
response rates for external product quality
investigations by 45% from January to October
2018. During a Kaizen investigation, a saving of£3,000 was generated by tool and maintenancemanagement.
“Oliver has a good level of experience acrossa variety of quality disciplines including new
product introduction, Six Sigma and masscomplaint closure,” says category judge
Laura Fletcher, Commercial and Customer
Experience Director at NQA Certification. “Heis very passionate about improving quality andincreasing the performance of the organisation.”“Oliver has an excellent approach to riskbased thinking and has done some really great
work in his organisation to improve systems,”
says category judge and 2017 Emerging TalentAward winner Charlotte Laverty, CQP MCQI,
Quality and Business Continuity Manager at
BT Global Services. “He has a clear passion for
quality, and his views are refreshing.”

INNOVATION THROUGHQUALITY METHOD | FINALIST
Company: Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi AS (TOFAS)
Innovation: eLUA digital quality platform
Location: Bursa, Turkey
Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi AS (TOFAS) is a
joint venture between Turkish investmentcompany Koç Holding and Italian car maker
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). The
company manufactures and sells passenger
and commercial vehicles in Turkey.
TOFAS’s quality team developed a digitalquality platform to improve the managementof its complex manufacturing process. The
platform is called eLUA and is accessible byeveryone involved in product production via
PCs, smartphones and tablets.

THE CHALLENGETOFAS aims to provide vehicles that caterto consumers’ mobility needs. A key part offulfilling this mission is to provide defect-free
products. The company wanted to improve theflexibility and transparency of its production
processes. The quality team wanted a betterway to detect defects during production
and incorporate constructive feedback from
customers. The solution was eLUA.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

To create the eLUA platform, the teamdesigned its structure and worked with an
external company to develop the software.
The new platform was piloted during the
project phase of the Fiat Tipo. eLUA was
improved and adapted based on lessons
learned and feedback from the pilot. Afterrisk-assessment tools were integrated,eLUA was expanded for use in the
production of other car models.

The platform increased the speed ofproblem-solving during production, allowed
reports to be easily recorded in thecompany database, improved the facility’s
problem management capacity and boosted
teamwork. The production of the Fiat Tipo
has the best KPI record in TOFAS’s history,
and eLUA is now considered an example ofbest practice by FCA.

eLUA combines data flows in realtime, including customer feedback, andproduces a quality assurance (QA)
matrix where digital process risk analysis
can be performed. The QA matrix canbe updated daily. The eLUA workflow
follows this approach in solving problems:detection, diagnosis, solution and approval.

“It seems that the implementation of thissystem has opened up new opportunities
for innovation and improvement that would
otherwise not have emerged,” says category
judge Dr Bettina von Stamm, Founder of
the Innovation Leadership Forum. “Thisinnovation is the hub around which theactivities of the organisation evolve andwhere everything is stored and integrated.”

While the quality management platformpresented an opportunity to improve
workflows and the quality culture, it tooktime to get everyone on board.
“It was very hard in the beginning to get
buy-in from people because it requires
change and people don’t like change,”says Ali Ali, Quality Method and Planning
Specialist at TOFAS. “But after a couple ofmonths, they saw the benefits of this kindof management platform.”Özcan Çavuşoğlu, Quality Method andPlanning Department Administrator, and Ali
Ali, Quality Method and Planning Specialist“eLUA has opened up
new opportunities
for innovation andimprovement at TOFAS”

IRCA CERTIFICATED AUDITOR
OF THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Aijaz Ali Nasser, IRCA Principal Auditor
Role: Supplier Quality Auditor
Company: GSK
Location: Karachi, Pakistan

THE CHALLENGE

THE OUTCOME

As an IRCA Principal Auditor, Aijaz performed
audits of substances used in the productionof drugs, including drug ingredients as well
as sterilisation materials and packaging. Aijaz
needed to make sure external suppliers were
performing the correct testing, validation andequipment qualification procedures on the
products they supplied.

Aijaz’s work provided a level of assurance
that is challenging to achieve in a relatively
young and developing pharmaceuticalmarket. For the judges, his passion for the
profession is undeniable.

