Quality has long been a priority for Kenexis. The recent implementation and accreditation of our ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) has focused our attention both externally and internally, ultimately greatly improving the execution of our engineering consulting services.
From an external point of view, the QMS compels us to actively pursue our customers for feedback on all aspects of our service, especially delivery of Kenexis’ core consulting services for Process Hazards Analysis (PHA), Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), Fire & Gas Mapping, and SCADA Security. Kenexis has long had a policy of correcting any deficiencies that might be found in our service delivery; however, we now are being proactive in asking for customers to rate our service delivery on each project assignment. We expect to receive high marks, and usually this is the case. If quality surveys reveal any issues with respect to technical content or schedule problems, we address those systematically. This means we not only fix the problem that was brought to our attention, but we make changes to the Kenexis Quality Management System to prevent recurrence. Our management team looks for underlying, systematic factors that can be addressed in our QMS whenever a quality issue arises.
From an internal point of view, we have embarked on a path of continual improvement to the quality of our engineering service offering. Kenexis now has sophisticated quality metrics to assess how well we meet our customer expectations, and our management team monitors these metrics closely. The most significant internal impacts have been seen in Project Management and Technical Standards. Kenexis has long had technical instructions and procedures to ensure a consistent technical offering to our customers, regardless of which of our consultants are on the job. These technical instructions are subject to continuous review and update. Additionally, we have challenged our staff with ongoing refresher training and re-qualification in our core services: Process Hazards Analysis (PHA), Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) / SIL Selection, and Fire & Gas Mapping. We are driving toward consistency, and consistently outstanding delivery of engineering services in the field of critical automation systems. Kenexis has also launched a new Project Management program to promote rigor to how we manage a consulting engagement from project kickoff through final delivery. We have ongoing oversight of project activities by our management team, that is ever vigilant to ensure we are delivering on-time, with consistency, and professionalism.
Our customers are already seeing how a commitment to quality management and continual improvement makes Kenexis stand head-and-shoulders above the crowd in both technical excellence and project management.