The Department of Industry of the Basque Government is convinced of the strategic importance of Total Quality Management as a compendium of the best management practices, and the European Excellence Model as a measurement tool, as well as the enthusiastic collaboration of a few pioneers and their companies, being the origin of the Quality promotion that began in 1992 and which, after a great deal of work by many people, can currently be considered a success story.
The Programa de Promoción de la Calidad en el Sector Industrial (Programme to Promote Quality in the Industrial Sector) of the CAPV (Basque Autonomous Community) (PPCSI) was created with the aim of improving the competitiveness in Basque companies through improving management, based on the application of Total Quality principles and methods.
This conceptual reference framework was innovative in a panorama dominated by the ISO 9000 product quality assurance standards. The attainment of the ISO 9000 certification was understood by the Basque quality movement as a necessary but insufficient condition, as an important step forward, but just the beginning of a much more important route targeting Total Quality, Management Quality.
In addition, this Programme was innovative in its operational approach, as it opened the way for a strategy of a public-private collaboration to carry out coordinated actions focused on achieving a common objective through the Market Driving Organisations. These, either companies with a large purchasing power or associations of companies, carry out with their suppliers and associates, the task of promoting Total Quality as a management strategy that generates differential competitive advantages.
The multiplying effect of this approach is evident, as with relatively small economic resources and achieving agreements with a small number of interlocutors, you act on a wide-ranging economic fabric composed basically of SMEs.
At the same time, the Basque Government promoted the creation by the main Basque economic agents of the Fundación Vasca para el Fomento de la Calidad (Basque Foundation for the Promotion of Quality), currently Euskalit, with the aim of developing a Total Quality culture in all spheres of the Basque society.
In the performance of its mission, Euskalit, was creating and implementing all the activities that the Market Driving Organisations of the PPCSI were progressively demanding, until they completed a wide range of awareness, dissemination, action support and finally, more recently evaluation and acknowledgement actions.
These actions, initially focused on industry, have been gradually adapted and developed by Euskalit to be taken up in different sectors such as education, health, etc.
After this analysis of the evolution of the Programme, it is necessary to say that it is developing satisfactorily; we should be satisfied. There has been significant progress in the situation of driven companies, as a result of the work and dedication of the people in them. In addition, the strategy of public-private collaboration has worked perfectly, therefore the agreements reached and the alignment of messages, language and objectives are the foundation of the results achieved.
To conclude, we can highlight a fundamental aspect that has been a key to this process and that we must maintain to continue advancing, which is patience and perseverance in the aims. The principles and methods behind the denomination Total Quality/Management Excellence, are here to stay. The work continues, we are on the right route, but it is necessary to persevere, without relaxing, either by being too proud of the successes achieved of by falling into easy distractions thinking that Quality is old-fashioned and it is necessary to do something else. Despite the time that has passed since the beginning of this process, we must continue on the route. Continual improvement must continue.
