How did 93 project teams save over ₹500+ crore?

QualTech Prize 2019

Quality Leader

What are the attributes of a Quality Leader?  

A proficient quality leader is a trainer, coach, counselor, facilitator and recognizer.  

A trainer imparts knowledge to a class full of students, one-to-many. 

A coach sharpens specific skills of an individual, one-on-one. 

A counselor guides an individual on specific behavioral issues, one-on-one. 

A facilitator is a catalyst who enables project teams to achieve their goals. 

A recognizer… oops! What is that? A recognizer has the distinct skill to give specific positive feedback to the right individual for the right reason, at the right time, in the presence of the right people. The right people  could be internal to an organization or external to the business. Examples are: departmental colleagues; family members; industry at large.

Evolution of QualTech Prize

In the mid 1980s, when quality surfaced as a differentiating factor, leaders were eloquent at seminars and conferences about the criticality of quality for exports. Unfortunately, the emphasis was only on quality control. The real differentiator, they realized through experience,  was quality improvement. It offered strategic advantage. The by-product was a reduction in mega Cost Of Poor Quality (COPQ).

Amongst the first to embrace quality improvement were Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra (Tractor Division), Punjab Tractors, Bombay Dyeing, and a few more. The left-brain quality improvement discipline was applied largely to chronic problems in operations. Middle-level managers learned the Juran on Quality Improvement structured methodology that delivered huge COPQ savings. This needed showcasing. This needed sharing. With that was born the QualTech Prize Competition in 1989.

By 1994, quality improvement was also seeded in a few service organizations: Jet Airways, the Taj Group of Hotels, and a few multi-national banks. They made a habit of quality improvement, in the eyes of their customers. The focus was on faster, better, cheaper, as well as, customer delight.

At the turn of the century, when Indian organizations chose to become multinationals, left-brain logical thinking was not considered sufficient for success. Indian organizations needed right-brain creative thinking for innovative solutions to their chronic problems. With that the QualTech Prize Competition evolved into 2 parallel streams:

  • QualTech Prize for Improvement
  • QualTech Prize for Innovation

New Categories 

We are pleased to note that over the past decade, hospitals have commenced participating in the Improvement competitions. Largely triggered by NABH Accreditation. Some of these hospitals are being benchmarked by hospitals in Asia. Encouraged by this momentum, this year, we have introduced:

  • QualTech Prize for Improvement: Healthcare

Further, in recent years, Green Practices have woven their way into Innovations. Climate Change is a threat. Mother Earth is being punished with our careless attitude to the air, water, trees, and soil. Consequently, this year, we have introduced

  • QualTech Prize for Green Breakthroughs.

 So what next?

 It is a universal reality that structured problem solving does not follow a vanilla path. There are challenges faced by project teams. These challenges are addressed by senior management. The actual stories behind the project challenges offer tremendous lessons.

 In order to capture these lessons, we have now added a Quality Fables Competition. We do hope this story telling competition captures the imagination of QualTech Prize participating organizations.

QualTech Prize 2019 Finals

QualTech Prize 2019 Finals are scheduled for 6-8 November, in Mumbai. It is an opportunity for Quality Leaders and Managers, as well as HR Leaders and Managers, to witness 93 project teams from 57 organizations demonstrate their determined results. The focus of mutually exclusive results are: Reduced TAT; Reduced customer dissatisfaction; Reduced destruction of natural resources; Reduced COPQ; and more. The cumulative COPQ reduced, to be showcased at QualTech Prize Finals 2019, will be of the order of INR 500 crore. COPQ reduction is a recurring saving.

Join us as a delegate to be a part of this amazing learning experience at QualTech Prize 2019 by registering at https://www.qimpro.com/qualtech/register/delegates





2 thoughts on “How did 93 project teams save over ₹500+ crore?”

  • Qimpro QualTech Prize is India’s number 1 recognition for Quality Improvement Project. From my own experience working with Max Life and Tata Housing, it remained the most competative team recognition process in the country. For many years, it was my final frontier as we have received every single recognition in the country. As an examiner since last many years and Judge at 25th Qimpro Convention, I look forward to opening speech from Mr. Lulla. Many times, I travelled specially from Delhi to Mumbai for his opening message that was worth my investment. Look forward to many more years of association with Qimpro QualTech Prize.

    • Thank you Sachin for being an integral part of QualTech.
      You have participated in multiple avatars.
      You have also been a delegate on occasions.
      You have been an Examiner for several years.
      And you have also served as a Judge.
      That,s quite a track record!
      You are a Blue Blooded Qualitist.

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