In response to foreseeable budget challenges and a desire to continually improve program delivery, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) has recently conducted a review of numerous Agency activities, including the Edgerton Quality Award program. As a result of this review process, DED and the Nebraska Section of the American Society of Quality (ASQ Section 1302) are working cooperatively to make changes to the Edgerton program.

Changes will include ASQ Section 1302 and DED identifying a new administrative organization for the long-standing Edgerton Quality Award program. While the program has added significant value to many Nebraska businesses during its 15 years, this new model will increase private sector buy-in to the program and will also provide for long-term sustainability.

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development and ASQ Section 1302 are committed to the continual improvement of the Edgerton program. We expect that this transition will be completed during the next several months.

In the interim, please continue requesting copies of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence from

If you are interested in assisting with the transition, please contact

Sincerely,
Richard J. Baier
Director

David McCracken, Chair of Nebraska American Society for Quality, and Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy, congratulate Dr. Steve Smith, Chief Medical Officer for the Nebraska Medical Center, on receipt of
The Edgerton Award of Progress by the Nebraska Medical Center. Mary Gerdes, President of Nebraska Diplomats, was also present for the announcement.

Register now for the 2009 Baldridge Regional Conferences: http://baldrige.nist.gov/2009_Regionals/Regionals.htm

No singular definition can sum up “performance excellence” for all Nebraska organizations. There is however, a “Family of Awards”—the Edgerton Quality Awards—that has come to embody the essence of the true quality process, be it end products and services, or the path taken to get there.

Perhaps the best way to understand performance excellence is to witness it firsthand in the companies that have received a coveted Edgerton Quality Award. The quality standards implemented in these companies are immediately evident from CEOs to new hires. Everyone seems to have a personal stake in, and greater understanding of, the process on which their company or organization was founded and built.

Adding to its significance, the Edgerton Quality Awards Program is patterned after the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program, which offers valuable guidance and support on a continual basis. The Edgerton Award is one of many state and local programs that partner with the National Quality Award Program. More information on the Baldrige program can be located at http://www.quality.nist.gov/.

Program Goals

The Edgerton Award Program is designed to:

• Encourage Nebraska organizations to examine existing business practices with an emphasis on performance excellence.
• Recognize Nebraska companies' outstanding quality achievements.
• Support innovation and continuous improvements in order to develop new technologies, products, and markets.

The awards promote:

• Awareness of excellence in service, products, and human relations as an increasingly important factor in competitiveness.
• An understanding of requirements for performance excellence.
• The use of standards for excellence used by world-class businesses.
• Sharing successful strategies and benefits derived from using defined criteria.
• Organizational and personal learning throughout the state, rather than in concentrated areas.

Edgerton criteria are built on the following set of common values that characterize most high-performing businesses and organizations.

• Visionary leadership
• Customer-driven excellence
• Organizational and personal learning
• Valuing employees and partners
• Agility
• Focus on the future
• Managing for innovation
• Management by fact
• Social responsibility
• Focus on results and creating value
• Systems perspective

Benefits of Participating
Use the criteria as a self-assessment to:

• Upgrade your organization's internal and external operations
• Measure improvement in a systematic way
• Develop better business practices
• Focus on and improve relations with customers, employees and partners
• Share success stories with other Nebraska companies and organizations
  

A follow-up report outlines strengths and opportunities for improvement based on an independent, external assessment made by experts.

Furthermore:

• Site visits often unite employees in a shared goal of improving quality.
• Participating in the Edgerton Award application process is good preparation for the Baldrige National Quality Award process.
• Receiving an Edgerton Award can be an effective marketing tool and increase business.
• Employees share in the accomplishments of the organization through additional celebration and acknowledgement for their contributions to excellence.

Family of Awards
The Edgerton "Family of Awards" program encourages Nebraska businesses, educational organizations, non-profits, and health care organizations to apply. Those doing so have the opportunity to receive one of three levels of Edgerton Quality Awards. Awards levels are determined by the level of maturity and integration of the applicant’s strategies, objectives, key processes and measures as aligned with customers’ requirements and employee requirements. The Baldrige National Quality Award Program criteria are used to guide the assessment of each organization.

