Welcome to EMARI page for Quality Integration!
Quality Assurance effort from the Contractor Assurance and Contract Management team to promote Integrated Business Operations, Project Change Management, and People Leadership with Quality & Innovation for Improved Safety & Quality at SLAC through the QualityPMO Methodology
EMARI System Thinking Approach for Quality Integration through a QPMO
We are in the process of creating a Quality Project Management Office, staffed by a team of conscientious and skilled managers. These professionals are adept at appreciating diverse viewpoints and excel in fostering synergistic collaboration aimed at achieving sustainability. They are guided by a commitment to excellence, underpinned by a quality-centric mindset and the integration of system-thinking. This approach ensures that our projects are not only successful but also sustainable and reflective of high-quality standards throughout.
Promoting the "Quality Culture" for Integrated ESH&Q using Innovative Technologies via BI4FM
Integrating Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) principles, we advocate for fostering a "Quality Culture" within an Integrated Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q) framework through the use of Business Intelligence for Facilities Management (BI4FM). This approach enhances Facilities Solutions, enabling a seamless collaboration among Professional Managers. Together, they drive the enhancement of Construction Project Outcomes, aligning them with the Scientific Business Goals of High-Tech Facilities. This ensures the meticulous management of design and construction services during the acquisition of new Capital Assets and the maintenance of Infrastructure, all within the structure of a Quality Committee or Quality Project Management Office (QPMO).
Transitioning from a "hero culture" to a post-heroic management style emphasizes the value of collaborative, self-organized teams within a learning organization. This shift is essential for embedding HOP principles effectively, promoting a culture where continuous improvement and collective success are prioritized over individual heroics.
Discover the EMARI System Thinking Approach and its QualityPMO Methodology, serving as a comprehensive framework for managing knowledge. This approach leverages the latest innovative technologies and best practices, aiming to integrate HOP principles into the core of organizational processes. This ensures that both the technological and human aspects of project management are harmonized, fostering an environment where safety, quality, and efficiency are enhanced across all levels of the organization.
Engineering Precision and Managerial Insight for Enhanced Organizational Wellness and Performance
The EMARI System Thinking Approach represents a pioneering method in which the Engineering Mindset and Management Thinking are harmoniously integrated to enhance Wellness and drive continuous improvement across Human and Organizational Performance. This approach underscores the importance of leveraging both mindsets to achieve a balance between innovative design and strategic execution, ensuring that projects remain efficient and operations safe. Whether in the office during the Design phase or in the field during the Execution phase, the EMARI approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of complex systems, promotes a culture of safety and quality, and fosters an environment where continuous learning and improvement are not just encouraged but embedded in every aspect of the workflow. By bridging the gap between engineering precision and managerial oversight, the EMARI System Thinking Approach empowers organizations to navigate the intricacies of project management and operational safety with agility and confidence, ultimately leading to enhanced performance and well-being at all organizational levels.
The new Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) approach aims to significantly enhance Organizational Excellence by fostering a culture that integrates both engineering and management mindsets at the individual and organizational levels. By advocating for this balanced approach, HOP ensures a holistic focus on individual and organizational wellness, which is pivotal for achieving sustainable agility in both office and field operations.
Integration of Mindsets: HOP encourages individuals to embody both the precision and problem-solving acuity of the engineering mindset along with the strategic and systemic thinking characteristic of the management mindset. This dual approach equips individuals with the versatility needed to make informed decisions, fostering a proactive rather than reactive culture that prioritizes safety, efficiency, and innovation.
Individual Wellness: At the heart of HOP's philosophy is the recognition that the well-being of individuals is intrinsically linked to organizational performance. By promoting a just culture that values error as a learning opportunity without fear of blame, HOP enhances psychological safety among employees. This empowers them to speak up about concerns and propose innovative solutions, contributing to a healthier, more resilient workplace.
Organizational Wellness: HOP emphasizes the importance of understanding the systemic nature of work processes and the complex interdependencies within an organization. By fostering a culture that values continuous improvement and collaborative problem-solving, HOP helps organizations adapt to changes and challenges more effectively. This systemic thinking, coupled with a commitment to wellness, drives organizational excellence by ensuring that operational practices are both effective and sustainable over the long term.
Balanced Approach in Office and Field: By teaching individuals to apply both mindsets, HOP ensures that strategic planning and resource allocation (management mindset) are as emphasized as technical problem-solving and innovation (engineering mindset) in both office and field settings. This balanced approach enhances decision-making and execution, ensuring that projects are not only conceived with precision and creativity but are also executed with a focus on safety, quality, and efficiency.
