1. QW kicks off the New Year with three
companies who are transforming the way
quality is structured and perceived both
inside and outside their organisations.
Here they share their targets and quality
strategy for the year ahead
Travis Perkins has an annual turnover of more than £6bn.
The Group Quality team explains how it makes sure the 300,000
products the company supplies to the trade and buildings
industry are safe, responsible and
protect the brand’s reputation.
2016:
TheGame
Changers
TravisPerkins
Raise the profile of quality
Our quality team has grown from five professionals
to more than 60 in the past 15 years and during periods
of growth the quality message can become diluted and
lose focus. The team has to remain relevant, visible
and engaged with key stakeholders, so we need a clear
direction and vision to underpin our activity and
demonstrate how we add value to the business.
In early 2015 we relaunched the Group Quality
function with a new identity, vision and mission to
raise our profile and show why we do what we do.
First, we simplified our mission statement to: “Protect
the group brands’ reputation and profit, through safe,
responsible sourcing.”
We then streamlined the message to the clear,
business-facing goal statement of “protecting reputation
and profit”. This shows how our activity aligns with both
our overall business goal and that of our parent function
– Group Supply Chain (see table overleaf).
Each pillar in the figure defines our activity and how
we measure our performance to support continuous
review and improvement. This has helped us to simplify
what is often perceived as a technical and complicated
function, making it readily accessible to all colleagues,
from the shop floor to the boardroom. To
underpin this, a goal for 2016 is to gain
ISO 9001 registration for the Group Quality function.
This will enrich our operations and show our customers
we are serious about quality.
Work with Trading Standards for
intelligent testing
At Travis Perkins we have more than 160,000
building and construction products. One of the
challenges of such a vast range is how difficult it is
to approve all of the products entering the business.
To tackle this we have created a structured risk-based
system for reviewing suppliers’ ability to provide
compliant products.
This includes a system for formal approval of all Group
own-branded products before they enter the business,
where we work with the factories to make sure they are
using optimum quality tools during their production.
After the horsemeat scandal in the food sector we
Illustrations: Radoman Durkovic/Thinkstock

2. thecqi.org | 17
reviewed our approach to testing and identified
more compliance testing should be carried out
on a regular basis as part of due diligence. This
is our next big challenge for 2016.
Working with Northamptonshire Trading
Standards Service (as part of the Primary
Authority Partnership), we created a plan
where Travis Perkins Group Quality,
Intertek Testing Services and a Trading
Standards Officer would visit stores and
branches across the business on a monthly
basis to select products for additional testing
on intelligence lead information.
Using this approach, Trading Standards
will have full visibility of the Travis Perkins
product catalogue and we can demonstrate
continuing product compliance and
improvement. We have communicated this
to all our suppliers to increase their
awareness of Travis Perkins commitment to
only source products that are safe and legal.
Create a transparent
supply chain
Controlling products in the Travis Perkins
supply chain is a huge task and the Group
Quality function provides systems, processes
and resource. We use an online system that
allows the technical team to define the detail
required to support the inspection process.
The system allows the supplier to submit
specific detail, right down to component or
substance level. This is becoming more critical
with current legislation such as REACH –
a European Union legislation, which
addresses the production and use of chemical
substances and their impact on humans
and the environment.
Products that do not conform are flagged
immediately to the relevant stakeholders using
our innovative Google+ community.
This gives all our stakeholders access to
the detail of the nonconformance so they
can openly communicate directly with the
originator in real time, allowing decisions to be
made immediately. Suppliers are automatically
emailed and have seven days to respond with a
suitable corrective action plan. They are subject
to costs associated with the nonconformance.
By implementing this process we have
identified more than £8m of nonconforming
products and this has allowed us to be cost
neutral by recovering the costs of failure.
Our vision is to remove the need for
inspections and work with our suppliers
through collaboration and sharing data,
working to a totally transparent supply chain.
