The Department of Trade and Industry is inviting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as large corporations in CALABARZON to join its two quality programs:  Philippine Quality Challenge (PQC) and Philippine Quality Award (PQA) in a bid to promote organizational competitiveness in the local businesses.

The DTI- Competitiveness Bureau (CB) will conduct PQA/PQC/NCC Roadshow at Queen Margarette Hotel, Lucena City, Quezon on Thursday, September 22, 2016 to orient local businesses and organizations about the two performance excellence programs. Also part of the roadshow is the presentation on the Philippines’ State of Competitiveness through the National Competitiveness Council. This will include the results of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) this year.

CB Executive Director Virgilio Fulgencio stated that SMEs will benefit in joining Philippine Quality Challenge since they can improve their organizations and become comparable with world-class firms.

 “As we push our SMEs to become globally competitive, we are putting them at the center of our efforts to improve and attain performance excellence. In this way, they could compete with other firms within and outside the ASEAN region.” Fulgencio explained.

To be able to join both programs, for the PQC, companies should first undergo the 2 day-Applicants’ Training and comply with the Eligibility Requirements before they enter the assessment phase. After completing the requirements, the team of assessors will do a review process based on the submitted report. After which the applicants will undergo the first phase of consultancy service and will determine if the organization will be awarded a PQC recognition. PQA on the other hand, organizations should undergo the 3 days Application Development Course, comply with the Eligibility Requirements and submit Application Report. A team of assessors will also conduct the review process based on the submitted Application Report and present their findings to the Board of Judges.   The whole assessment cycle usually takes a year, from application to awarding rites.

PQA is the highest level of recognition given to organizations based on a global standard. It was established to assist local companies/organizations achieve world-class performance excellence. It is the Philippine version of the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) and National Quality Awards abroad.

PQC, on the other hand is the simplified version of the PQA criteria, focusing on companies interested to start their quality initiatives towards organizational excellence. Both the PQA and PQC serves as framework for competitiveness based on the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM).

To date, there are 18 PQA recipients from CALABARZON which include Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing Incorporated (1998), Sutherland Global Services (2008), First Philippine Industrial Corp. (2008), RCM Manufacturing Inc. (2010), Mariwasa Siam Ceramics Inc. (2010), Sunpower Philippines Manufacturing Ltd. (2010), Automotive Air-conditioning Technology Phils. Inc. (2011), Optodev, Inc. (2012), Lyceum of the Philippines University Batangas, Inc. (2012), Lyceum of the Philippines – Laguna (2014), San Miguel Yamamura Asia Corporation (2012), STMicroelectronics, Inc. (2014), SMC Yamamura Fuso Molds Corporation (2014), ROHM Electronics Philippines, Inc. (2014), Department of Science and Technology-IV-A (2015), Lyceum of the Philippines-Batangas (2015), Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba (2015) and City Government of Tanauan (2015).

During the event, Sunlight Foods Corporation, a PQC awardee will showcase their best practices and journey towards organizational excellence. Mr. Crispin Muyrong, Jr., its VP for Operations will share their experience in application process and the winning strategies for applying PQA and PQC in their respective businesses.

***