The evening commenced with a warm reception by our Q&R team where the various teams mingled with each other over sparkling wine and delectable appetizers. The crowd was a nice mix of diverse people who represented the 4 winning teams of this year’s PQA – CSS, FEP, GOMO and TSMC. Soon we were joined by our CEO, Mike Splinter, and his Executive Staff.
What followed was a sit-down round table dinner where I had the pleasure of sharing the table with Tom St. Dennis, Sr. VP – SSG, and fellow members from other teams. Between relishing our five-course meal, we talked about varied topics ranging from US presidential elections to the booming Indian economy, social culture in the Middle East to state of affairs at Applied.
“I am having so much fun”, I remember thinking to myself when Tom posed a question “What is your essence of Quality? Did you work towards winning the PQA this year?”
To which I recollect answering to this extent – “CSS has always shown a strong commitment to Quality and has always advocated adherence to the best practices and in fact ensured percolation of this commitment to all levels within the group. Hence, the PQA was not the MOTIVE of our actions but instead, the RESULT of our actions.” That moment made me realize how proud and honored I was to be representing CSS at the PQA.
Soon the dinner session came to an end and coffee was being served, when Mike Splinter took over the dais to address us. Mike spoke about the importance of emulating companies that achieve quality excellence — Motorola, Toyota, Singapore Airlines — through processes that have moved them up into the top quality echelon.
And then, before we realized we had reached the much awaited part of the evening - the awards presentation. Chuck Korstad, VP – Q&R, took us through the contributions of each of the winning teams, starting with CSS.
It was impressive to learn that CSS's Quality initiatives and efforts earned it the first ever customer award from Samsung, specifically for software. Together, CSS and its extended software support family have received 12 customer accolades from major customers including Crolles 2, TSMC, Chartered, and SMIC. During a recent Supplier assessment Intel highlighted CSS-VP's dedication to Quality by giving a full score of 10 out of 10 for Management Commitment.
Although CSS has won the PQA on previous occasions, this award was made more significant by the role played by our global teams across N America, India, Russia and Xian who have contributed significantly to Software Reliability improvement.
It was indeed a proud moment for all of us from CSS to receive the PQA.
The beautiful evening finally came to an end and it was time for us to leave. As we left, I recalled the sparkle in the wine, the sparkle in each of the winners’ eyes, and as I stepped out into the night I noticed the sparkle in the star-lit sky. Truly, what a sparkling evening that was.
