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 

Download a free chapter from my new book Sustainability Footprints in SMEs

To celebrate the upcoming launch of my new book Sustainability Footprints in SMEs in January.

I am offering a free chapter to all my friends: https://lnkd.in/bxrgZbc

Help us spread the word by sharing on social media!

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

Quality Strategies for Business Autumn Seminar 2014

If you have missed the live streaming of our Quality Strategies for Business Autumn Seminar 2014.
Here is the event video podcast link: http://lnkd.in/dXZfpYW
For best viewing click the screen capture tab on the Panopto viewing page.

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