WINNERS OF 1999 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT QUALITY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The winners of the 1999 Business Development Quality Awards were announced by Business Development Minister Peter McCardle at a reception in the Beehive tonight.

The Awards are presented annually to recognise and promote business excellence and quality management among small to medium size businesses.

The awards cover both private and public sector organisations. There were three winners this year, and they received their awards at the reception.

The national public sector winner of the 1999 Business Development Quality Award is the AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL CITY PLANNING GROUP. The group is responsible for all city planning, and one of its recent development projects was the Viaduct Basin.

In making their decision, the assessors noted the strong involvement of staff in planning, comprehensive performance measurement, and strong strategic development. The group was the highest scoring public sector applicant last year, and the standard it reached is even higher this year.

In the private sector the national winner was the AUCKLAND HOSPITAL STAFF PRE-SCHOOL. It too was an award winner in 1998 and this year achieved the highest score in the private sector.

For the past 3 years the pre-school has focused on delivering quality in all aspects of early childhood education. The assessors noted in particular the attention paid to customers, both parents and pre-schoolers.

The third BDQ award was won by the CONSENTS MANAGEMENT UNIT OF THE WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL. It was a first time applicant, and the assessors noted the early achievements of the Unit in reaching the award standard in a high profile area of the Council's work.

Mr McCardle said the three high achievers well deserved their awards for their commitment to excellence, and a determination to provide the best possible service for their clients.

The Awards are endorsed by the Government in sponsoring partnership with Air New Zealand, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

The BDQA were launched in 1992, and over 750 organisations have applied for them. The key target group is small and medium size enterprises.

The applications are assessed by an experienced panel of assessors. The criteria for the BDQA are aligned with the internationally recognised Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards, which are run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the US Department of Commerce.

The highest-scoring applicants from each sector are invited to send a representative on an expenses-paid escorted study visit to Baldrige winners in the US next month. The knowledge gained from the study visit programme will then be shared with other organisations at training workshops throughout New Zealand.