American Society for Quality (ASQ) Sustainability Survey

ASQ Sustainability Survey

Scan the QR Code to benchmark your Sustainability & CSR performance against best practice within your industry 

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ASQSustainabilitySurvey
 

#quality #sustainability #csr #climatechange #environment

Quality and Essesntial Element of Sustainable Development - American Society for Quality EED Summer Newsletter 2020

 

American Society for Quality EED Sutstainability Committee Strategic Plan - ASQ EED Summer Newsletter 2020

 

 

 

Sustainability Footprint: A Case of Persception in Two SMEs - American Society for Quality EED Summer Newsletter 2020

 

European Sustainable Development week 30 May - 5 June 2018

To celebrate European Sustainable Development Week #ESDW we are sharing strategic resources for business growth such as our 10 #sustainability megaforces (10MF) toolbox. 

Click the link below to get your 10MF toolbox now! 

https://bit.ly/2LDmILA 

#CSR #environment

#quality

Food Recalls - as certain as death, referendums and taxes

 There are 4 things you can count on in 21st Century from a UK perspective death, taxes, referendums and food product recalls.

Product recalls appear to be a recurring theme in the UK food industry - a total of 159 recalls in 2015 a 78% rise on the previous year. The Food Standards Agency has consistently reported increased food safety incidents since annually since 2009 despite a decrease in 2013 the year of the infamous Horsemeat Scandal (figure 1).

Recently in August 2016 there has been another major food product recall in this instance yogurt produced by Yeo Valley for major high street supermarkets such as the Co-operative, ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose was considered to possibly contain rubber particles.
It is estimated that in the first week of February 2016 that foreign objects e.g. plastic and glass accounted for 2 out of 8 food product recalls.

In addition to foreign objects product recalls arising from the presence of bacteria e.g. salmonella, listeria and product labelling omissions or unlisted ingredients has led to retailers demanding reimbursement from manufacturers for any administrative cost or loss incurred as a result of rectifying these anomalies. Seemingly avoidable non-conformances such as unlisted ingredient omissions accounted for 59% of food product recalls in 2015.

Despite the alarming increase in food product recalls UK Government officials and regulators shroud these non-conformances under the umbrella of food “safety” rather than food “quality”. Proposals for an industry wide steering committee may yield limited results if quality management issues arising from poor process management, weak inspection and testing regimes are not addressed. Misplaced emphasis on effective food recall systems rather that robust quality management systems will only maintain the status quo – a continued escalation in food product recalls and reduced stakeholder satisfaction.

To learn how to embed sustainability/CSR into your business strategy visit our site www.sustainabilitycsr.com 

Back draught - the need for continuous improvement in the Wind Energy Industry

Renewable energy and in particular wind energy has seen a rapid increase in deployment within the past decade to meet the UK’s renewable energy targets. Within Scotland there has an exponential increase in renewable energy projects accounting for 61% of proposed and installed UK onshore wind farms. Onshore wind farms have also contributed to economic prosperity providing 8,600 jobs yielding £548 million in GVA. However critics claim that wind farms are not labour intensive and jobs are subsidised at a cost of £100,000 per job created. Therefore economic benefits can appear to be illusory are in spite of reductions in fossil use in the energy supply grid. The question can be asked is the wind energy revolution truly sustainable.

Although the economic costs are readily disclosed and debated in the public however the hidden cost of wind energy accidents is suppressed by the industry and externalised at times by environmental champions. Caithness Wind Farm Information Forum  an advocacy group that campaigns against wind turbines categorise wind sector accidents as Fatal accidents, Human injury, Human health, Blade failure, Fire, Structural accidents, Ice throw, Transport, Environmental damage and other miscellaneous events e.g. lightning strikes, electrical failure.
During the period 2009 – 2011 over 1500 accidents were admitted to have occurred within the wind energy sector highlighting the need for improved non-financial risk management.

Aside from the rapid expansion of the industry into offshore areas one of the root causes of the increase in accidents is the absence of industry wide standards for quality, safety and environmental management and a desire by the wind industry to value the guarantee confidentiality in regards to incident and accident reporting above organisational transparency (Fig 1). 

