Recent Media Coverage of London South West Branch CQI

Copies of recent reports of our meetings as reprinted from the Quality Professional, a supplement to Quality World are shown here: 

CQI Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Scheme Update by Mike Debenham (CQI Executive Director of Policy and Professional Affairs)      

Mike gave an illuminating overview of the benefits and route to attaining the Chartered Quality Professional grade and the related continuing professional development requirements.  His talk was followed by the first of the annual CPD planning workshops the CQI proposes should be held in each branch. 

Quality champions such as Lord (Digby) Jones have recognised the importance of quality to the international success of UK business.  The CQI has responded to the changes this focus brings to its members by revising its vision of Quality and of the Quality Professional’s role to continue to provide relevant support. 

The CQI vision is that ‘Quality = Innovation + Care’.  The presentation illustrated how this vision can relate ‘Quality Management’ to management of the various business aspects into which Quality Professionals are being drawn and highlighted the statement:

‘Quality is everybody’s business – but it cannot be left to just anybody  Seek advice from the professionals’

As its Executive Director of Policy, Mike’s vision is for Quality Professionals to make their contribution by acting as ‘Mentors’ rather than ‘Doers’ in the development of effective Business Management Systems.  Such systems increasingly integrate the management of Risk, Environment, Health & Safety, Business Continuity, Corporate Social Responsibility etc. with the management of quality.  The CQI must therefore support Quality Professionals in expanding their roles to include these aspects of the business.  This support is routed primarily through the Quality Professional’s CDP guidance and augmented by the CQI ‘Body of Quality Knowledge’, accessible via the CQI website.

The CQI has developed a new ‘Competency Set’ for Quality Professionals which aligns with its updated vision of Quality and includes:

Each Quality Professional’s CPD will address the competencies most relevant to their work and the CQI is committed to providing guidance and support.  The new CPD approach was designed to help Quality Professionals:

 It also helps them:

–      Acquire new knowledge (using internet, publications, peers or even training courses!)

–      Apply this knowledge in the workplace

–      Develop the new competency and assess how successful they have been

This approach removes the need for CPD points or a minimum number of CPD hours per year.  It is not seen as a policing tool but a support tool to help members become more valuable to their employers.  To do this, Quality Professionals must ensure:

The CQI provides a CPD Log Template which facilitates CPD planning and recording and the retention of CPD records.  Following his presentation, Mike led a CPD planning workshop using the template which generated considerable interest.

Reporter:  Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer

Records Management

On 23rd September 2008, Mr Anthony Weil from Iron Mountain (UK) Ltd. kindly gave an informative presentation on Records Management in relation to both personal records and business records, generating lively discussions of data retention/destruction, archiving, vaulting and business continuity. Iron Mountain’s mission is to protect the world’s information and the international company provides this service in a number of traditional and modern ways, including the storage of computerised system code under ESCROW agreements. The company stores 3.6 petabites of information, almost twice the information held by the internet, 2 petabites at any one time.

The company name, Iron Mountain, originates from their underground storage facilities in the United States. The company also has many UK sites where the environmental conditions may be controlled, ensuring the avoidance of mildew and fungus, along with monitoring of technological conditions to avoid obsolescence.

One constant business problem is identifying the legal retention period of different records and ensuring the correct type of records are stored for the correct period of time and no longer, due to the legal implications of claims against a business. For example, Transco were fined for allowing a gas explosion to occur, only because the company had retained records, which proved their negligence, beyond their legal retention period. The company would have avoided the fine if they had adhered to a strict destruction schedule. In all these areas Iron Mountain has expertise and is able to advise individual companies on the particular legal retention periods for their records, as well as prompting the customer for authorisation for destruction of records.

Paper records are the most accepted by the courts, but electronic records are becoming more acceptable. Discussions on the security of electronic records, protection from editing, ease of loosing large volumes of electronic records suddenly vs. the difficulty of searching large volumes of paper records. For example, the Doomsday Book can still be read (in paper form) but the equivalent BBC census stored on Phillips Laser Disks cannot be read as the data are retained on an obsolete technology. This issue demonstrates that the best way of retaining electronic data is to keep it on a live PC and upgrade this system in line with all other PCs in a business.

There is suggestion that RF ID chips (currently used on clothing in retail stores) may be used for providing a unique identification number via radiowaves, however the meta data would not be available with this system.

Consideration of the type of ink used to generate a document is important, as HP laser ink can be read after approximately 30 years before it degrades and becomes dust, however thermal prints on old fax paper or receipts degrade within 12 months.

Data retention has moved from the basement to the board room recently, due to highly publicised issues such as: HMRC data loss, Nationwide customer information on stolen laptop, paper medical records found on a landfill site, Home Office records lost on a datastick, etc.