In 2016 we want to make the
nonconformance process available to 2,000
outlets. Managing these nonconformances
centrally will free valuable time up for the
outlet resource, provide key data for suppliers
and improve quality for our customers.
Clare Stelfox is the Quality, Sustainability and Governance
Lead at BT Ireland, a global provider of communications
solutions and IT services. With technology innovation at
its core, the company is at the forefront of bringing next
generation networks, services and skills to Ireland.
BTIreland
Develop dynamic engagement
In an increasingly competitive marketplace,
where brand reputation and employee
engagement is crucial, how well we reinforce
quality as part of the every day work of our
teams and our organisation is vital. Direct
engagement is a powerful tool for bringing
stakeholders on board, involving them
personally and moving quality from business
concept to tangible business is critical.
At BT we are dispelling the myth that
quality is a technical qualification ‘someone
else’ deals with. Developing our Quality Forums
and Champions as ambassadors throughout
the organisation will create a quality DNA
that will extend into every aspect of what we
do, how we do it and who we are as a business.
By engaging our stakeholders we will
see an expansion of the solid foundation
we have within BT. We are already noticing
strong engagement from grassroots upwards,
together with more proactive use of ISO
quality resources. But the ultimate goal is to
have quality on the agenda of every team
and to make it the instinctive platform for our
continuous improvement focus.
Embed the new standards
One of our goals for 2016 is to embed the
new ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 22301
standards. This is not just about certification,
although the standards are a key compliance
performance indicator for us. It’s about making
sure we benchmark well with our peers and
our customers retain their confidence in the
organisation. The standards are also important
for ensuring our people have access to the
best practice tools available to support
them in their work.
This involves pulling all three of the
goals mentioned here into a formal quality
management plan. As part of the QMS review
we will integrate quality planning into the
standards transition process, providing a
Stuart Croucher – Group
Commercial Services Director;
Malcolm Fisher, Divisional Quality
Manager – P&H; Danny Miles,
Divisional Quality Manager -
Merchant; and John Grant, Head of
Quality, Consumer Division, QC &
Group Services, all work for
Travis Perkins.
Travis Perkins is a
CQI Corporate Partner.
“We need a clear direction and vision to underpin our activity
and demonstrate how we add value”
16 | Quality World | January 2016
Stay safe
Keeping everyone
involved in the
product safe,
throughout the
supply chain.
• Factories
• Suppliers
• Colleagues
• Products
• Customers
• Audits
• Non
conformance
• Incidents
• Recalls
Responsible
Ensure suppliers
are sourcing
responsibly
and sustainably.
• Safe
• Legal
• Ethical
• Transparent
• Collaborative
• SoE REACh
• Supplier audits
• Factory audits
Compliance
Products enter our
supply chain are
compliant, fit
for purpose
and meet our
quality standards.
• Safe
• Legal
• Credible
• Compliant
• Competitive
• DS sampling
• Product audits
• Technical files
• Surveillance
Control
Ensuring all
products meet
our agreed
specification and
quality standards.
• Cost avoidance
• Consistency
• Inspection
• Testing
• Prevention
• Non
conformance
• Rejections
• Charges
• Inspections
Improvement
Reducing the
cost of failure,
improving the
quality and
profitability of
our products.
• Feedback
• Fact based
• Recovery
• Incidents
• Benchmarking
• Remedials
• Returns
• Complaints
Travis Perkins Group Quality cornerstones
PROTECTING
REPUTATION AND PROFIT
MEASURES

3. 18 | Quality World | January 2016
As the Chief Executive of UK
Eire at Intertek, Rob Van Dorp
helps to provide quality and
safety services to businesses
across the globe, boosting
innovation and prepare clients
for changes in legislation to
help drive sustainability.
Intertek
therapies for asthma,
cystic fibrosis and other
serious conditions. In 2016
we will further our innovation
by sitting on more technical
committees and participating in many
other industry forums. Our experts are able to
anticipate necessary innovation and thereby develop test
methods to benefit the whole industry and its customers.