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive has been reticent to impose a minimum safe distance between wind turbine developments and occupied buildings and presently does not maintain a database of wind turbine failures making accident trend analysis nearly impossible. At an operational level fire brigades are at times ill-equipped to deal with wind turbine fires as working heights can be more than 80 metres. Wind farms have also accounted for the deaths of endangered birds and bats exacting an environmental toll despite the carbon friendliness of wind energy.

Within this context the Wind Industry must begin the process of standards development in consultation with all stakeholders i.e. government, NGOs and businesses to ensure that environmental claims can be substantiated and more importantly continuous improvement is embedded within the sector.

Volkswagen quality - lots of smoke and mirrors?

Organisations and individuals strive for telos or purpose for their existence. This manifests itself in the business context in terms of values, mission statements and policy. The tragedy for Volkswagen is that its foundations was based on nefarious purpose that cannot be divorced from its present context.

Volkswagen was established by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront "German Labour Front" or DAF by the Nazi Party as part of its Kraft durch Freude "Strength through Joy" as free trade unions were banned under Hitler's leadership. The strength through joy program was meant to appease workers by providing affordable cruises, holidays, an affordable automobile and social activities once the domain

of the upper classes.

Along with Schönheit der Arbeit "Beauty of Work" the improvement of factories and work spaces the emphasis being "somke free" environments. Volkswagen "Peoples car" and its iconic "beetle" design was produced in 1938 with the intention to provide German workers with an affordable automobile at the price of a German motorcycle through a payment plan. Many German workers opted for this payment approach with the onset of war some prospective car owners lost their deposits. This led to protest regarding the leadership of the DAF under Dr Robert Ley who boasted that he controlled workers' lives from the 'cradle to the grave'. Subsequent Volkswagen automobiles for both domestic and military use prior to 1945 were made by an estimated 15000 slave labour victims from concentration camps comprising 80% of the company's wartime workforce. Volkswagen in 1998 accepted corporate responsibility for their actions and has set up a fund to compensate victims.

In its post-war reincarnation Volkswagen develop a renewed purpose as the car "Das Auto" built around a fun, friendly image of the "Beetle" shape embellished with the pictures of flowers and bright colours as well as popularised in Disney movies such as "Herbie goes bananas" along way from the militarised look of the original models. The whimsical nature of the "Herbie" film genre had a lasting impression on my childhood as one of my elementary school teachers owned a Volkswagen which some of my classmates described as a "dustbin on wheels". This analogy was not unfounded when compared with Japanese brands such as Datsun not only provided economy but were quieter due to the use of coolant rather than air to reduce engine temperature. The company continued its focus on volume rather than quality as its strategy for success. Consecutive Volkswagen executives have pursued this expansion acquiring 18% market share in China, 22% in Brazilian market coupled with a ruthless search for cost savings through component sharing between production models. The effects of this strategy is evident in Volkswagen's wind noise issue in 2011 and prior power train non conformity although a decade old contributing to a crisis in reliability has not been forgotten by consumers in key markets such as the U.S. where sales fell by 22% in summer 2014. J.D. Power Initial Quality Study has consistently rated Volkswagen brand near the bottom for every year except 2009.

The engineered rigging of emissions test and data arguably is symptomatic of an organisational culture with a misaligned purpose on "the car" rather than the customer/stakeholder i.e. global society. As a result over 1M tons of pollution in the form of emissions to air e.g. nitrogen dioxide (NO₂₎  from approximately 11M vehicles containing rigged components which is equivalent to the combined emissions from all power stations, vehicles, industry and agriculture. Pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NO) and specifically NO₂ pose a  respiratory threat to humans and animals by inflaming the breathing passages. The EU is disproportionately at risk due to the higher level of diesel vehicles when compared to the US where 3% of automobiles use diesel.

