On March 24, 2014, in the heart of Warsaw – at the Radisson Blu Centrum Hotel – the awards ceremony QUALITY OF 2013 was held. This is the culmination of the eighth edition of the largest competition promoting quality in Poland. For the first time in his history, a unique distinction was presented - Diamond Statues QUALITY OF THE YEAR. The honorary patronage over the event was the European Organisation for Quality based in Brussels.
We believe that by lighting the idea of excellence in quality and supporting good business practices, we contribute to improving the quality of our lives. The Qualitas Foundation, which we have called for to organise the Quality of the Year competition, guarantees that the idea of quality promotion will not lose its importance - stressed in the opening Gala the creator of the competition QUALITY OF THE YEAR, Marcin Puddleny. - I'm sorry. We take care of the high level of content of the competition and strive to interact with quality environments in Poland and Europe - he added.
The awards ceremony QUALITY OF 2013 brought together nearly 300 people. The invitation of the organizer - the Qualitas Foundation was also attended by special guests with Dr. Eric Janssens, the CEO of the European Organization for Quality (EOQ) coming from Brussels. Dr Wojciech Henrykowski, President of the Management Board of the Polish Centre for Research and Certification SA, Dr Elżbieta Krodkiewska-Skoczylas, President of the Management Board of the Polish Club FORUM ISO 9000, Dr Joanna Rosak-Szyrocka from the Institute of Production Engineering, University of Częstochowa, Jacek Całus, President of the Association of Employers of Warsaw and Mazovia, Janusz Pieńkowski, Head of the Trade and Investment Promotion Department at the Polish Embassy in Paris, and Helena Ewa Stanisławska, Director of the Personnel and Organization Office, representing the Mazowieckie Voivodeship.
The Final Gala, which has traditionally become an opportunity for substantive discussions, was divided into two panels. In the first part, Dr. Inż. Wojciech Henrykowski spoke about the importance of accreditation and metrology in the European Conformity Assessment System 10 years after accession to the EU, and Mrs Katarzyna Szulc of 2MGroup gave the auditorium attention in the area of "Gender of Quality of the Year as an element of building a communication strategy". Mirosław Baranowski, who said, among others, that he enjoyed the development of the competition, new categories, the international promotional character of the emblem QUALITY OF THE YEAR and that he would continue to support the idea of the competition, because it is worth taking care of quality in such a edition.
At the end of the first part of the Final Gala, Krzysztof Stadler, President of the Board of Qualitas Foundation and Marcin Kałużny, Chairman of the Jury of the Competition presented the Quality of the Year 2013 awards by category: Product, SERVICE, INNOVATION AND ECOLOGY. Among the recipients of the title were:
ABUS, LOTON, SEETECH, SWEGON, VILOFFOS, GEA Westphalia Separator, SANO, DOLLE, GALMET, DVS and SIMS.
In the second evening part of the ceremony, Dr. Eric Janssens took the floor, who said that the EOQ took the patronage over the Quality of the Year competition, because this extraordinary idea goes beyond the borders of Poland and is of great importance to other countries not only in Europe.
In addition, the discussion panel, led by Łukasz Korycki, editor of the Journal of Legal Newspapers, was held in this section, under the motto: "Can the quality of services in Poland be improved – how to get out of the closed circle of ubiquitous mediocrity", to which were invited: Krzysztof Stadler, Mirosław Baranowski or from W łod z m ierz Kwiatkowski, CEO of BERENDSEN and Tomasz Tomaszewski, director of VauPe. A great deal of attention was given to the issue showing that Poles from early childhood have been dealing with poor quality of services – in the office, shop, car workshop, etc. This makes such experience transferred to their own professional ground. As noted by the President of the Qualitas Foundation, the solution lies in the systemic approach to the problem. - There are no simple prescriptions. It is necessary to work at the core to make employees aware of the importance of their role in the perception of their company by customers and the quality of the service provided," he said.
At the climax of the Gala, statuettes and diplomas were presented Quality of the Bronze Year, Quality of the Golden Year and Gold 2014. The prize recipients included BEKO, CLASSEN, INNOVA, VAUPE, MUSHINE, ETERNO, ORAS Olesno, AZOTY GROUP, ENEA Production, BERENDSEN, PCO and ORLEN OIL. There were also representatives of the world of science. The awards were received among others. Prof. Jan Kiciński from the Robert Szewalski Institute of Flow MachinesProf. Ryszard Maciej Siegoczyński from Warsaw University of Technology and Prof. Roman Śliwa from Rzeszów University of Technology.
A special moment of the ceremony was the presentation of DIAMENTAL statuettes QUALITY OF THE YEAR. The group of the best of the companies consists of three companies: Anwis Polska, Ceramika Paradyż and VETREX. Absolute cream of quality leaders!
Awards, speeches, discussions... that's not all. For balance and rest, food is also needed for the body and spirit. The final act of the banquet summarizing the whole day event was a wonderful cake with THE QUALITY OF THE YEAR logo, which with pump and fireworks drove into the party, enthralling the guests. The evening, which was an excellent opportunity for guests to have a cultural exchange of views, experiences and business cards, loved the recital of Kasi and Ewa Goławski, semi-finalist of the X-Factor program.
The Final Gala was held under the honorary patronage of the European Organization For Quality and the Polish Club Forum ISO 9000. Media patronage of the event was Journal Gazeta Prawna and Magazines: Business Report published together with Journal Gazeta Prawna and Bussines & Lifestyle appearing together with weekly Politics. Among the excellent partners were: Polish Centre for Research and Certification SA, as well as Polish Association of Recovery and Internet Debt Exchange - long.info.
The main sponsor, INNOVA, provided the appropriate setting of the ceremony. In addition, the Final Gala was supported by the companies: Atelier Żoliborz, Quendi, who provided translator support and Eterno and Cookie, who took care of sweet surprises.
All the winners of the QUALITY OF THE YEAR competition are warmly congratulated!
Monika Klimczyk, BUSINESSPORT