Sustainable Agility: The integration of engineering and management mindsets underpins the concept of sustainable agility within organizations. By fostering an environment where individuals are encouraged to continuously learn, adapt, and innovate, HOP supports the development of agile processes that can rapidly respond to new information, changing conditions, and unforeseen challenges. This agility is crucial for sustaining performance excellence in an increasingly complex and dynamic operational environment.
In summary, the new HOP approach improves Organizational Excellence by advocating for a holistic integration of engineering and management mindsets, focusing on both individual and organizational wellness. By fostering a culture that values continuous learning, psychological safety, systemic thinking, and sustainable agility, HOP positions organizations to achieve higher levels of safety, efficiency, and innovation, ensuring their success in both office planning and field execution.
Engineering Mindset
- Process Implementer: Hones in on enhancing individual processes within systems, utilizing proven practices and formulas to navigate toward secure and anticipated results.
- Ordinal Importance: Assigns importance to tasks and solutions based on their technical sequence and precision, ensuring operations proceed effectively.
- Assumption-Driven: Leverages established assumptions for problem-solving, merging innovative ideas with tested methods to develop solutions.
- Experimentations: Values the role of trial and error as avenues for discovery, seeing each failure as an opportunity to learn and improve.
- Creative Innovation: Employs creativity to question and transcend traditional methods, in pursuit of novel solutions that boost efficiency and utility.
- Subject Matter Expert: Commands deep expertise in specific areas, utilizing this knowledge to confront and alleviate complex challenges.
- Independent Thinker: Flourishes in solitude, employing focused and analytical thought to unravel complicated problems.
- Adaptable Agility: Exhibits the ability to quickly adapt to new data or changes in circumstances, maintaining flexibility in thought and action.
- Introverted Thoughts: Prefers the clarity and precision of written and technical communication, focusing intensely on the substance of the message.
- Safe Development: Dedicated to personal growth and technical mastery, enhancing project success through diligent skill advancement.
Every organizational challenge or project can effectively be navigated through the Quality Project Management Office (QPMO) Flow Down process, a strategic approach that ensures comprehensive problem-solving and successful implementation. This process begins with a thorough understanding of the Facts & Technical Aspects, where the focus is on gathering concrete data and detailed insights into the problem at hand. This foundational step ensures that all subsequent decisions are grounded in reality and informed by the most accurate information available. The next phase involves Questioning the strategy and business case, a critical examination that challenges assumptions and evaluates the alignment of the project with overarching organizational goals, ensuring that resources are invested wisely. Following this, the process encourages Creative thinking and innovative solutions, inviting team members to think outside the box and propose novel approaches that might better address the project's unique challenges. Finally, Managing the change as a project with the right stakeholders is crucial; this involves carefully planning the implementation, engaging with all affected parties, and managing the transition with clear communication and support structures. By adhering to the QPMO Flow Down process, organizations can ensure that their projects are not only technically sound and strategically aligned but also innovatively approached and effectively executed, leading to successful outcomes and enhanced organizational performance.
QualityPMO Flow Down
Unlocking Sustainable Agility: The Power of People Wellness in Quality Management
The essence of the QPMO Principles is deeply rooted in the comprehensive integration of quality across four key domains: Business Operations, Project Management, Quality & Innovation, and People Leadership. Central to these principles, especially within the context of Quality Assurance efforts at Stanford University for SLAC National Laboratory, Facilities Operation, and Service solutions, is the pivotal role of the People aspect. Understanding and knowing your team is fundamental, as it enables the effective application of People Leadership alongside Business Agility and Process Management Improvement. Establishing a QPMO for Quality integration recognizes that the heart of any organizational success lies within its people. It emphasizes the need to cultivate leadership that not only drives business operations and project management with precision and innovation but also nurtures an environment where every team member is valued, understood, and equipped to contribute their best. This holistic approach ensures that the efforts to enhance quality in business processes and operational efficiency are matched with an equal commitment to developing the potential and harnessing the strengths of the team, ultimately fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and exceptional service delivery at SLAC National Laboratory and beyond.
Values & Motivators
In the realm of Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), a Quality Project Management Office (QPMO) is comprised of professional managers who unite their diverse strengths and expertise to form a cohesive force. This collaborative synergy is pivotal for achieving shared objectives, illustrating the essence of teamwork within the framework of HOP. For effective collaboration and the constructive resolution of conflicts, it's crucial to deeply understand the unique values and motivators driving each member of the QPMO. This mutual comprehension is foundational to successful QPMO operations, ensuring that efforts are aligned and focused towards common goals.