THE JOURNEY

Aijaz Ali Nasser, certificated with IRCA as a
Principal Auditor since 2016, worked with
GSK Pakistan for 32 years. He receiveda Bachelor of Science with Honours in
Biochemistry in 1981 and a Master of Science
with Honours in Microbiology in 1982. Prior
to his retirement in November 2018, he held
various roles in the pharmaceutical company’s
quality division, during which he displayed afierce passion for the auditing profession.
“I love my job because of the diversity,” hesays. “I’m doing something good not only for
an organisation, but for an individual – for the
person at the end of the supply chain. The
patient. The consumer.”

During his career in the industry, Aijaz
conducted targeted audits with a strongemphasis on authenticating evidence and raw
data. He took a diligent and collaborative
approach to dealing with situations where
suppliers had not followed the right processes.
In one instance, he discovered that aparacetamol supplier, which also manufactures
active ingredients, had failed to keep legitimate
reports of tests, due to conflicts and poor
governance in its senior team. As a corrective
measure, the supplier was mandated toprovide a total disclosure of gaps in its
documentation process and was issued aprovisional approval contingent on completingthe corrective and preventive actions that
Aijaz set out. In another case, Aijaz found outthat an external vaccine storage company wasfalsifying daily calibration tests. The contract
with the provider was terminated and adecision was made to store vaccines internally.

“The role Aijaz played in Pakistan and the job
he did is absolutely crucial,” says Liz Sandwith,Chief Professional Practice Advisor of theChartered Institute of Internal Auditors.
“He understands how important this wasfor the patients of the drugs that GSK
sells,” says Estelle Clark, chair of the judges,
and Executive Director of the CQI. “Heunderstands that he played a key role inmaking sure that they’re safe. Not all auditors
see that bigger picture.”“I’m doing something
good not only for an
organisation, but forthe patient”

QUALITY PROFESSIONAL IN
A NEW PROJECT| FINALISTName: Taccoorduth Chris Bungshy, PCQI
Role: Founder and Director Consultant
Company: QuEnSH Dynamics Ltd
Location: Quatre Bornes, Mauritius

Twenty-one years ago, T. Chris Bungshy
established QuEnSh Dynamics to empowerorganisations in Mauritius to develop their
management systems in the areas of quality,
environment and health and safety. His
company has four consultants who eachhelp five to 10 clients improve their quality
systems. QuEnSH’s client base also includes
organisations in Madagascar, the Seychelles,
Tanzania, Kenya, North Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia,
Morocco, Ghana and India.
“When I learned about quality in Mauritius
20 years ago, I became passionate about it,”
Chris says. “Our country needs it. The African
region needs it. It can help Mauritius to grow.
Quality is a major aspect of any organisation.
It can help change the world.”

THE CHALLENGES“Mauritius needs quality.
The African region needs it.
It can help change the world”

Farouk Hossen Optical Manufacture Ltd(FHOM) provides lab services for lens glazing,
surfacing, assembly and distribution from 22
outlets in Mauritius. Chris became responsible
for overseeing the overhaul of the company’s
quality culture and management system.
Critical issues influencing product delivery
and safety included leadership engagement,
volume of reworks, staff absences andworkplace safety concerns.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

Chris took a collaborative approach tohelping FHOM achieve sustainable continuous
improvement. New manuals and check sheets
were written to better support staff in eachdepartment. Retraining was carried out, witha focus on raising awareness of the quality
management system and translating it into
working language. For example, pictograms
were incorporated in new instruction
manuals for front-line staff who cannot reador write. Bonuses and staff eye checks werealso implemented to boost staff motivation.

