Quality Culture - A Tale of Two LaboratoriesPlenary Session
Oral Presentation
Prepared by E. Turner
Eurofins Environment Testing, 1712 Addison Grace Lane, Wylie, TX 75098, Wylie, TX 75098, Texas, 75098, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 469-585-1038
ABSTRACT
A quality culture is a set of shared values, attitudes, and practices that prioritize quality in an organization which allows for improved employee engagement, innovation, efficiency, customer confidence and satisfaction and competitive advantage.
Developing and maintaining a quality culture begins with leadership commitment, and incorporates a strong training program, measurement of key performance indicators, employee empowerment and removal of silos. Research shows that four factors drive quality as a cultural value: leadership emphasis, message credibility, peer involvement, and employee ownership of quality issues.
The author has experience with private, commercial and municipal laboratories and has found that the culture of each lab is unique and can change over time. The author will provide two case studies related to quality culture and techniques used to foster quality culture improvements. Case studies will be pulled from the author's involvement with laboratories over the past 25+ years.
