1. The Road to Improved Quality Management
Q-Town
The Road to Improved Quality Management
31st National Energy &
Environmental Conference
American Society for Quality
September 12-15, 2004

2. Framework for Improved Quality Management
Policy requiring quality systems
Implementation of quality systems
Evidence of improved quality
Procedures within quality systems ??
Evidence of functioning quality systems ??

3. Where We Are Now Success: Policies are in place.
i.e., administrative aspects requiring quality systems and the procedures they dictate
Success: All Program offices and Regions have approved quality management plans.

4. Metrics for Policy/Procedures
Currently able to track activities through review of annual reporting submissions
Resources
QA Assistance
Training
Assessments (technical and management)
Innovations
Resources: FTE and $
Assistance: review of QMPs or QA Project Plans, planning
Training: needs and courses provided and taken
Assessments: project-specific audits, data quality assessments, performance evaluations, and assessments of quality systems

5. Are Quality Systems Supporting Defensible Decisions?
Issue: Only tracking procedural elements, not implementation of quality systems or evidence of improved quality.
Issue: Management systems assessments currently focused on procedural aspect of individual Quality Management Plans. Shift to implementation and evidence needed.

6. Goal
Establish new metrics that demonstrate quality system implementation with decisions supported by appropriate data quality.

7. Expanding Our Understanding of Quality: Policy/Procedures
Improve current annual reporting requirements template
Better standardization of definitions
Identify categories for types of training, assessments, assistance, etc. and their impacts
Align with business processes for decision support

8. Expanding Our Understanding of Quality: Implementation
Track # of QA Project Plans written out of total # of activities that should have had a QA Project Plan
Track # of grants, contracts, etc., that incorporate quality system requirements out of total # that should have incorporated quality system requirements
3rd bullet added by Patricia (she suggested deleting 2nd bullet)

9. Expanding Our Understanding of Quality: Evidence
Look at challenges to data quality
From Information Quality Guidelines
In regulatory development, permits, Superfund remediation decisions, enforcement actions
Identify target population; count # of actions with
No challenge (successful implementation)
Challenge unsuccessfully defended
Challenge successfully defended

10. Expanding Our Understanding of Quality: Evidence (cont.)
Look at achievement of quality measures identified in:
Annual Performance Reports
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) measures

11. Questions in need of Answers
Can the right set of metrics replace or reduce the need for management assessments?
Are a standard set of metrics flexible enough to measure diverse lines of business?
Have programs matured to a level to improve and sustain performance under a results-based regime?

12. Reggie Cheatham (202) 564-7713 cheatham.reggie@epa.gov
Q-Town
Reggie Cheatham
(202)