Retraining of staff and increased leadershipengagement proved to be a breakthrough.
It created a healthier work environment,
which contributed to a reduction ofreworks in lenses as well as increased
production and a number of new outlets.
Chris and his team trained FHOM staff toperform their own internal audits to enable
them to drive the system forward.
“Much of the work required was inimproving the culture through behaviourchange in the wider organisation,” says
category judge Amanda McKay, Quality
Director for Major Projects at Balfour Beatty.
“Chris’s passion is evident in the deliveryof this project. He took an interesting
approach to a behavioural quality issue.”QUALITY PROFESSIONAL IN
A NEW PROJECT | FINALISTName: Sonia Mills, PCQI
Role: Quality Specialist
Company: Fluor Limited
Location: Farnborough, United Kingdom“I made it my personal responsibility to makesure the project succeeds”
Sonia Mills returns to the International
Quality Awards after being selected as a
Finalist for the 2017 Emerging Talent Award.
Sonia began her career in the oil and gas
industry working in administration. Fiveyears later, her forte is quality assurance. She
works for the multinational engineering andconstruction company Fluor Limited, where
she took on her latest project with gusto.
“It was like my little baby, and I made it mypersonal responsibility to make sure theproject succeeds,” says Sonia. “Anytime
I heard any mention of ‘quality’ either inmeetings or around the project floor, I wason alert because I really didn’t want to missanything that I might need to be involved in.”

THE CHALLENGE
Sonia’s team is responsible for the constructionof an oil processing plant in Africa. Respect
for the area’s environment and politicalbackground, and adherence to national andindustry standards, are vital. The project is thefirst to adopt Fluor’s Zero-Based Execution(ZBE) approach. As Quality Specialist, Sonia
oversees the Project Quality Programme(PQP) for the execution of the Front-End
Engineering Design, collaborating with various
teams in the company.

THE JOURNEY
The ZBE approach entails the use of newtechnologies for conducting remote visualinspections of equipment, managing costs andexecuting proper technical checks. In setting up
the PQP, Sonia incorporated her own additional
quality plan, which covers the logistics behindthe engineering phase, construction, field
operations and supplier and contractor
interactions. She facilitated a project activity
model to optimise how tasks are shared out
between locations and agree responsibilities
among various stakeholders, which included
training and workshops. She developed theaudit and surveillance programmes with
Fluor’s Manila and Amsterdam offices, both ofwhich incorporate the use of remote video
monitoring and video and audio conferencing
to execute activities across multiple time zones.

THE OUTCOME
Sonia’s work on the required deliverables
resulted in on-time completion and positive
client feedback. Along with the initiatives
mentioned above, the deliverables for the initialstage of the project include the PQP, a sitequality manual, spot check plans and review of
improvement areas.
Category judge Amanda McKay, Quality
Director for Major Projects at Balfour Beatty,
says Sonia’s work offers valuable solutions andincorporates a good approach to assurance fora multinational project with complex issues.
“I especially liked the remote visual inspection
approach – very efficient and lean,” says
Amanda. “Sonia really understood the complex
nature of the project and the context of the
project organisation, especially as it was based
overseas.”

LEADERSHIPAWARD | FINALISTName: Rupert Shingleton
Role: Project Director
Company: Costain Ltd
Location: London, United Kingdom
In his first summer job at Costain,
Rupert created and tested concrete test
tubes. Thirty years later, he finds himself
overseeing the quality team for theredevelopment of London Bridge Station.
The project, a collaboration between
Costain and Network Rail, began in 2013
with the purpose of increasing the iconic
station’s capacity by 40%. It reopened in
May 2018 with some work still ongoing.
As Project Director, Rupert is also part of
the team responsible for developing theoverall Costain quality strategy. “Working
in quality, we have a moral obligation to
do things right,” he says. “No business has
a right to exist if it’s performing badly.”

THE CHALLENGE
London Bridge is the UK’s fourth busiest
railway station. Operations for the five-year
rebuild project are based on a combinationof two management systems: the Costain
Way and Network Rail standards. Rupert
made it his mission to integrate both systems
and heighten the level of quality deliveredby the team. He wanted to ensure that
Costain’s performance becomes an example
for how the construction industry can adopt
a results-driven approach to quality.