"Quality Culture" to apply the QualityPMO Methodology
Construction Quality Assurance to Enhance Work Planning & Control for Design & Construction Services in SLAC Facilities
Watch a short introduction on SLAC Quality Assurance for the Design & Construction Services at the Facility & Operation Department
Slides with live links are available on http://slac.us/cqa
Participate in a Community of Practice for Construction Professionals to discuss best practices to improve the Construction Quality Management (CQM) for Construction 4.0
Construction Management using Building Information Management improves quality for the entire life-cycle of a Facility Development, Operations, and Maintenance part of BI4FM Facilities Solutions
Quality Culture is developed through our Way of Work
How we work as a team will set the stage for a Quality Culture in our organization, it starts with our Organizational Strategic Management but will be implemented by each individual as they perform in their teams! Quality Talks are a great way to promote a Quality Culture...
The 4H of Wellness Quality Management in a QPMO
Research OpportunityCollaboration in self-organized teams of Professional Managers has always been a challenge to all organizations facing business-agility volatility and complexity. The challenge is greatest in High-Tech Facilities due to the diverse backgrounds and expertise of managers in performing Business Operations, managing Project Processes, integrating Quality & Innovation, and the lack of interpersonal skills needed for managing the People Domain. The QualityPMO Methodology promotes Quality Culture to focus on People Leadership in utilizing best practices and the latest technologies to make smart decisions, faster. Team productivity and well-being are improved when design thinking is based on meeting quality expectations in optimizing sustainability through a balanced quality-centric system thinking approach. Balancing the use of the latest technologies in Business Intelligence and applying the recommended quality-of-life measures to promote people’s well-being will be impossible without a QualityPMO to drive the Digital Transformation initiative. SLAC is interested in collaborating with graduate researchers from Stanford CIFE to present a case study based on an analysis of ten years of Safety and Quality Incident data and evaluate four digital transformation projects to determine how the QPMO Methodology using BIM could have improved the outcomes and made the processes more efficient. We will present a comprehensive framework to model the dynamic interaction between assigned quality performance requirements and the expected decision-making process of professional managers assigned to achieve them. If you are interested please reach out to Dr. Martin Fisher and apply at https://cife.stanford.edu/research |
Center for Integrated Facility Engineering
Stanford provides solutions for Facilities with an eye for innovation and quality Integration
AI for Architect, Engineering, and Construction
An effort by Stanford to initiate discussions on Artificial Intelligence for AEC Industry
Civil & Environmental Engineering Program
Check out the Staford's Sustainable Design and Construction program for the built environment
Improving Human and Organizational Performance
The Department of Energy's (DOE) primary objective is to promote scientific discovery and innovation. This is achieved through partnerships with learning organizations, especially in collaboration with higher academic institutions and universities. A key focus is on sustainability, ensuring that the initiatives undertaken today have a long-term positive impact on our future.
Enhancing Team Performance Through System-Thinking
System-Thinking is a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's processes interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of human and organization interactions. Encouraging individuals and organizations to consider various perspectives by including valuable input to improve the system by continuous learning and always seeking ways to stay agile and adapt to change. In rapidly evolving organizations, members frequently confront the challenges posed by the VUCA environment: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Traditionally, VUCA described the unpredictable and chaotic nature of various scenarios, often leaving teams paralyzed or reactive in their strategies. However, quality-centric system thinkers prevent and proactively transform these risks into strategic assets. This new interpretation emphasizes Vision to counter volatility, Understanding to diminish uncertainty, Clarity to simplify complexity, and Agility to navigate ambiguity. By redefining VUCA in this manner, organizations can convert potential threats into opportunities, fostering proactive planning and adaptive strategies that enhance resilience and long-term success.In complex and interconnected organizations, Linear Thinking and working in silos can severely limit an organization's ability to innovate and prevent performance failures. Linear Thinking, which approaches problems in a unilateral, sequential manner, can oversimplify issues and overlook the intricate interdependencies that exist in real-world scenarios. Likewise, when teams or departments operate in silos, they miss out on the diverse perspectives and insights that arise from cross-functional collaboration. To truly harness the potential of modern problem-solving, organizations must promote collaboration and embrace System Thinking, which considers the holistic view of a situation, recognizing the myriad of interrelations and feedback loops. While System Thinking and Design Thinking go hand in hand to develop processes, offering a comprehensive approach to innovation and problem-solving, Linear Thinking can undermine the value of System Thinking, as it narrows the scope and fails to recognize the broader context. By moving away from linear, siloed approaches and fostering a culture of collaboration and holistic thinking, organizations can achieve more robust, sustainable solutions.
