Five Laboratory programs receive 1998 Quality New Mexico Awards

Contact: Steve Sandoval, (505) 665-9206 (99-033)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 1, 1999 -- Five programs at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have received 1998 Quality New Mexico awards.

The 59 programs statewide were recognized at a ceremony earlier this month in Santa Fe. All programs will receive their awards at the sixth Quality New Mexico conference March 18 and 19 in Albuquerque.

The Laboratory received three Roadrunner Awards, given to organizations that have demonstrated through their commitment and implementation of quality principles, significant progress in building sound and notable processes. Los Alamos' Business Operations and Facilities Engineering divisions and Quality Management Group received Roadrunner Awards.

The Laboratory's Advanced Recovery and Integrated Extraction System, or ARIES Project in the Nuclear Materials Technology Division and the Security and Safeguards Division received Piñon Awards, presented to organizations that have made a serious commitment to use quality concepts and principles.

The ARIES Project separates plutonium from surplus U.S. weapons components to convert into plutonium oxide or to another form less attractive for weapons proliferation, for long-term storage and disposition and for international inspection.

"It is exciting to have the diversity of Laboratory organizations use the Quality New Mexico process to systematically improve their products and services," said Bill Wadt of the Director's Office and a member of the Quality New Mexico board of directors and vice chair of the awards process.

The program uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria and is broken into three award levels: the Zia Award, the highest honor given to those organizations that clearly demonstrated performance excellence, and the Roadrunner and Piñon awards.

All applications were judged in leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; human resource development and management; process management; information and analysis; and customer satisfaction results.

Quality New Mexico uses volunteers who are trained in quality processes to act as examiners, said Wadt. "What makes this process work is the dedication of our volunteers and in particular the people who volunteered to be examiners," said Wadt. "Throughout the years, the Lab has contributed between 15 and 20 examiners. They're the real heroes because they make the process work. They learn a lot which helps us. And they also help others improve their organizations."

Wadt noted that only two Zia Awards have ever been conferred in the program's six years of existence. Those went to Honeywell Defense Avionics in 1996 and L & M Technologies in 1997, he said. L & M Technologies is a Laboratory contract company that performs environmental cleanup activities.

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