THE JOURNEY
Rupert engaged key stakeholders todevelop a business management systemthat catered to the requirements of Costain
and Network Rail. He carried out discussion
rounds and debate before implementing
modifications. Rupert pushed for the use of
responsibility matrix charts to ensure focus
on core outputs. He also used SharePoint
to make processes, data and records moreaccessible to everyone from the front-line
staff to management. To foster teamwork, he
conducted weekly gatherings that stimulated
sharing, support and improvement activities.

“Rupert ispassionate about
getting the results
he strives for”

Rupert contributed to developing the overall
Costain quality strategy by setting targets
and behavioural performance measures forvarious teams. He produced official documents,
brochures and posters to communicate theoverall strategy across Costain.

THE OUTCOME
Rupert’s efforts to push the quality agenda
in his projects have been recognised by
the business and the wider industry. The
documentation he produced for the Costain
quality strategy is considered best practice forother Costain projects. He was invited to join
the board of the Get It Right Initiative, whichaims to stem avoidable errors across theconstruction industry. Rupert also facilitates
Costain’s involvement in projects run under
the initiative, such as the Construction Industry
Training Board’s quality course for supervisors.
“Rupert is very driven and passionate about
getting the results he strives for,” says category
judge Paul Vaughan, CQP MCQI, Lead Quality
Manager in Projects for Siemens Mobility.
Co-judge Paul Phyall, CQP FCQI, Managing
Director UK and Ireland at SAI Global, agrees:“Rupert is clearly an active player in addressing
quality culture inside and outside the company.
He is very dedicated to participating andleading in the industry to take it forward.”

QUALITY PROFESSIONALOF THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Ammara Tasnim, CQP MCQI
Role: Head of Customer Experience andQuality Management
Company: Ufone PTML (Etisalat Group)
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan“I breathe quality, I live quality.
I think quality management issomething that I was born with”

THE CHALLENGE

THE OUTCOME

The telecoms sector demands thatcompanies continuously adapt and reinvent
themselves. The rapid rate of technologicaladvances means that a model or processlaunched three years ago quickly becomesoutdated and unfit for purpose. Ammara’s
team need to deliver customer service
improvements that contribute to Ufone’s
sustained success. She must keep abreast of
evolving market needs, identify opportunities
for sustainable improvements, spot gaps,
analyse problems, and develop, test andrefine solutions. These activities must adhere
to the requirements set out by the country’s
governing body for telecoms operators, thePakistan Telecommunication Authority.

Ufone’s integrated QMS produces key metrics
and data points for continuous improvement,
which allow the quality function to track
issues and apply any necessary controls tomaintain optimal performance. Teams are alsoable to review gaps, increase benchmarks andconsistently make improvements. Collectively,
this has brought cost reductions to internal
systems, higher employee retention, greatertransparency, and decreased compliance issues
and customer complaints.

THE JOURNEY
In the last decade, the telecoms sector in
Pakistan has undergone big changes due tomarket pressures and government regulations.
Ammara Tasnim has been working in the
sector for 12 years, and enjoys the challenges
and rewards. She works at one of thecountry’s leading telecoms operators, Ufone
PTML (Etisalat Group), where she heads thequality function responsible for continual
process improvement in customer operations.
“I breathe quality, I live quality,” she says. “I
think quality management is something that I
was born with.”

Ammara began by developing a structured
quality management system (QMS) andpursuing strategies in customer relationshipmanagement. This included transitioning
from quality management standard ISO
9001:2008 to ISO 9001:2015, and ensuring
her department are properly trained.
Ammara supports the business’s shift froma people-oriented mindset to a processoriented one. Quality objectives, service
quality scorecards, performance evaluation
on KPIs, mystery spot checks, and biannual
review of processes and systems are among
the key tools she and her team use.