Gain HSE accreditation for UK sites
Accrediting our laboratories brings a number of benefits.
It provides customers with assurance of continuing
high standards throughout their supply chain and
legal compliance. It also demonstrates the processes in
place within Intertek.
For staff, this underlines our pledge to a safe working
environment. For the company, the accreditation provides
assurance that we are managing HSE (health and safety
and environmental) to a standard matching Intertek’s
aspirations, while encouraging us to continuously review
and improve our performance.
In 2015, we achieved occupational health and safety
and environmental management accreditation for our
UK Cargo Analytical Assessment (CAA) sites. Many
other UK sites are part of the joint ISO 140001 and
OHSAS 18001 accreditation and the scope is constantly
under review. Now, we need to share the knowledge and
expertise we have gained to make sure other relevant UK
sites are aligned and support Intertek UK’s health, safety
and environmental management system.
Support our clients in the
ever-changing business environment
At Intertek we offer a very broad range of testing,
inspection and certification as well as advisory and
regulatory services across a range of industries – from
textiles to oil rigs.
We are busy addressing the immediate concerns or
needs of our clients and also looking at other services we
can provide to support upcoming changes in the industry
or in legislation affecting our clients.
During the 2013 horsemeat scandal, we supported
many clients in the food industry by expanding our DNA
testing on meat products. This provided swift support for
our clients and at the same time we were quickly able to
reassure customers of the integrity of their products.
Tighter legislation is coming into force at the end
of this year to limit the amount of potentially harmful
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in
rubber and plastic components. We began preparing
for this some time ago and are working with
manufacturers and vendors to make sure they are ready
for the shift in legislation. Next year we will lead our
clients through these changes and towards innovation in
the rubber and plastics industry.
Compiled by Natasha Cowan
natural platform to bring the whole organisation
together in support of defined best practice. As
a result, all of our objectives come together to
support the business.
The outcome will be updating our current
certifications to the new standards and, in
celebrating this anticipated success, we’ll
have a means to leverage the accomplishment
of our quality teams and create a renewed
sense of momentum around how we promote,
implement and manage quality as a
customer-centric business.
Bring quality to the forefront
If we want genuine engagement in quality
we have to be focussed on the real life
what and why, because our work has to
resonate on a practical level with a range
of different functions. True quality equals
time and resources, so we must be clear on
the real benefits the quality function can offer
to all ‘investors’.
With good engagement we can further
integrate quality into the detail of what we do at
BT. In 2016 we want to agree a quality charter
with our teams. This will allow us to adapt
quality models and tools to support their
day-to-day challenges. In turn we will gain
real-time case studies for the commercial
benefits of quality at every level of our business.
As we succeed in this, we will make sure
quality is seen as not just fundamental to the
way the organisation works, but also as integral
to how each and every one of our people
instinctively think and act. The positive impact
on customer feedback and operational efficacy
will be the ultimate testimonial.
Build innovation
Intertek works in partnership with clients, regulatory
bodies and industry experts to stay ahead of change.
Whether working with clients to develop more
effective patient-friendly medicines, anticipating electrical
and hybrid vehicle support and pre-empting emissions
legislation, or predicting new product development
requirements in product intelligence, we are at the
forefront of innovation.
We employ the best experts in each field but also allow
them the freedom, flexibility and finances to innovate.
For example, at Intertek’s Sunbury laboratory our
scientists assisted with developing a way of finding a new
contaminant in jet fuel – a method that later became a
well-used industry standard. Our Cambridge laboratory
conducts research with leading academic groups and
uses the findings to help some of the biggest global
pharmaceutical companies find innovative
solutions to develop more effective
“We will make sure quality is seen as not just
fundamental to the way the organisation works
but also as integral to how each and every one
of our people instinctively think and act”
“We employ the best experts in each field but also allow
them the freedom, flexibility and finances to innovate”