The Edgerton Award of Commitment is geared to organizations that are beginning to adopt and apply quality principles through a systematic approach. At this stage, they have an awareness of quality as an important element in competitiveness, and are working to emphasize continuous improvement throughout the organization.

The Edgerton Award of Progress is aimed at organizations that consistently implement quality principles. They have documented a solid approach to quality management with results reflected in consistency throughout the organization. There is also evidence of a maturing system as seen in trends, innovation, and integration of key learnings.

The Edgerton Award of Excellence is designed for businesses and organizations performing the highest degree of excellence. The organizational management system is mature with proven results in all areas. Results show positive and sustained performance trends as compared to the industry benchmarks. To achieve this award, companies and organizations must demonstrate exceptional performance of quality principles with market results.

Former recipients of The Edgerton Award are leaders in their industries and leaders in Nebraska who commit to organizational learning, performance excellence, and sharing best practices. The list of award recipients includes manufacturing, service, education, and health-care organizations that are for-profit and non-profit.

Eligibility
The Edgerton Quality Award program recognizes Nebraska firms that have attained a high level of quality and thereby, a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The award process is open to both for-profit and non-profit and public and private organizations. This includes manufacturing, service, healthcare, education and government.

• The organization or subsidiary must be located in Nebraska.
• Subsidiaries are eligible if they have distinct organizational charts, financial reports, and annual reports.
• The business organization must have existed for at least one year.
• More than 50% of the sales of the applicant must be to customers outside of the applicant’s parent organization, its parent company, and other companies with financial or organizational control of the applicant or its parent company.

Restrictions
Businesses not headquartered in Nebraska must demonstrate that the unit or subsidiary applying has a significant number of employees in Nebraska who are responsible for 1) the product or service delivered 2) the results of the quality management processes and 3) are linked to the Nebraska unit or subsidiary.

• Only one branch facility of a business or organization may apply in the same year.
• Independently operated subsidiaries are not considered branch facilities.
• A parent company or organization and its subsidiary may not apply in the same year.
• Recipients of The Edgerton Award of Excellence may not reapply for five years.

Criteria and Framework for Performance Excellence
The Edgerton Award program uses the Baldrige National Quality Program “Criteria for Performance Excellence” as the guide for assessing each applicant. These criteria are refined over a number of years to reflect the standards of world-class organizations.

Nebraska businesses and organizations can benefit from the use of the criteria whether applying for the award, or using the criteria to improve a current state of performance excellence. Use of the criteria strengthens current practices in organizational performance, facilitates communication around a common set of standards with other businesses, and guides continual organizational learning.

Applicants may choose to use the criteria that are most appropriate for the business. The three criteria are Business, Education, and Health Care. Single copies of the criteria are available form the Baldrige National Quality Award office or located on the web site http://www.quality.nist.gov/Criteria.htm.

There are seven categories for the criteria: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, human resources, process management and business results. The overall focus of the criteria is performance excellence. Each category covers important elements of a world-class organization. The criteria are not prescriptive but adaptable to the uniqueness of each organization. Neither the criteria nor the feedback of the examiners will tell you how to run your business. Instead you will receive feedback on the strengths of your organization and the opportunities for improvement.

The criteria follow a systems approach to assessing the total organization, its processes, and the results of the interactions for excellence. The systems approach includes learning cycles in four stages: 1) planning for processes, measures and deployment requirements; 2) executing plans; 3) assessing progress and capturing new knowledge, both internal and external and 4) revising plans based on findings, learnings, new inputs, new requirements, and opportunities for innovation.

The criteria are focused on results of organizational performance: 1) product and service outcomes; 2) customer-focused outcomes; 3) financial and market outcomes; 4) workforce focused process; 5) effectiveness outcomes, and 6) leadership outcomes.

The Edgerton Quality Awards Program is a service of the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The Nebraska Diplomats and the Nebraska Section 1302 of the American Society for Quality sponsor The Edgerton Award. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development administers the program.