World Quality Week 2021

As a proud supporter Capella will be celebrating World Quality Week 2021, from the 8th-12th November 2021. The focus this year is on sustainability and how Quality plays a part in this.

Sustainability: improving our products, people, and planet.

 

At Capella we know that it’s important for quality professionals to consider their social responsibilities when it comes to a sustainable future. For World Quality Week 2021, Bal Gill, at Forefront Certification, explains how Sustainability in organisations can be improved using a quality perspective:

“Utilising quality tools, and approaches developed to address organisational challenges, would have an improved alignment between corporate social responsibility and quality functions to drive business performance.”

Bal supports Capella to deliver the Quality modules of the Level 4 Quality Practitioner programme which includes learning about ISO 9001:2015 Quality management. Identifying risks and opportunities in an organisation’s environment to action and address.

She says “Apprentices acquire an understanding of the interaction of a quality system supporting organisations to be effective in areas of economic (profit), social (people) and ecological (planet) environment”.

“The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is one of the most utilised tools, which has grown towards a natural way of thinking. The principle of quality:

‘Evidence Based Decision Making’ is ‘to measure is to know’. Therefore, measurable, preferably quantitative, quality indicators are essential to manage business performance in a dynamic environment, with varying needs and expectations, from different internal and external stakeholders”.

Bal knows that Quality systems have supported organisations to become more capable of the delivery quality, good customer services and minimising mistakes. “Improving becomes a daily practice to maintain quality. This also means that sustainability can be incorporated in the core processes for organisations and connects to a crucial stakeholder: its customer”.

She believes that conducting audits drives continual improvements and helps businesses to run better, to meet stakeholder needs and expectations. “The audit module in the Level 4 Quality Practitioner programme, provides apprentices with the understanding of why internal audits are essential. Audits assess conformance or non-conformance of an organisation’s processes and systems to ensure consistent products and services meet customers, as well as applicable statutory and regulatory, requirements”.

 

For an organisation’s business efficiency and effectiveness, utilising a quality perspective such as identifying the cost impact for:

                                                        – waste material,
                                                        – energy,
                                                        – customer dissatisfaction,
                                                        – product and service performance

                                       can advance on the requirement for controlling sustainability.

 

Common quality tools for example: check sheets, control charts, histograms, process flow charts and pareto charts applied to social and environmental issues, can explore the issues in organisations to support its corporate social responsibilities with stakeholders.

Integrated management systems of quality, environmental, health and safety, social responsibility, business continuity and many more standards are all a systems approach, encouraging businesses to develop tools to measure and demonstrate improvements to drive business value, demonstrate Return on Investment and create internal alignment. And that is why…

Quality professionals need to consider their social responsibilities when it comes to a sustainable future.

Testimonials

  • Capella have provided a superbly structured programme, and have proven to be entirely supportive of delegates in completing their apprenticeship with confidence. Key to this has been the instructor’s knowledge of the subject matter, allowing him to apply the theory to a variety of scenarios in the delegates’ work. We have appreciated the instructor being approachable, flexible and understanding of the challenges of extra-curricula activity for people with busy jobs. All staff that we’ve engaged with at Capella have been professional, welcoming and clear in their communication.

    Mark Robbins, Retail and Pension Operations Training and Communications, Fidelity International

  • Capella’s focus on developing long-term relationships and their continual search for innovative approaches to upskilling has enabled Toyota and many other employers to learn and apply best practice Problem Solving tools which deliver great outcomes for all. In our experience, no other training provider has taken such a lead role in the development of sector wide initiatives such as the Automotive Industrial Partnership and development of the ‘improvement suite’ of Apprenticeship standards. Capella constantly seeks innovative opportunities to deliver an excellent service to the learner and to the business.

    Paul Fitzpatrick | Senior Manager | Toyota UK

  • We have found Capella really professional and flexible and their passion for delivering high quality training is a culture we have in common between us and has made working with them highly beneficial. Their knowledge of the automotive sector in particular has also been very useful and has simplified working together to create a really excellent training programme. In addition, they have managed to modify their usual commercial programmes in line with government approved apprenticeship standards, which has enabled us to utilise our Apprenticeship Levy to fund the training.

    Chris Bauman | Group Managing Director

  • Capella are delivering the Business Improvement L4 programme to a cohort of 12 staff at our Barnard Castle site. We chose Capella after a series of meeting with Kate and her team and from day 1 we have been impressed with the professionalism, enthusiasm and knowledge of the team. The staff have really thrived on the learning schedule and through working with the programme tutors and we have had nothing but positive feedback. Internal changes on site have impacted on the programme delivery, which Capella took this in their stride, adapting delivery timelines, providing support and working with those facing change has added another dimension to the relationship that has been developed between the site and Capella. While still in delivery mode GSK already believes that the programme has been a success for all involved and we look forward to its completion and sharing that success within the organisation.

    Tim Buchanan | Apprenticeship Vendor Manager | Talent, Leadership and Organisation Development- Centre of Excellence

  • Capella worked closely with Wilko to deeply understand our needs at a strategic and operational level, helping us to jointly explore a range of options to meet these needs. Capella have an experienced team of Lean Six Sigma experts. Their programme design, management expertise and resources are second to none. Wilko have been allocated a dedicated Account Manager which helps us ensure the learner is always front of mind. Capella’s programmes have developed the knowledge, skills and drive of our Wilko delegates to seek and implement improvements in every process, constantly reducing costs, waste and inefficiencies. Capella also enabled Wilko’s leadership of continuous improvement to be showcased through the publication of an extensive article for the Chartered Quality Institute's Quality World magazine.

    Teresa Ward, Wilko Talent Programme Manager, Wilko

  • I would sincerely like to thank you again and the fabulous team at Capella for the dedication shown in achieving the Black Belt qualification. It is such a pleasure to work so closely with passionate professional people and I hope our partnership continues to grow especially with the role out of the new standards.

    Richard Bates, Managing Director, Qualitrain

  • "Capella are a company that keep to their word, they have supported me fully during and even after my projects have been completed. The coaching team are always on hand to help with any issues and often put themselves out to ensure support is available. Highly recommend anyone looking to progress their career to take a look at Capella."

    Chris Woodcock, Jaguar Land Rover