“Ammara’s energy shines through,” says
category judge Len Robinson, Quality Director
at Costain. “She is committed to ensuring
quality management and processes are fully
embedded in the company. She demonstrates
success in developing formal quality
management in a service industry.”QUALITY PROFESSIONALOF THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Nikki Thomas, CQP MCQI
Role: Head of Quality, Innovation and Engagement
Company: Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
Location: London, United Kingdom

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible
for protecting public health by ensuringthat medicines and medical devices are safeand effective. Nikki Thomas has worked inquality for 15 years, and as Head of Quality,
Innovation and Engagement at the MHRA, it
is her mission to ensure that the organisation
performs at the highest level. She is a Six
Sigma Black belt and strives to instil a cultureof improvement and innovation.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME
Nikki’s work has resulted in measurable
improvements and helps leadership make more
informed decisions based on better data. In
the BEMA assessment, her division achieved amaximum rating of five. Her inclusive approach
to auditing has also helped her colleagues
internalise its tangible benefits. MHRA staff
now request audits to improve their work.
She trained six internal auditors who conduct
audits confidently and share best practices inthe division and across the agency. This hashelped to cultivate a team attitude that it’s OK
to challenge the way things are done.

THE CHALLENGE

Nikki wrote the MHRA’s quality, innovation andengagement strategy to deliver on its businessplans. To support the MHRA’s reputation asa leader among its international counterpartsand share best practice with EU medicines
agencies, she led her division through the
Benchmarking of European Medicines Agencies(BEMA) assessment. To increase internal buy-in
and ownership of quality systems, Nikki works
with process owners to improve procedures
to manage processes. The internal audit
programme assigns risk levels to the processes.
Internal audit focuses on improvement aswell as compliance, and root cause analysis isapplied as necessary. Nikki also spearheaded
her division’s transition to the latest
management system standard ISO 9001:2015.

The MHRA is regarded as a world-classmedicines regulator. Nikki, who joined theorganisation three years ago, works in theinspection, enforcement and standards
division which focuses on the safe
manufacture and supply of medicines. She
is responsible for quality management andimprovement within the division, managing
matrix teams to constantly find ways tostreamline processes across the division andthe agency as a whole.

“Staff have begun
to request audits that’s a testimony tothe change in culture
Nikki has achieved”“The statement that internal audits are being
requested by teams is a testimony to thechange in culture achieved by Nikki,” says Len.

“One of my passions is to help people comeup with smarter ways of working; to change
our processes and be creative in how wework,” says Nikki.

Category judges Len Robinson, Quality
Director at Costain, and Shirley Parsons,
CEO and Founder of Shirley Parsons Ltd, areimpressed by Nikki’s active engagement andpursuit of improvement.

“Nikki’s leadership style is open, communicativeand supportive,” says Shirley. “She clearly
empowers her team to make decisions andcarry through the ideas in a productive way.”QUALITY TEAM OF
THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Quality Team
Company: Siemens Mobility
Location: London, United Kingdom

address quality ownership in the wider business.
Company surveys and audits suggested that
there was an opportunity to improve awarenessabout the behaviours and attitudes that
contribute to delivering quality.

THE JOURNEY
Siemens Mobility is a major player in the
UK’s rail network. The 18 members of its Rail
Automation Quality Team have more than
220 years of combined experience in quality,
and 90% of them have completed training as
IRCA Lead Auditors for ISO 9001:2015.The
team’s ethos is grounded in understanding therequirements of its customers.
To sustain a robust quality management
system, the team champions the business’s
in-house governance tool, Project Management@ Siemens (PM@Siemens). The team also
advocates the annual celebration of World
Quality Day to elevate the quality message
across the business.
Paul Barker, Lead Quality Manager in Projects,
says of the team’s impact: “There’s now avisualisation for the quality function, rather thanjust a hidden voice.”

THE CHALLENGE
With more than 135 years in the rail industry,
Siemens Mobility provides solutions ranging
from signalling to communications, power supply
systems, delivering new trains and maintaining
existing fleets. The quality team must enhance
the processes involved in the delivery of these
services to keep the company at the forefrontof the industry. To spread their influence acrossSiemens Mobility, the quality team needed to

In 2017, the quality team extended World
Quality Day into World Quality Week, toenhance employee understanding of thecompany’s assurance regime and ensure
flow down of customer and stakeholder
requirements. Governance of delivery is
performed using the PM@Siemens tool, whichenables the organisation to understand andmanage customer requirements; all the way
from invitation through to tender, projectcompletion and after-care support. The
planning for World Quality Week involved
an extensive review of the business climate,projects, initiatives and regulatory requirements
in rail automation. The quality team led on
the presentation of ‘Celebrating Everyday
Leadership’, the central theme for World Quality
Day 2017. Key elements of World Quality Week
included workshops and short video recordings
from top management, which were shared
via the Siemens Social Network (SSN). This
engagement with a wide employee population
enabled senior executives to reinforce key
assurance processes in a more personal way.
This level of involvement also ties in with key
leadership requirements of ISO 9001:2015.