Volkswagen quality ethos is focused on "reliability, visual appeal and service" with  the absence of sustainability.
Sustainability can be achieved by cultural acceptance within the organisation that it has a duty to global society due to the lifecycle impacts of its products and services. Sustainability Footprints which is defined as "methodologies for assessing the social and environmental impact of the economic investment in a specific strategic option in relation to other strategic alternatives and their potential risk to the survival of future generations" e.g. carbon footprint can assist Volkswagen in monitoring and measuring its business performance leading to culture of innovation instead of deception.

Volkswagen by adopting a sustainable business practices can finally transform the company from being Das Auto "the car" but rather truly being the "People's car" putting individuals and society at the core of its corporate strategy and adopting a "cradle to the cradle" approach to managing its processes.

IEMA Approved Certificate in Sustainability Strategy

This course gives candidates a practical insight into the application of sustainability practices to business.

Climate change, energy and fuel consumption, the scarcity of water and material resources, population growth, wealth, urbanization, food security, the decline of the eco system and deforestation - the emergence of these sustainability mega forces within the 21st century business context have created both risks and opportunities for businesses.

The IEMA Approved Certificate in Sustainability Strategy will provide the knowledge and skills necessary to assist managers with designing strategies that will mitigate the effects of sustainability risks and enhance organisational potential to exploit opportunities.

You will study the development of effective business plans that incorporate sustainable development goals using the Sustainable Strategic Model Analysis Tool.

Subjects include:

• Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility – Context and Definition
• Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Dilemma
• Sustainable Strategic Growth Model - a solution to the Sustainability and CSR dilemma
• Sustainability Footprints – tools for growth
• The Politics of Sustainability
• Case studies

This qualification would benefit senior management, company directors, Quality Managers, Safety Managers, Environmental Managers, CSR/Sustainability Managers, Marketing and early career professionals who are involved in Sustainability/CSR implementation and reporting. 

The approach used in the course assumes no prior awareness by providing the knowledge and strategic tools to deploy sustainable development utilising best practice case studies.

For further information on our upcoming course dates and online program view our website www.sustainabilitycsr.com 

The deadly cost of product recalls

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With all the news of the recent Takata air bag recall becoming one of the biggest recalls in US history, my colleague Scott Huntington put together a study of some of the most deadly and costly product recalls to find out just how big of a deal they are. He found that over 2000 recalls happen a year, including more than 6 a day!

Takata recall - Quality more than just an airbag of hot air

We often take it for granted in the 21^st century that if a product is presented in a “new box” or a service at “new location” quality is inherent or explicit. The case of Takata airbag recall refutes this premise.

Takata supplies automotive safety systems controlling 22% of the global automotive airbag market. The company’s mission statement emphasises their commitment to quality which is to “Develop innovative products and provide superlative quality and services to achieve total customer satisfaction”.

 

This emphasis on quality is reinforced by an organisational approach the “Takata Way” that supports open effective communication openly and effectively and an adherence to Sangen-shugi the exploration of three “realities” which is comprised of Gen-ba or going to the location of the activity/problem e.g. the factory floor, Gen-butsu looking at problem first hand and Gen-jitsu gathering the facts to make a decision - realitybased decision making.

Despite this organisational philosophy Takata finds itself asleep at the wheel. Its flagship automotive airbag has allegedly been linked with the deaths of at least five motorists and over 139 injuries. The problem being a product defect that is only realised during the deployment of the airbag resulting in the rupturing of the inflator, sending metal fragments that have fatally injured unsuspecting users it was intended to protect. Potential causes for the airbag defects range from poor product handling, incorrect gas specifications, humid conditions, faulty welding to malfunctioning manufacturing equipment. 

The company was fully aware of the potential for the airbag to rupture during deployment 10 years prior to the recall but opted not to face the “reality” subsequently requesting the destruction of in-house test results and disposal of any evidence in essence creating a climate of fear amongst employees. Top management rather than implementing corrective action chose a default strategy of “do nothing” focusing on the bottom line not the triple bottom-line.

This strategic decision has resulted in the recall of over 14 million airbags from 11 different automakers and the allocation of over $655 million for quality costs. The reputational damage suffered by Takata is contributing to investor unease arising from reduced profit outlook and customer dissatisfaction with market share set to decline to 11% by 2020. Fortunately Takata has decided to “wake up to reality” taking steps to refocus the organisation efforts on quality by constituting an expert panel to examine the quality and safety issues. Quality not perception is reality.

