Each year, World Quality Day aims to increase worldwide awareness of the important contribution that quality makes towards both organisational and national growth and prosperity. Falling this year on 12 November, the 2020 theme was Creating Customer Value. CESA CEO Chris Campbell comments that this is fitting considering the importance of value in infrastructure development, recently in the spotlight thanks to South Africa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, which sees infrastructure as a key driver.

“All too often, infrastructure is procured based on cost rather than on value. This World Quality Day we would like to remind decision-makers that achieving value for money will see the successful provision of high-quality and sustainable infrastructure. Consulting engineers can play a crucial role in advising on quality infrastructure which will serve the needs of our country and its people.” Campbell says that a cost-based approach to decision-making may see costly maintenance or dangerous failures down the line. “Ensuring quality is another way in which consulting engineers can continue CESA’s pursuit of ‘Consulting Engineers Protecting Lives and Livelihoods’,” he says.

CESA is a proud supporter of quality and the implementation of quality systems and encourages its member firms to be likewise. By implementing effective Quality Management Systems (QMS), firms can reduce risk, which ensures the successful delivery of projects. Creating customer value drives the engineering industry to provide customers with innovative, value adding solutions for all their project needs. “As professionals, we must understand our clients’ needs, as well as share our knowledge to provide innovative and quality solutions during all the stages of a project,” says Campbell.

CESA has various initiatives to enhance quality through quality management systems within its member firms, and has established a Quality, Risk and Sustainability Committee, whose members will focus on making quality and QMS more accessible and user friendly within member firms. Another initiative is the development of the ‘Management System Declarations (MSD)’ online system, which will allow CESA to assess and monitor the level of development of a member firm’s quality management system. This system will allow CESA to make recommendations to member firms on how to develop and improve their quality systems.

Further, the CESA School of Consulting Engineering (SCE) offers a variety of practical courses relating to quality and the implementation of effective QMSs. This World Quality Day, the SCE presented a course to assist firms with the effective integration of quality and risk management into their project delivery, and their business as a whole. This empowers member firms to increase quality and drive customer satisfaction throughout their organisation.

“Stand with CESA during the month of November, become a proud supporter of World Quality Day 2020 and protect lives and livelihoods of everyone impacted by our industry,” concludes Campbell.