“This team showed
the brighter side of
how quality can add
value to the business”

THE OUTCOME
The Quality Team’s efforts resulted in aheightened awareness of individual roles inquality project delivery. World Quality Week
promoted capturing and reporting of quality
issues and ensured sustained feedback frominterested parties to drive effective corrective
action. There was substantial positive feedback
regarding the company’s primary broadcast
platform, its social network SSN. Senior
executives supported the Quality Team’s
use of audit, root cause analysis and lessons
learned from business activities to continue
to coach colleagues to improve. The team’s
approach also impressed top management at
Siemens’ headquarters in Germany.

“This is an exemplary implementationof World Quality Day and World
Quality Week, which contributed
to significant improvements in
QMS awareness and updates,” says
category judge Dr Roger Cliffe, CQP
FCQI, Associate at Bourton Group.
Alan Grogan, CQP MCQI, Headof Quality at Nuvia, agrees: “I reallyenjoyed the dynamics and enthusiasmof the team. They organised a great
event and showed the ‘brighter’ sideof how quality can add value tothe business.”

The Siemens Mobility Quality Team. Back, from left to right: Silvester Baptista, Site Quality Manager; Umair Khan, Quality Manager in Projects(QMiP); Lloyd Wood, Audit & Supplier Quality Manager; Becky Worsey, Audit & Supplier; Tim Grant, QMiP; and Paul Vaughan, Lead QMiP. Front, fromleft to right: Mariann Hay, QMiP; Heather Hitchen, QMiP; Natasha Graham, EHSS&Q Specialist; Ian Mathers, Quality Manager; Mike Helliwell, Headof Quality; and Georgina Smith, Quality Administrator. Other team members not pictured: Paul Barker, Lead QMiP; Simon Dunkley, Quality Manager;
Gordon Christie, QMiP; Roy Reid, Site Quality Engineer, Sallyann Howard, Quality Doc Controller; Gary Jackson, Quality Manager; and Jo Cox, QMiPQUALITY TEAM OF
THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Quality Team
Company: Willmott Dixon Construction Limited
Location: Hitchin, United Kingdom

The Willmott Dixon National Product Team and Supply Chain
Partner. From left: John Waterman, Chief Operating Officer, Ashley
Devonport, Quality Delivery Manager, Rumana Shaukat, National Quality
Improvement Manager, Simon Pearce, National Quality Advisor, Christine
Murray, National Quality Assurance Manager, Tim Carey, National
Product Director and Kerry Parker-Wray, Key Account Manager, IKO

Willmott Dixon is a family-run construction
and interior fit-out group that wasestablished in 1852. The company ended
2017 with turnover of £1.3 billion.
Three years ago, Willmott Dixon recognisedthat it needed to change its approach toquality management. Integral to this pursuitfor improvement is the company’s Buildingon Better strategy. Launched in 2016, thestrategy puts customers at the heart of
all its activities and encourages employees
to ask ‘why?’ when evaluating their role inthe business.
“We know we’ve come a long way,” says Tim
Carey, National Product Director at Willmott
Dixon. “We haven’t got to where we want
to be yet, but we have changed radically in alittle over a year… We’ve now got the data
to know we’re in a better position.”

THE CHALLENGE

THE OUTCOME

The company felt that the constructionindustry responds to change in a reactive way
instead of using quality management to prevent
mistakes and create sustainable improvements.
Looking inward, there was a consensus acrossthe business that the company needed tocommunicate more effectively and openly toits people and customers on all issues related
to quality.

