European Organization for Quality
The European Organization for Quality (EOQ) is an autonomous, non-profit making association under Belgian law, having its legal office in Brussels.
EOQ is the European interdisciplinary organization striving for effective improvement in the sphere of quality management as the coordinating body and catalyst of its National Representative Organizations (NR’s).[1] EOQ’s Network comprises National Representative, Associated, Affiliated members’ and partners’ organizations from 40 different countries, reaching up to 70,000 members and 500,000 companies linked to its members.
History
The EOQ (at that time called European Organization for Quality Control - EOQC) was established in 1956 and the founding organizations came from five western European Countries: France, Italy, Western Germany, The Netherlands and United Kingdom. Then, as a first major step in broadening the delivery of a quality agenda, the EOQ spread its roots into other western European countries, before establishing links with central and eastern European countries in what was then seen as a Communist bloc. More recently EOQ has widened its activities to include the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. EOQ Historical Data - Initiated Projects
- 2009 Technical working Group (TWG) - elaboration of EOQ normative documents
- 2005 European Voluntary Registration System (EVROS)
- 2004 Business Leaders Club
- 2004 European Platform on transformation
- 2003 European Quality Leader
- 2002 Sustainable development
- 2001 EOQ Summer Camp
- 2000 European Quality Vision
- 1999 European Customer Satisfaction Index
- 1997 European Quality Award for SME
- 1996 Anticipation and breakthrough management
- 1995 European Quality Week
- 1992 European Quality Award for Business Excellence
- 1990 Certification of Quality Personnel
- 1990 European Quality Award for Leadership in TQM
- 1989 Yearly World Quality Day initiated by the EOQ
- 1987 EOQ moves from Quality Control to Quality Management
- 1985 National Quality Award
- 1960 Zero default
- 1950 Diffusion of statistic methods
Vision & Mission
EOQ brings to Europe, the means to develop its economies, seeking always to ensure equal access for its citizens to the benefits available from the proper and effective use of quality management systems, to ensure so far as it is possible that those nations in need of developmental assistance receive it. EOQ contributes to the development of European organisations and enterprises through the application of quality and change management concepts and techniques in their broadest sense. The goal is progress and development of European people and European society as a whole. EOQ believes that an enlarged Europe, with diverse cultures and economic histories, is an opportunity for the success of all Europeans.
EOQ's Vision
Europe’s leading promoter of Quality
EOQ's Mission
Improve European society through the promotion of Quality in its broadest sense. This will be achieved by:
- Facilitated networking, thereby:
- Speeding up research
- Aiding the transfer of knowledge
- Disseminating leading edge concepts and techniques
- Functioning as a competence and representation centre for organizations, governments and EU
- Supporting its members in the promotion and deployment of quality
- Fostering the processes of global integration in the field of quality
- Qualified people, created by:
- Training and continuous professional development through attendance on appropriate courses taught by qualified trainers
- Recognition of the levels of competence achieved by issuing certificates of qualification
- Developing and providing training and examination programs
- Transformed organizations through:
- Integration of qualified people within the structure
- Masters in innovation techniques and breakthrough management
- Dissemination of information by all means
- Common framework of CSR & Sustainable development
Products and services
EOQ acts as a worldwide leader in the development and management of quality in its widest sense, and as a key influencer in education in the field of quality in its broadest sense. EOQ is a crossroads of ideas, knowledge, research and information for the mutual benefit of all. EOQ’s main products, services and activities:
- Organization of EOQ annual quality congresses since 1956).[2]
- Competence certification of personnel in the field of management systems’ professions: more than 70.000 management systems professionals trained and certified based on the EOQ harmonized scheme since 1993 [3]
- Issuing and registration of the EOQ professional competence passport [4]
- Thousands of events organized during the European Quality Week since 1995 [5]
- Granting the annual European Quality Leader Award since 2003 [6]
- Granting Georges Borel Awards since 2002 [7]
- Managing the European Voluntary Registration System (EVROS) a database on information about quality organizations and professionals since 2007 [8]
