Because Quality Doesn’t Materialise Out of Nothing

Quality is a vital factor in awarding any infrastructure contract. High levels of quality will ensure that assets can be operated safely, with minimal risk of breakdowns or future unscheduled maintenance.

How then, should contractors provide visible clues to the quality they provide in a tangible and measurable way to procurement bodies, that enough emphasis is placed on the quality of work? We can probably all talk about policies, processes and ISO 9001, but will that really deliver the confidence that our customers are seeking?

A Question of Culture

The surest guarantee for customers is to delve into the culture and values of potential suppliers; to understand what drives decisions – large and small – at all levels in the company. If culture and values are not aligned with a customer-first ethos then no amount of policies or reassuring words in tender submissions will close the credibility gap.

Think of a quality system like a plant. Unless it’s planted in the right soil and cultivated with the right conditions and nutrients it will not flourish. The company culture and values determine whether quality really takes root throughout the organisation.

Customer First?

Whatever the policies might be, it’s what happens in practice that counts. Does the evidence point to an organisation where the interests of the customers always comes first, or are there more dominant priorities such as the need to satisfy investors?

What visible signs are there that quality is ingrained in culture and values so that performance can be genuinely assured? How have quality processes and approaches been used in practice, on real and, ideally, similar contracts? These are the things that can’t be glossed over with words – it’s about what drives events when a key decision has to be made.

Being an independently owned business like Osborne makes a consistent quality and customer-focused approach easier to maintain. It’s something we continuously build on and develop. And it’s reinforced through aligned goals at company, departmental and personal levels to ensure a consistent approach.

Quality doesn’t just happen because there is a policy or a process- it has to grow from the right company culture and values.