The NPT achieved universal buy-in for therevamped QMS and Building on Better
strategy, and the promotion of local bestpractices across its wider business. The new
QMS has allowed feedback from Willmott
Dixon’s people and customers to drive
improvements and ensure quality processes
adapt to the industry’s ever-changing
requirements.

As part of this, Willmott Dixon reassessed its
quality management system (QMS) to align itwith the new ISO 9001:2015 standard before
the September 2018 transition deadline.

Category judge Alan Grogan, CQP MCQI,Head of Quality at Nuvia, says the teamshowed “a very impressive progression ofunderstanding the situation and becoming
enlightened”.

THE JOURNEY“The NPT have been instrumental in taking
the business forward,” he added.

Willmott Dixon brought together
representatives from its six business areas torewrite the QMS. A National Product Team
(NPT) was formed to lead the transition
to ISO 9001:2015. This team consulted therespective areas to gain quality buy-in fromacross the business.
The NPT designed a new Defect Free
Handover scheme and to ensure compliance,
national quality advisors were brought
into the team to carry out independent
inspections and assessments. These checks
were performed using tablets, which
all stakeholders along the supply chain
can access. A new scoring system was
implemented.
The company established the Willmott Dixon
4Life Academy in Birmingham to provide
training to thousands of people a year, as
part of its effort to take a proactive approachto quality.

The project demonstrated “good use oftechnology to move the inspection process
into the field, away from desks – and changing
attitudes,” says category judge Niall Pembery,
Quality and Technical Manager for DNV GL
Business Assurance. “The 4Life Academy isa good indication of addressing root cause
and quality culture. There is a good link
between ‘acknowledging we have a problem’and senior management. The team showed
refreshing honesty, openness and enthusiasm.”“Willmott Dixon’s National Product
Team have been instrumental in
taking the business forward”

QUALITY ORGANISATION
OF THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Quality Team
Organisation: Al Zahra Hospital Dubai
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Since opening its doors in 2013, Al Zahra
Hospital Dubai (AZHD) has focusedon patient-centric care and clinicaloutcomes. The private hospital is proudof leading in the areas of gynaecologicalsurgery and bariatric and metabolic
surgery. It has 187 beds and more than
1,000 staff.
The hospital’s vision is to become aregional leader in patient experience andclinical outcomes by building on the trust
it has earned from stakeholders. For theorganisation, quality means providing safe,
effective and timely care for patients.
“Quality is our main strength,” says Dr
Mohaymen Abdelghany, the hospital’s
Chief Executive Officer. “Looking after
our patients is the most important thing.
We provide evidence-based care for
lasting solutions.”

THE CHALLENGE
AZHD’s top priority is to deliver
the highest level of care for patients.
Embedding a culture of quality is criticalto fulfilling this. Quality is one of thehospital’s four strategic areas, which also
include operational and clinical outcomes,
staff and patient experience, and growth.
The organisation’s quality department
has six members who implement quality
and patient safety programmes.

THE JOURNEY

THE OUTCOME

Quality is embedded across the hospitalthrough its stakeholders management plan.
This sets out the responsibility matrix byseeking input from staff, that is then refinedand validated by leadership. The plan
itself is also assessed through stakeholder
and customer satisfaction surveys. The
communications of hospital-wide behaviouralcompetencies are executed based on the plan.

Surveys suggest that AZHD’s management
system has been successful. In 2017, patientsatisfaction was at 82% and employee
satisfaction at 88%. The hospital’s staff
retention rate is 98.4%. The risk management
strategies created by leadership reduced
overall risk score by 76% to 260.

Performance of the organisation against
its strategic goals is monitored by monthly
business reviews of physician-led clinicalexercises. The hospital’s KPIs are categorisedby four levels: corporate, hospital-wide,
departmental (radiology, operating room,
pharmacy and neonatal intensive care unit) andspeciality specific units (physician and nursing).
Audit results are collated monthly and reported
to the quality department, which validates them.
If necessary, action plans to improve complianceare implemented and monitored.

