National Quality Awards

The IMC Quality Awards process has completed six cycles, in 2002.  These awards are presented by category to corporates for quality of management performance, as well as to a statesman with a quality orientation who serves as a role model.

IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award
There are three applicant categories for the corporate awards: manufacturing organizations, service organizations, and small businesses.  Only one award is presented in each of the three categories.  If the standards of the award are not met, no award is announced.

A special board of examiners evaluates the award applications, and prepares the feedback reports.  The board consists of quality experts and senior managers from industry, academia and consulting organizations.  All new members of the board are required to take part in a five-day examiner preparation course.  The examiners are trained on the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award criteria and examination process.  To date, we have over 100 examiners.  The final selection of the winners is done by a Panel of Judges, chaired by the previous year’s winner of the IMC Juran Quality Medal.

Over the six years, in excess of 5,000 sets of criteria have been distributed by the IMC Quality Cell to the business community.  From amongst these, about 100 organizations have applied for the award.  The following have been our award recipients:

1998   Vikram Cement
1999   Housing Development Finance Corporation
2000   Thai Acrylic Fibre
             Infosys Technologies
2001    Indo Gulf Corporation
             Satyam Computer Services
2002    Reliance Industries (Hazira)
             University Institute of Chemical Technology

IMC Juran Quality Medal
The individual award has been blessed by Dr J M Juran, the quality guru, now in his centennial year.  Through a nomination and shortlisting process, the Panel of Judges selects a role model individual.

The selected individual must serve as a role model for any one or more of the following ten criteria:

• Demonstration of outstanding leadership in establishing customer-driven quality
• Demonstration of outstanding leadership in combining statistical thinking and management which results in high quality of products and services
• Demonstration of outstanding leadership in improving the supplier aspects of quality
• Demonstration of outstanding leadership in improving the human aspects of quality
• Evidence of effective quality management training and/or consulting in the manufacturing, service and small-scale sectors
• Evidence of successful design, development and marketing of quality management publications, books and instruction systems
• Evidence of substantial original research on the processes, tools and techniques for quality management
• Evidence of substantial original quality management research that has social significance
• Evidence of furtherance of quality awareness through articles, conventions and other means
• Evidence of distinct philanthropy dedicated to the promotion of quality management.

Past recipients of the IMC Juran Quality Medal have been:
1997  D L Shah
1998  Suresh Krishna
1999  Chandra Mohan
2000  F C Kohli
2001  Dr J J Irani
2002  Dr R A Mashelkar

2003 Cycle
The 2003 cycle has commenced.  We look forward to numerous companies adopting the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award criteria, and several participating in the annual competition.  It is an effective means to progress on the journey to world-class quality.  It is also an effective way to meet the challenges of the next decade, in the battle for economic superiority.

In parallel, we welcome individual nominations for the IMC Juran Quality Medal from the business community.  IMC would like to build a bank of quality achievers.  There are several determined ‘quality’ individuals in the country who are acknowledged by their peers, but unknown to IMC.  We need to know about them.