November is always a fantastic month for celebrations in the quality world. On 21st November the Batalas team attended the International Quality Awards 2018 – a prestigious event, recognising quality professionals who excel in their field.

The awards, only in their second year, were held at the indulgent De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London; the vast ceilings and impressive chandeliers were fit for the occasion, giving the ceremony a well-deserved decadence.

With wide international appeal, entries came from businesses across the globe from a variety of industries – 22 of which reached the finalist stage.

It was great to see so many of our training delegates in attendance, including Sonia Mills from Fluor who was a finalist for the second year running…

Sonia Mills from Fluor, Finalist

“It was both very humbling and amazing to be chosen as one of the three finalists in the ‘Quality Professional in a New Project’ category. The event itself was amazing, what a real celebratory feeling we all had on the day! I really enjoyed meeting familiar faces from the previous year’s awards and meeting new ones. It was particularly nice to see the Batalas team who helped me achieve my Lead Auditor training some years ago now, I will forever be grateful to them for the high quality training program.”

We’d like to wish our congratulations to this years’ winners:

  • Emerging Talent Award
    – Khar Voen (Carmen) Chin, PCQI, Alstom Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong S.A.R, China
  • Innovation Through Quality Method Award
    – The Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia
  • IRCA Certificated Auditor of the Year Award
    – Arlene Ollano-Aguilar, IRCA Lead Auditor, Qatar
  • Quality Professional in a New Project Award
    – Richard Hawke, CQP MCQI, Amway Corporation, United States
  • Leadership Award
    – Howard Cooper, CQP MCQI, Jacobs, UK
  • Quality Professional of the Year Award
    – Charlie Versi, CQP MCQI, Buildcorp Group Pty Ltd, Australia
  • Quality Team of the Year Award – JOINT WINNERS
    – Business Improvement Team, Costain, UK
    – Pathology Service, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
  • CQI Honorary Award – JOINT WINNERS
    – Dr Nigel Croft, ISO – International Organisation for Standardization
    – Donald Berwick, MD, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, US
  • Quality Organisation of the Year Award
    – Hiab AB, Sweden

The Awards were concluded with a fantastic final speech by Estelle Clark, CQP FCQI Executive Director of Policy, CQI and Chair of the judges for the International Quality Awards 2018…

“…The judges and finalists have made this year something truly special! It is our obligation to shine as quality professionals. Not just for ourselves but our colleagues and our organisations.”

Estelle Clark

Next year, as the CQI moves into its centenary year, we are expecting big things from the 2019 Awards. We encourage our clients to be a part of this event – it’s fantastic to be recognised for your work and an opportunity to mix with other auditing professionals, driven by a like-minded passion to achieve quality results.

Image credit – Chris Renton Photography