Four U.S. organizations honored with the 2012 Baldrige National Quality Award
Written by Phil Cerroni
Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank today named four U.S. organizations as recipients of the 2012 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership. The winners in this, the 25th anniversary year of the award, represent four different sectors, one repeat recipient and a health network recognized for the same honor earned previously by its flagship hospital.
The 2012 Baldrige Award recipients—listed with their category—are:
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, TX (manufacturing)
MESA Products Inc., Tulsa, OK (small business)
North Mississippi Health Services, Tupelo, MS. (health care)
City of Irving, Irving, TX (nonprofit)
"The four organizations recognized today with the 2012 Baldrige Award are leaders in the truest sense of the word and role models that others in the health care, nonprofit and business sectors worldwide will strive to emulate," said Acting Secretary Blank. "They have set the bar high for innovative practices, dynamic management, financial performance, outstanding employee and customer satisfaction, and, most of all, for their unwavering commitment to excellence and proven results."
“This is an historic day for the City of Irving." said Irving City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. "To have our city declared a national model of performance excellence after the national board of examiners conducted a comprehensive and rigorous management evaluation is a validation of the strategic operations plan we have implemented. Considering we are the first city in the State of Texas and only the second municipality to receive the award in the program's 25-year history underscores the value of Irving's deliberate approach in increasing customer satisfaction by double digits, streamlining our operations, and strong fiscal management leading to more than $40 million in savings and 50,000 staff hours saved.”
Irving is the largest city to ever receive the Baldrige Award, and is only the second municipal recipient in the program’s 25-year history.
“We are elated to have received this distinguished award,” said Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne. “I’ve always known Irving was a dynamic city. I’m proud to be part of an organization that values the feedback of its residents, businesses and employees, and uses this feedback to enhance the quality of life for our entire community.”
The 2012 Baldrige Award recipients were selected from a field of 39 applicants. All of the applicants were evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas defined by the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; operations focus; and results. The evaluation process for each of the recipients included about 1,000 hours of review and an on-site visit by a team of examiners to clarify questions and verify information in the applications.
For the first time in history, Baldrige Award applicants were required to have previously received a state-level award for performance excellence. The City of Irving received the Texas Award for Performance Excellence (T.A.P.E.) in 2011, which qualified the city for consideration of the 2012 Baldrige Award.
Representatives from the City of Irving will receive the Baldrige Award during a ceremony in Baltimore, MD in April 2013. The Baldrige Award is not given for specific products or services. Since 1988, 93 organizations have received the award.
Source: Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, City of Irving
