TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama Quality Award panel of judges has designated 11 organizations as recipients of the 2011 Alabama Quality Awards, honoring them for quality and performance excellence.
The award is administered by the Alabama Productivity Center, part of The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce.
Seven organizations were awarded the Level One:Commitment to Excellence award. The recipients are: Highlands Medical Center, Scottsboro; Canterbury Health Facility, Phenix City; Sigmatech Inc., Huntsville; Standard Roofing, Montgomery; URS Federal Services, Fort Rucker; the University of West Alabama’s College of Business, Livingston; and Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, Andalusia.
Three organizations were awarded the Level Two: Progress toward Excellence award. These recipients are: the Cruise Missile Defense Systems Project Office, Redstone Arsenal; the U.S. Army Prototype Integration Facility, Redstone Arsenal; and the Joint Attack Munitions Systems Project Office, Redstone Arsenal.
One organization received the Level Three: Alabama Excellence award: L.B. Foster Company Coated Products, Birmingham.
The AQA conference and ceremony will be held Dec. 7-8. The awards will be presented to the recipients the evening of Dec. 8, at the Hotel Capstone in Tuscaloosa.
Representatives from the organizations will have an opportunity to share their best practices with other award recipients and conference attendees at the Bryant Conference Center Dec.8, prior to the award ceremony banquet.
“The Award allows organizations to track their progress and is proof that they are making excellent strides in the quality of their work,” said Dr. Barry Mason, interim director of the Alabama Productivity Center.
The AQA is modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The AQA recognizes and honors organizations that use effective productivity and quality improvement strategies, techniques or practices which can be shared with other organizations to help contribute to the overall economic well-being in the state of Alabama.
“Winning the quality award sends a powerful message,” Mason said. “It tells customers, suppliers and other stakeholders that the company can perform well while operating in a sustainable manner.”
The award is based on performance criteria that include excellence in leadership, strategic planning, attention to customers and other stakeholders, market focus, process management and analysis of organizational performance.
“The quality award is a wonderful motivation tool for the organizations,” Mason said. “Employees are recognized and rewarded for doing the right things the right way.”
The Alabama Productivity Center is a nonprofit organization established in 1986 by The University of Alabama and Alabama Power Co.The center’s purpose is to use University research and educational resources to stimulate economic development within the state.
For more information on the Alabama Quality Award, the AQA conference and ceremony or the Alabama Productivity Center, contact Linda Vincent at linda@cba.ua.edu or 205/348-8956.
Contact
Joelle Motes, public relations, APC, 205/348-8956, jcmotes@cba.ua.edu or Bill Gerdes, 205/348-8318, bgerdes@cba.ua.edu
Source
Linda Vincent, 205/348-8956, linda@cba.ua.edu