Reporter:  Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer

Electronic Quality Management Systems 

Mr Robert Oakley, Director of Qualsys, gave a presentation on the Electronic Quality Management System (EQMS) for Integrated Management to members and guests of the London South West Branch of the CQI on 19^th February 2008.

The EQMS software can be used to integrate business processes and ensure compliance with diverse regulatory standards as well as capture and control corporate knowledge. The software is able to integrate quality, health and safety, environmental and information security standards easily, but also any other regulatory requirements a business operates under, such as Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) (collectively GXPs), US Food and Drug Administration regulations (FDA). It is currently in use in a number of industries, such as: food and drink, telecoms, pharmaceutical, financial, publishing, power, oil and gas, publishing and public sector (NHS trusts and local councils).

The software comprises a basic set of modules: System Manager Module, Document Manager Module and Change Manager Module, with additional modules if required: Audit Manager Module and Equipment Manager Module. The user’s view can be customised and branded to reflect the corporate image, together with a sophisticated navigational structure and the ability to use hyperlinks to documents and forms. Access can be strictly controlled via individual functional access as well as through user groups.

Documents in any format can be loaded into the EQMS software, such as word, excel, pdf, photos, video, audio etc. Metadata can be attached to any document, including items such as audit reports or equipment maintenance records etc. and can be a useful way of holding feedback from against a document electronically. Flags can be attached to documents, for example in connection with audit findings.

A new feature of the software is the Active Forms development, whereby data capture and distribution via the well-designed forms can streamline business processes and provide meaningful data to management in real time. The types of forms can be related to any business need, such as training records, incident management, business car requisition etc.

Reporter:  Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer

Food Safety and Quality Management Systems 

Catherine Sansom, of Premier Foods, gave a presentation on Food Safety and Quality Management Systems from a Food Manufacturer’s Perspective to members and guests of the London South West Branch of the CQI on 20^th November 2007.

Rank Hovis MacDougall (RHM), which has over 150 years baking experience with the brand name Hovis^®, has recently joined with Premier Foods and now totals over 60 manufacturing sites. Food safety is not to be confused with food quality, in that food safety refers to the assurance that a food offered for sale will not be injurious to health whereas food quality refers to the look, taste and texture of a food, and both are important to the food manufacturer.

In order to deliver quality, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is currently used. Historically, the HACCP system was originally developed as a Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) model. NASA used it in the 1950’s to ensure prevention of gastric disturbances in space due to food contamination. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that it was developed as a management system to assure food safety. HACCP sits within the quality system and is used with regards to food poisoning and food spoilage. It consists of seven principles, all of which must be followed, over twelve stages, ensuring decisions are clearly documented and procedures are based around risk. ISO 22000 introduces operational pre-requisites, including in areas such as training, housekeeping, pest control, foreign body control and plant maintenance. Effective HACCP is necessary to deliver safe food and needs to be integrated within company procedures. Following HACCP is now a legal requirement for food safety management and is recognised by the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA), World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Food safety is an area regulated by the Food Hygiene Regulations 852/2004, Food Safety Act 1990, and EU Microbiological Criteria 4198/2001. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) issued the Global Standard for Food in 2005; and issue 5 is due for publication in July 2008. In addition to these regulations, Premier Foods also use ISO9001:2000 and ISO22000 (the combined environmental, health and safety and food safety standard), as well as meeting specific customer requirements.

Reporter:  Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer

Launch of Project FLEE

The Project FLEE (Forging Links with Educational Establishments) was launched by the London SW Branch of the CQI on Tuesday, 23rd October. A Project Requirements Definition (PRD) draft was presented that contained the essential information to progress this project. Thank you to all those members who attended the presentation, made by our Hon Secretary Ron Kumar, and took part in the lively discussion.

The next step will involve identifying the colleges/universities that provide quality management related courses in our area and initiate a dialogue with the appropriate Heads of Departments with the aim of promoting quality and the CQI to the tutors and students.

We are now looking for a few more volunteers who would like to join the project team in order to progress this worthwhile project further. It is expected that contact between the project team members will normally be by email, together with a project update at each London South West branch meeting.

Please contact either Ron Kumar (kumar111@btinternet.com) or Sue Jardine (graemesue@jard.fsworld.co.uk) to register your interest and for further information on this research project.
 

Quality Management in a Telecoms Company

On the 16 May 2007, Steve Harknett, Group Process Management Director at Easynet gave members of the London South West branch a talk on Quality Management in a dynamic Telecoms Company.

 Steve gave details on the range of business services offered by Easynet; such as information security in the UK and Europe with operations in 8 countries and 35 data centres to manage, and the challenges this creates. The company has a certified information security service in Germany and plans for certifying the service offered in France and the Netherlands.

 Easynet is recognised as being responsible to customers and flexible but Easynet is keen to become “great” in their field. Although Easynet had a quality management system, it was not respected by management and not practical because it was not related to the day-to-day business. To become “great” Easynet have set Process Management Objectives and removed a large number of process owners, leaving just one; a director of a single process, together with a process champion and a process leader in each country.