To learn more visit our website www.sustainabilitycsr.com 

AMEC/ Robert Gordon University World Quality Day 2014

Yesterday I enjoyed facilitating the World Quality Day Seminar 2014 at Robert Gordon University with the support of my colleagues at RGU and AMEC.

Excellent presentations were delivered from both our guest speakers Steve Wright, CEO Benncon Limited and Dr Natalia Alvarez, CEO PhD Transition.

I am grateful for the support of Chartered Quality Institute members specifically Hilary Smith-Milne and Jessica Horne. 

To celebrate our 3rd year of our event, exclusive access to the AMEC/ Robert Gordon University World Quality Day 2014 presentations are now available by clicking the following link http://bit.ly/1sMIoDF

French Railway System - a case of going nowhere fast

As a quality professional I champion the value of customer satisfaction and listening to the voice of the customer… but is the customer always right?

Earlier in my career as a lab technician in the manufacturing sector I was trained to adopt the concept of the “Next operation as customer” (NOAC) principle that highlighted external customer satisfaction as being unachievable unless internal customers are engaged in the decision making and operational processes of productive activity.

The unfortunate scenario that emerged this year in France where the rail infrastructure company RFF provided the rail operator SNCF with incorrect specifications for the purchase of 2000 trains at a cost of $20 billion (£12.1 billion). The specifications were derived from measurements taken from train platforms built within the last 30 years. The result being the new trains are too wide to fit train platforms that were built 50 years earlier requiring  the unnecessary refit of over 1000 of the 8700 platforms mostly located in regional areas of which initial early repairs were reported to cost $40 million.

SNCF has accused the French government of not investing in its conventional rail network which is finally being upgraded after years of neglect. The strategic focus being rather on the development of a high speed network despite a 50% rise in passenger numbers within Paris and a 40% increase in regional travel within the past decade.

This separation of the network company from the rail operators, a management structure that is instantly recognisable to British readers is a contributing factor to the mistake – business critical decisions being made by social actors not directly affected or intimately concerned with the consequences or outcomes of the activity, as evident by the company statement "It's a bit like buying a Ferrari that you want to fit into your garage, but then realizing your garage isn't quite Ferrari-sized, because up until now you didn't own a Ferrari," an ill-fitting analogy that suggests quality and corporate social responsibility are for Renault owners, ordinary taxpayers and commuters.

In a nutshell decisions were not made as close to the source. Project schedules and cost may have been given priority over quality. Therefore the risk i.e. the likelihood or consequence of the train not being able to fit each platform was unaccounted or became unconsciously acceptable to senior management.  

The consequences of poor quality, an astronomical engineering refit cost which is estimated at $110 billion, 2000 trains going nowhere fast and reputational damage to one of Europe’s fastest train networks.
“The customer is always right”… 66 million Frenchmen can't be wrong - one size does not fit all even though your garage can fit a Ferrari.

To learn more about quality, safety and environmental management view our website www.sustainabilitycsr.com 

National Air Traffic Control Service - the need to pursue "Absolute Zero"

The National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) traces its history back to the early days of commercial aviation in the United Kingdom in its pioneering role utilising a rudimentary form of air traffic control based on flag signals. Modern commercial aviation however demands both the use of complex information management systems and highly skilled human labour with the NATS employing just over 2000 air traffic controllers handling 2.2 million flights annually.  To meet this challenge the organisation is “committed to delivering exemplary service performance and, through consultation with our customers, identifying and implementing new standards in service quality”.

National Air Traffic Control Service £623M Swanwick site which serves as the nerve centre for the management of UK airspace has seen its share of teething problems at its inception and software issues during the summer but the 7^th December 2013 witnessed a catastrophic failure of its management systems which Eurocontrol, Europe’s air traffic control monitor, reported "Around 130,000 minutes of delay are currently expected with approximately 1,300 flights (almost 8% of the European traffic today) being severely delayed".