“There’s no argument that they are moving
in the right direction,” says category judge
Mark Braham, CQP FCQI, Head of Business
Assurance at The Automobile Association(The AA). “Their leadership support andcommitment go a long way.”
Category judge Martin Brenig-Jones,
Managing Director of Catalyst Consulting,
was impressed by the hospital’s systems andmeasurements. “A lot of other organisations
could learn from AZHD,” he says.

To ensure decisions are driven by dataand evidence, AZHD has clinic-care
informatics specialists who oversee its clinicalinformation system.
The hospital also has more than 900 policies
along the patient journey to ensure that itmeets global accreditation and international
standards, such as the Joint Commission
International Accreditation Standards for
Hospitals (JCIA).

“Quality is our
main strength”

QUALITY ORGANISATION
OF THE YEAR | FINALISTName: Quality Team
Company: Troup Bywaters + Anders
Location: London, United Kingdom“TB+A are investing in - andlearning from - their young people”

THE CHALLENGE

THE OUTCOME

TB+A developed a new three-pillar strategy:
growing people, sustainability at heart, andachieving quality and consistency.

Initiatives from the new strategy madea positive impact, particularly the TQC
programme. Within the first two months,
there was an 88% rise in positive client
feedback. Within six months, the company
has seen a 15% decrease in corrective
actions related to project plans.

In 2017, TB+A was awarded the Platinum
standard by Investors in People. Training
opportunities, such as the Trailblazer
Improvement programme, enabled staff
to explore other business areas. Youngstaff saw quality as a natural path towards
becoming a partner at TB+A.

Estelle Clark, chair of the judges andExecutive Director of Policy at the CQI,
says: “TB+A has a good mapping of a
traditional approach – well executed.
Their pride shines through.”“They are focusing on their younger people,
investing in them and learning from them,which I really like,” says category judge Sally
Swingewood, Lead Programme Manager at
the British Standards Institution (BSI).

All aspects of the business needed to alignwith the new strategy. This required changes
in best practice, communications andsharing of knowledge between generations.
Communications and engagement methods
include national roadshows and workshops,
internal training, meetings, word-of-mouth andguidance notes.

THE JOURNEY

Troup Bywaters + Anders (TB+A) is a leadingbuilding services design consultancy. The
practice has a workforce of approximately 200
people in eight design centres around the UK,
and turnover of £16.5 million in 2018.
In 2015, new leadership spurred a re-evaluationof TB+A’s business plan. With more than 60
years in the industry, the company was keen to
adopt a fresh, robust and sustainable approachto quality, centred on leadership, dialogue,
engagement, and continuous improvement.
Terry Canty became a partner in 2000. He says:“After working for the business for such a longtime, I’ve seen huge change. There’s far more
buy-in from people at all levels. The young
people we’re bringing through are certainly
a huge catalyst for sustainable change for thebusiness as well.”Troup Bywaters + Anders’s quality processes
are driven by its ‘Context of Organisation’ policy,
which covers the company’s purpose, stakeholder
expectations and measures for sustainability
and analysis.To form the new strategic direction,
a dedicated task team selected by the board
performed a SWOT analysis (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats).This
covered the business’s future sustainability,
services offered, scope of management systems
and how key measurables were monitored.
TB+A developed a Technical Quality andConsistency (TQC) programme to help teams
sharpen their technical robustness, plan companywide projects and share knowledge.
TB+A has maintained accreditation to quality
management system standards, making
the transition from ISO 9001:2008 to ISO
9001:2015 in 2017, and improving theefficiency of its policies, procedures, guidance
documents and project plans.

Troup Bywaters + Anders.
From left, Michal Koscielniak, Project Associate, Alan Newman, Partner, Robert Robinson, Associate,
Martin Goswell, Associate, Stephen Wood, Partner, Anna Driscoll, Administrator, Kevin Critchell, Associate,
Claire Bower, Head of IMS, Gareth Robertson, Electrical Engineer and Mark Houghton, Project AssociateBe part of the2019 International
Quality Awards
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