 The CMMI Model was introduced and used as a process maturity model, with 5 levels of capability. This changed the mindset of staff, who became keen to improve the levels of achievement they obtained. Directors are encouraged to achieve specific levels in the process maturity model by the CEO and through a link between the level of achievement and their personal renumeration.

 The company is investing in MEGA software as a process tool, incorporating risk management, key performance indicators and links to the balanced scorecard, which is used to produce reports (for process monitoring and process definition) perform impact analysis and be used to query the repository.

 Easynet is aiming to move towards an integrated management system (iMS) to include quality (ISO 9001), information security (ISO 27001), environment (ISO 14001), complaints (ISO 10000) and ITIL (ISO 20000). The approach is to make the audit system more relevant, visible and make it add value.

 Many techniques have been introduced into Easynet and there are still many future plans; for example Kyzan training, which focuses on the need to get the right mood, a constructive and positive mood, and empowering people, for brainstorming.

Site Visit to Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport

On 21^st March 2007, members of London South West branch of the CQI visited the Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 site, for a tour of the “T5 Programme”. The visit was co-ordinated by Peter J Lang and the CQI visitors were the guests of Mr David Long, Head of Quality. The other visitor guides were Michael Coughlan, Chris Little, Greg Carpenter, Andy Percival, Rick Mulholland, Kevin McDonald, Mike Read and Derek Gray. 

The tour of the site started with a bus tour around all the buildings and other structures already in place between Heathrow Airport’s two runways, on 260 ha of land, a size equivalent to London’s Hyde Park. When fully complete, Terminal 5 will enable Heathrow Airport to accommodate an additional 30 million passengers, annually. Terminal 5 is being constructed in two phases: Phase one will open in 2008 with the completion of the main terminal building (T5A) and first satellite building (T5B); phase two will open in 2010 with the construction of the second satellite building (T5C). In 2004, before building work commenced, two rivers were successfully diverted around the perimeter of the T5 site and a sludge facility was relocated. The river diversion project was awarded an “Excellent” rating from the Civil Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme (CEEQUAL). The new air traffic control tower is 87 metres tall and the 900-tonne cab section of the tower was constructed by Terminal 4, before being transported nearly 2 km across the airfield to its final location by Terminal 3. 

The first area of the walking tour visited was the 4,300-space car park, with panoramic views encompassing Windsor Castle, Wembley Stadium and a number of landmarks of central London being revealed as the visitors walked up the car entrance ramp to the top of the car park.

The T5 concourse “A” building was almost complete and many fittings in this area were covered for protection, with notices emphasising the “Right First Time” campaign and “Protect and Respect”; and the importance of safety was evident in all areas with the “Incident and Injury Free” campaign.

T5A comprised a total of 80,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1.2 Mm3 of structural concrete. The internal superstructure alone required 25,000 tonnes of steel, which is equal to 148 Boeing 747s and each 117 metre-long rafter section of T5A’s roof weighs the same as 600 Land Rovers. The total footprint of the main terminal building is equivalent in size to 50 football pitches. The distinctive outer shell of the T5A building is self-supporting, completely unattached to the internal structures, with purpose built cleaning units on each roof section. All areas of the T5A building were visited, including the completed visitor toilets, and the materials and modern design of each area was striking. There will be a total of 148 customer service desks, with 96 free-flow bag drops and 11 baggage reclaim belts. The baggage handling system had the tremendous capacity to process up to 12,000 bags per hour at peak and 70,000 bags per day. Over 400,000 man-hours of software engineering had gone into developing the complex system, encompassing 18 km of conveyor belt. The large “early bag store” was also visited, comprising 4,000 spaces and serviced using 36 dedicated bag-store cranes. An advanced 360o barcode reading system was being tested, which allows full tracking of individual bags throughout the area, from check-in to aeroplane container.

The construction project includes 13.5 km of bored tunnels, including the 1.3 km-long Airside Road Tunnel – the UK’s seventh longest rail tunnel. A 6-platform rail station, serving extensions to the Heathrow Express and London Piccadilly Line, is being constructed in the basement of the main terminal building, with two platforms being safeguarded for future rail links to the west. This is the first extension to the tube line since the Jubilee Line extension was completed in 1999.

The landscaping planned over the next 2 years includes a total of 4,000 semi-mature trees and shrubs, 30,000 native woodland plants, 2,000 metres of native hedgerow and 250,000 evergreen groundcover shrubs. For the Interchange Plaza a bespoke art commission by Turner Prize nominees, Langland and Bell, is planned along with 40 mature (30 year old) London Plane trees, weighing approximately 11 tonnes and standing 11-12 metres tall.

Reporter:  Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer

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