An investigation into the incident revealed that there was a breakdown in the IT systems with "more than a million lines of software" compromised significantly affecting the internal phone network that not only supports interaction between air traffic controllers within the same room but also with regional air traffic control authorities on the European continent. This seemingly straight forward technical issue was blamed on the "difficulty switching from night time to daytime operation" thereby making it impossible to reconfigure voice communication systems which is organised into sectors to cope with the demands of daytime UK airspace traffic.

The inability of NATS to meet its service plan objectives contributed to poor service performance levels with 20% of departures at Gatwick Airport hit by delays and 50% of flights at London City Airport faced disruption.

A cursory review of NATS 10 year business plan reveals a limited emphasis on contingency planning with quality issues shrouded by terms such as efficiency and innovation despite having a quality management system. Unfortunately there has not been a balanced strategic approach to the management of non-financial risk with effort being expounded on safety and emissions reduction to the detriment of the reliability of mission critical information management systems. This was compounded by a failure to test contingency measures or effectively mobilise contingency plans in the event of catastrophic failure.

Increasingly in our technological age firms and nation states are exposed to information risk either through limited access to information, loss of information and inaccurate information that affects not only competiveness but also safety and security. In essence sustainability is now a four legged stool consisting of the economic, ecological, social and information.  Sustainable organisations must combine the goals of "zero errors” and “zero emissions” into the pursuit of the strategic goal of "Absolute Zero" the point at which no more adverse risk can be removed from a system which is a benchmark upon which sustained customer satisfaction can be achieved.

Eurocopter - When Puma's fly

The tragic loss of life arising from the recent crash of a Eurocopter Super Puma AS332 L2 on the 23 August 2013 brings into sharp focus the dangers of North Sea Oil and Gas. This tragedy is personally poignant to me as I served in a Royal Navy search and rescue (SAR) unit based in Scotland that was resourced with ageing but superbly maintained Sea King helicopters.

Herein lies the case for quality – Ageing Design: the original design of the Super Puma came into production in 1981 with a series of product extensions in areas such as avionics, engine and gearbox power to meet the demands of the expanding commercial market. A focus on incremental improvement not continual improvement, to compete Eurocopter must invest an estimated €500m into research and development of a helicopter for civilian transport and search and rescue operations. This ageing theme extends to the Eurocopter helicopter product portfolio with new versions stymied by delays and cost overruns for potential replacements for the Super Puma in the form of the NH90 and Tiger military version helicopters.

Design issues aside the Eurocopter Super Puma and its variants have been involved in five accidents in the North Sea since 2009.

Specifically the Eurocopter Super Puma AS332 L2 has accounted for 20 fatalities in the North Sea over the past five years the worst being an accident occurring in waters off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland in April 2009 resulting in 16 fatalities. The investigation into the accident conducted by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded gearbox failure that may have been diagnosed if the “metallic particle discovered on the epicyclic chip detector during maintenance on 25 March 2009, some 36 flying hours as an indication of second stage planet gear” failure.

As a result the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recommended that “Eurocopter, with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), develop and implement an inspection of the internal components of the main rotor gearbox epicyclic module for all AS332 L2 and EC225LP helicopters as a matter of urgency to ensure the continued airworthiness of the main rotor gearbox”.

This recommendation contributed to the introduction of safety Directives by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and new pertinent maintenance guidance by Eurocopter. Surprisingly AAIB investigators highlighted parallels with an earlier accident in 1980 involving a SA330J Puma helicopter indicating a clear absence of a factual approach to decision making – an organisational failure to learn from past events that unfortunately led to deadly consequences. Subsequent two forced landings of albeit variants of the Super Puma led to a UK ban on sea flights which was only lifted in July 2013

Eurocopter the world’s largest commercial helicopter manufacturer saddled with excess inventory, poor cash position and under pressure from agile competitors such as Bell Helicopters, Augusta Westland who are keen to acquire a piece of its market share as energy operators opt for transport firms that use alternative helicopter supplier, may yet face Darwinian extinction if it does not evolve and focus on quality.