Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

C������ �� C������� �� 1987, ��� B������� P������ ������ to help organizati ons achieve world-class performance. The Baldrige Program is the fi rst and only presidenti al award program dedicated to improving U.S. organizati ons. The Program is administered by the Nati onal Insti tute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Malcolm Baldrige Nati onal Quality Award is the highest level of nati onal recogniti on for performance excellence that a U.S. organizati on can receive. To receive the award, an organizati on must have a role-model management system that ensures conti nuous improvement in the delivery of products and services, demonstrates effi cient and eff ecti ve operati ons, and provides a way of engaging and responding to customers and employees.

Organizati ons apply for the award by responding to the questi ons in the Baldrige Criteria that provide a framework that any organizati on can use to improve overall performance. The seven categories are: Leadership; Strategic Planning; Customer Focus; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Workforce Focus; Process Management; and Results.

Innovati ve approachesPracti cal resultsOutstanding service

our continuous improvement journeyIn 2010, Freese and Nichols (FNI) was named a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige Nati onal Quality Award. The Baldrige award is the highest presidenti al honor given to U.S. organizati ons for performance excellence, and FNI is the fi rst engineering/architecture fi rm to receive this honor. Conti nuous improvement processes implemented during our Baldrige journey enabled FNI to weather the nati on’s fi nancial downturn, expand business into the energy sector, and open a new offi ce in North Carolina.

Organizati ons Receiving the Baldrige AwardThe Baldrige Program received 1,579 applicati ons from 1989 to 2012, with 99 organizati ons named recipients of the Award.

Freese and Nichols is a full service professional consulti ng fi rm and the fi rst engineering/architecture fi rm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige Nati onal Quality Award. With offi ces in Texas and North Carolina, Freese and Nichols provides services in engineering, architecture, environmental science, planning, constructi on services, energy and program management.www.freese.com

Baldrige luncheonFNI parti cipated in a Baldrige luncheon hosted by the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. Some att endees included (left to right): Cindy Milrany, FNI Chief Financial Offi cer; Tommy Gonzalez, City Manager of Irving, a 2012 Baldrige Award Recipient; and Harry Hertz, Director of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.

national award ceremonyRepresentati ves from FNI att ended the Malcolm Baldrige Nati onal Quality Award ceremony in Washington, D.C. A delegati on headed by U.S. Congresswoman Kay Granger and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price also included Jeff Fegan, CEO of Dallas/Fort Worth Internati onal Airport; Robert O’Neill, Executi ve Director of the Internati onal City/County Management Associati on; and City Managers Tommy Gonzalez, City of Irving, Texas; Mark McDaniel, City of Tyler, Texas; and Tom Higgins, City of Fort Worth, Texas.

Our Continuous Improvement JourneyW���� ������� ���������� ��� ��������� ������� ���� ������ been a hallmark of FNI, our leadership sought to elevate our management system to the same level. In 1995 we adopted the Conti nuous Improvement (CI) form of management. CI is an ongoing eff ort to improve our processes and services. The CI system focuses on process improvement and empowers employees working most closely with the processes to suggest and implement improvements.

State and National AwardsI� 2007, FNI �������� ��� T���� A���� ��� P���������� Excellence, the fi rst engineering/architecture fi rm to do so. The award, a statewide version of the Baldrige award, is given by the Quality Texas Foundati on and assesses performance in seven categories of management systems.

Acti ng on the feedback received from the Texas Performance Excellence award, our fi rm conti nued to make the process improvements that took our quality performance to the Baldrige level.

Voice of the Client Program helps us understand clients’ needs and make improvements based on client input

Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program is conti nuously reviewed and improved to provide quality work

Seminars and FN University training off ered to client staff Long-tenured and moti vated workforce providing consistency to client projects Greater opportuniti es for project innovati on through FNI’s innovati on programs Project savings through process effi ciencies Improved client communicati ons

FNI remains focused on our Conti nuous Improvement (CI) journey. Aft er review of the 2010 Baldrige Feedback Report, we created our Baldrige (CI) Vision 2016 to keep moving forward. We are also monitoring the biannual changes to Baldrige criteria for areas to address to remain competi ti ve.

FNI served as a mentor to the City of Irving through their Baldrige journey; the City was named a recipient of the 2011 Texas Award for Performance Excellence (TAPE) and 2012 Malcolm Baldrige Nati onal Quality Award. FNI helped review Irving’s initi al applicati on for TAPE, helped them practi ce for site visits and provided other guidance during the process. As Baldrige recipients, our relati onship conti nues in a mutual sharing of best practi ces.

FNI provides a broad group of clients with Baldrige outreach, including the City of Fort Worth, City of Tyler, Town of Prosper, and the Fort Worth, Weatherford, Keller and Hurst-Euless-Bedford independent school districts. We are meeti ng with various clients on an ongoing basis to identi fy opportuniti es for assistance in their pursuit of performance excellence.

Since 2010, FNI leaders have given more than 40 presentati ons on a variety of performance excellence/Baldrige-related topics at nati onal, state and regional quality conferences; industry conferences; universiti es; and client workshops. Please send your speaking and/or informati on requests to: baldrigeinfo@freese.com.

Our journey conti nues. We are preparing to resubmit for the 2016 Baldrige Award.

IMPACT

MOVING FORWARD

FNI’s quality initi ati ves have raised our level of performance and service to each of our stakeholder groups: our clients, employees, communiti es and colleagues. Some of the impacts on our clients include: