Abraham Fenn is the Chairman & President New Zealand Organisation for Quality NZOQ, President Elect Asia Pacific Quality Organization APQO 2024-2026. He is the Governance and Quality Council Member Singapore Institute of Multidisciplinary Professionals SIMP. He was the Judge International Best Practice Competitions and APQO Awards.
Nepal Travel Post editor Manoj K. Giri has taken his interview here.
What specific programs do you have for the organization during your tenure?
We currently have a number of competitions under APQO which we propose to continue on in 2024. Our GPEA (Global performance excellence award) is the only formal recognition of performance or business excellence
What initiatives are in place to attract new members and retain existing ones?
The ACE Awards (Achieving contributory excellence ) is the launch pad for organisations from the council countries to compete with the best from around the world to achieve mark of excellence
Are there any specific programs that you have planned for supporting the professional development of its members?
Yes .We have launched a programme where areas of excellence and expertise are identified in member countries which are then shared with the other countries to improve production and market share
How is the association collaborating with other organizations and industries to promote quality standards in different countries?
I am an invited key speaker in numerous international quality conferences in China, Australia, Philippines and other member countries where I use that platform to share with the world achievements of APQO and its country members. Our articles in Quality are republished in China for their audiences regularly and the feedback from the readers have been excellent .
Are you contributing in any way to the development or promotion of different national and international quality standards?
I am an invited key speaker in numerous international quality conferences in China, Australia, Philippines and other member countries where I use that platform to share with the world achievements of APQO and its country members . As Chairman and President of New Zealand Organisation for Quality, our organisation caters to the needs of the countries for Quality and Business excellence educational courses, in house training and knowledge share through networking , site visits and conferences
How is the association addressing the integration of new technologies in quality management?
Quality trends are ever evolving and we use knowledge share through our publications and webinars to gain insight from the experts from around the world on what is trending and also on upcoming trends
Are there any technological trends that members should be aware of in the quality field?
New trends are evolving all the time and before one embraces it , it needs to be suitably tested in the specific industry you are involved in – as no particular trend is uniformally ideal for all industries and organisations
Can you share any recent achievements or milestones that the association has reached?
One of our biggest achievements has been having a face to face conference after a lapse of 3 years due to Covid and travel restrictions related to post Covid government regulations . We are so pleased to have hosted our 28th APQO International conference in your beautiful city of Kathmandu on November 17 & 18 2023. The conference was very well attended by over 225 international delegates representing 18 countries
What do you think as the biggest challenges facing quality professionals today?
Quality sometimes is not considered as mainstream operation for some organisations and therefore is not in their focus area of growth. As Quality professionals it is our role to educate the wider audience on the critical role Quality plays in the survival of any reputed organisation
Are you providing any platforms to the industries/personnel in sharing the best practices and innovations?
The 2 key speakers we had lined up for our Kathmandu conference are world leaders in their areas of expertise – Mr Mike McLean is a consultant and on advisory panel for International Standards Organisation the global body in setting the ISO standards for all organisations to adhere to for their ISO certification .The second key speaker Dr Alex Thomas is Patron and Founder of Indian Health Board and an advisor to World Health Organisation ( WHO ) .They both shared their knowledge during their presentation and also during the Panel discussion with them that I had hosted during the 2 day event
Are there emerging trends or opportunities in the quality field that the association is actively addressing?
There are a few trends emerging but these are early days to confirm if they are of specific value add to APQO member country organisations
Any new awards being introduced for the upcoming conference?
We currently have numerous international awards such as
GPEA( Global performance excellence award ) is the only formal recognition of performance or business excellence,
ACE ( Achieving contributory excellence )
AIIA ( APQO International Individual Award)
AIC ( APQO Innovation Class )
AIBP ( APQO award for Internatinal Best Practice )
AGM ( APQO Governance Mark )
You Can Reach at him :
NZOQ National Office Level 1 ETC Building 140 The Square Palmerston North
APQO Head Office Level 1 ETC Building 140 The Square Palmerston North
Ph :+64 276978971 or +64 9 9164568