BRIEF HISTORY 2019

In partnership with Boston Consulting Group

The American Society for Quality, or ASQ has
and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Qualität (DGQ),
been at the forefront of the quality movement ASQ released a study on Quality 4.0.
for 75 years. In 1985, they sponsored the 2020
International Team Excellence Award or ITEA ASQ Excellence is pleased that, as of January
competition. International Team Excellence 2020, the ITEA program is now a part of ASQE.
Award is one of the world's 2021
premier team recognition programs — ASQ celebrates 75 years of serving the global
awarding achievements in improved business quality community.
performance. It has drawn participants from
the US, Costa Rica, Mexico, and China. This
competition seeks to increase value, advance
quality through excellence, and inspire
organizational excellence.

Timeline
1946
The American Society for Quality Control is
formed.
1948
ASQC's Code of Ethics was established.
1960
The Education and Training Institute Board is
formed.
1968
The first certification examinations are held
for quality engineers.
1990
The Registrar Accreditation Board is founded
as an independent organization to accredit
third-party ISO 9000 registrars.
1998
ASQ is named administrator of the QuEST
Forum, which develops the TL 9000
telecommunications standards.
2001
The Certified Quality Improvement Associate
(CQIA) program is introduced.
2006
ASQ launches an initiative to promote the
Economic Case for Quality.
2013
ASQ releases the Global State of Quality:
Discoveries Report.
PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE AND
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
All teams participating in the Team Excellence
process are evaluated on how well they used
their improvement process, rather than the
amount of money saved. This approach helps
to level the playing field for the teams,
regardless of their size or industry. It doesn’t
matter what tools or problem-solving process a
team uses; what matters is how well their
specific team methodology was used.
The ITEA process begins by understanding the
criteria and concludes by presenting the
project’s results.
● The aim is to keep track of the team’s
efforts while they work on a project to
help them stay on task and receive
feedback. When the project is finished,
the team submits it to the ITEA process for
the potential to have their work
recognized on an international platform.

So, to participate in the competition,

Each team provides a 25-minute video

outlining its project and procedures.

● The video presentation should cover one

completed team project from the past 18
months. Participants are judged on how
well they meet the 36 criteria, ranging
from project selection and action
planning to results and the projects'
influence and organizational goals.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

Fidelity Wide Processing Bulk Shipping Process Management Team (Gold Award Winner)

● A cross-functional process management team was implemented, and quality tools were utilized
to decrease controllable shipping and operating unit costs and enhance productivity in the bulk
shipping operations area.

DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations Company, Vehicle Accident Performance Improvement Team

● They developed strategies to reduce the number of accidents involving government vehicles.

Baxter, Cartago, Costa Rica, Anesthesia Circuits Problem Solving Team

● Since they had a problem separating components on Anesthesia Circuits caused by the design
of the Adult Isoflex tubing cuff, they developed a new cuff design, new resin, and improved
assembly operation as solutions.

JPMorgan Chase, Right the First Time

● A cross-functional team of 72 employees used the Six Sigma methodology to analyze data and
internal processes to improve their operational processes.
RESULTS AFTER THE APPLICATION OF THE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR PERFORMANCE
EXCELLENCE

Fidelity Wide Processing Bulk Shipping Process Management Team (Gold Award Winner)

● With the help of a cross-functional process management team and the use of quality tools,
shipping costs were cut by 20%, productivity increased by 30%, and unit costs were decreased
by 36%.

DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations Company, Vehicle Accident Performance Improvement Team

● As a result of the team's strategies, the rate of vehicle accidents per mile traveled decreased
from 5.6 to 1.8.

Baxter, Cartago, Costa Rica, Anesthesia Circuits Problem Solving Team

● The development of a new cuff design, new resin, and improved assembly operation resulted in
the total elimination of complaints (100%), a $240,000 cost saving, and an improved ergonomic
assembly method.

JPMorgan Chase, Right the First Time

● The team reduced modifications in northeast item processing by 50% using the Six Sigma
technique. Also, customer experience improved, internal processes were streamlined, internal
operations were optimized, and operating expenses were reduced by $1.4 million annually.

CONCLUSION
The International Team Excellence Award does not only give recognition to a team’s
improvement efforts but also provides the participants with written feedback which further enables
them to improve their approach to problem-solving and improvement processes.

EXTRA NOTES
Numerous teams from the world’s most successful companies have participated in ASQE’s team
excellence award process. Teams within firms are witnessed globally in how they used quality
concepts to produce advancements like customer satisfaction, waste reduction, and staff morale,
which improved profitability.