- Organizing the Business Leaders’ Club since 2004 [9]
- Organizing Summer Camps since 2001 [10]
- Actively involved in the work of European and international organizations for the development and promotion of quality, environmental protection, occupational health & safety, innovation and transformation, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (EOQ Competence Specifications and Certification Schemes) [11]
- Developing contacts relation management in the European Community
- Partner for the accreditation bodies associations (EA, IAF)
EOQ competence certification
EOQ's goal is to achieve mutual recognition of qualifications within Europe hence, the registration of EOQ certified professionals. EOQ supports all common activities, with respect to the qualification and registration/certification of EOQ certified professionals under the EOQ Harmonized Scheme for the Registration of Personnel (in the field of quality, environment, health and safety, risk, corporate social responsibility and specific sectors), the most successful product of EOQ. EOQ established this scheme, called EOQ’s Personnel Registration Scheme, as a part of its mission to strengthen Europe’s economic system by promoting improvement in all aspects of quality - from developments in quality systems management through to the use of quality as a competitive market force, by anticipating customer needs and creating customer confidence. For this purpose, the EOQ has formed a special unit, the EOQ Personnel Registration Unit (EOQ-PRU), who acts both as a clearing body and as a body for the recognition/certification and acceptance of EOQ certified professionals and deals with:
- Development and harmonization of EOQ Personnel Registration Schemes
- Registration and re-registration of EOQ certified professionals
- Assessment/recognition of PRU Agents for personnel competence certification
EOQ promotes the mutual recognition and acceptance of registrations/certificates within the framework of the scheme, actually based on mutual recognition through the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA), granted by its recognized members called EOQ-PRU Agents.[12] Competence certificates based on EOQ normative documents have an outstanding reputation and are objective proof of competence due to the world wide accepted processes of assessment, examination, certification and re-certification used in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17024 standard’s requirements. Today EOQ counts more than 70,000 EOQ competence certificates holders. EOQ certificates have been welcomed as being genuinely European and have been commended for openness, transparency and credibility in the eyes of a wide range of users.
EOQ competence certifications
| EOQ Profession | EOQ Code | Certificate validity (years) |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Operator | QO | 5 |
| Quality Assistant | QAS | 5 |
| Quality Professional (only for re-certification) | QP | 5 |
| Quality Management Technician | QMT | 3 |
| Quality Management Technician Junior | QMT Junior | 6 |
| Quality Management Representative (start 2013) | QMR | 3 |
| Quality Systems Manager (valid until 2015) | QSM | 3 |
| Quality Manager (start 2013) | QM | 3 |
| Quality Systems Manager Junior | QSM Junior | 6 |
| Quality Auditor | QA | 3 |
| Quality Lead Auditor (start 2013) | QLA | 3 |
| Quality Auditor Junior | QA Junior | 6 |
| Environmental Systems Manager | ESM | 3 |
| Environmental Systems Manager Junior | ESM Junior | 6 |
| Environmental Auditor | ESA | 3 |
| Environmental Auditor Junior | ESA Junior | 6 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Systems Manager | OHSSM | 3 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Systems Manager Junior | OHSSM Junior | 6 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Systems Auditor | OHSSA | 3 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Systems Auditor Junior | OHSSA Junior | 6 |
| Risk Manager | RM | 3 |
| TQM Assessor | TQMA | 3 |
| TQM Leader | TQML | 3 |
| CSR & Sustainability Manager | CSRM | 3 |
| CSR & Sustainability Assessor | CSRA | 3 |
| Management System Consultant | MSC | 3 |
| Management System Senior Consultant | MSSC | 3 |
| Quality Systems Manager in Healthcare | QSMH | 3 |
| Food Safety System Manager | FSM | 3 |
| Food & Safety Auditor | FSA | 3 |
| Information Security Management System Manager | ISMSM | 3 |
| Information Security Management System Auditor | ISMSA | 3 |
| Laboratory Quality Assurance Manager | LQAM | 3 |
| Laboratory Assessor | LA | 3 |
| Process Manager | PSM | 3 |
References
- ↑ EOQ National Representative Organizations
- ↑ EOQ annual quality congresses
- ↑ EOQ Personnel Registration Unit
- ↑ EOQ certificates holders
- ↑ European Quality Week
- ↑ European Quality Leader Award
- ↑ EOQ Georges Borel Awards
- ↑ European Voluntary Registration System
- ↑ EOQ Business Leaders’ Club
- ↑ EOQ summer Camps
- ↑ EOQ Competence Specifications and Certification Schemes
- ↑ EOQ PRU Agents