Fostering Fair Accountability through Just Culture
By rooting System-Thinking in compassion and making sustainability the focal point to stay balanced, we can address healthy conflicts effectively, nurture creativity, and include valuable insights from lessons learned and best practices. For Human and Organizational Performance to flourish, creating a safe environment where teams feel physically and psychologically secure is crucial. Wellness Quality Management focuses on the overall well-being of individuals within an organization, ensuring sustainability in performance and quality of life. This is possible in an organization that promotes Accountability in a Just Culture. This involves setting clear, transparent objectives and communicating them effectively throughout the organization. Providing the team with a clear flow down of requirements and graded approach expectations, continuously improving processes and procedures, training and support for qualified personnel, and servant leadership of accountable line management. Leadership is not only top to bottom in Just Culture; it goes both directions, and everyone in the system must exhibit empathetic listening, ensure their actions align with the organization's value streams, and give feedback. Leaders who serve their teams ensure they have the resources and support needed to succeed.In a just culture, accountability is defined as the shared responsibility of both individuals and the organization to understand the anatomy of incidents, to apply lessons learned, and to take appropriate actions to prevent future recurrences. Instead of focusing on blame and punishment, a just culture emphasizes understanding the systemic factors that contribute to errors. Individuals are held accountable for their choices and actions, but within a framework that distinguishes between honest mistakes, risky behaviors, and willful violations. The organization, in turn, is accountable for providing the necessary systems, tools, training, and environment that enable individuals to work safely and effectively. This balanced approach to accountability promotes trust, encourages open reporting of errors and near misses, and prioritizes continuous learning and improvement.DOE promotes Employee Resource Groups as platforms where employees can share, learn, and collaborate. Communities of Practices such as the ones held by the Project Management Institute, Project Leadership Institute, and Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) allow professionals to collaborate and refine system processes.
Enhancing Workplace Safety through Reinventing Quality Integration
Integrated Safety & Quality Management is a new approach that promotes a "safety first, quality always" mindset, recognizing quality assurance as an essential aspect of improving safety in performance. To effectively implement this system, it is crucial to establish a clear organizational structure that outlines roles and responsibilities. It is also essential to hire qualified personnel for appropriate positions through proper assessment. Leaders must ensure alignment with the organization's mission and objectives, prioritizing safety and quality in all processes. Self-motivated Quality Intelligence Teams that align with organizational objectives and exhibit compassion towards colleagues are crucial for promoting a productive work environment. This integrated Work Planning Control can be achieved through the contribution of a Project Management Office acting as the quality committee. This office can collaborate with professional managers from diverse perspectives to manage organizational changes and emphasize quality integration and intelligence.
At CACM QA, we support the Human and Organizational Performance Improvement program endorsed by DOE. The Stanford Wellness Program and SLAC ERGs are beneficial to all SLAC staff, as they help us improve our leadership skills and performance. We have found these resources to be very helpful in promoting effective communication and collaboration among our diverse project teams from engineering, management, business, and project perspectives.
We strongly recommend these trainings for all professional managers who want to improve their empathetic listening skills. Understanding this skill is essential for balancing various requirements and optimizing value streams for stakeholder expectations. This ensures efficient project processes rooted in system thinking to achieve SLAC's "One Lab" concept.
At the institutional level, CACM QA provides Lessons Learned and training resources to strengthen our commitment to Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Respect, and Creativity. For more details, we can share best practices from DOE's EFCOG group. To achieve optimal human and organizational performance, it is essential to establish a workplace that prioritizes the promotion of inclusion, diversity, and equity. By understanding and implementing the principles of System-Thinking, Reinventing Quality Integration, and Wellness Quality Management, organizations can ensure they are on the path to sustainable agility for higher performance and innovation.
Action List:
- Promote system thinking as a fundamental approach.
- Establish a just culture for safety and continuous improvement.
- Integrate quality and safety, emphasizing "safety first, quality always"
- Define organizational structure and roles for alignment.
- Encourage diverse perspectives and dimensions.
- Foster engineering and design thinking for innovation.
- Cultivate passion, compassion, and quality intelligence.
- Implement wellness quality management.
- Clarify objectives and promote disciplined agility.
- Embrace servant leadership through employee resource groups.
- Strengthen the role of the Project Management Office.
- Emphasize data-driven decision-making.
- Balance empathy and sustainability in optimizing solutions.
Cultivate a Quality Culture within the organization.
VUCA Definition and History: VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. The term originated in the late 1980s at the U.S. Army War College to describe the multifaceted challenges of the post-Cold War world. It has since been adopted by the business and organizational development communities to refer to the unpredictable and dynamic nature of today's global environment. Over time, as the pace of technological, social, and economic change has accelerated, the concept of VUCA has become even more relevant for organizations aiming to thrive amidst constant change.
Resources:
https://www.energy.gov/ehss/doe-accident-prevention-and-investigation-program
https://www.energy.gov/ehss/integrated-safety-management-ism
SLAC is a vibrant multiprogram laboratory that explores how the universe works at the biggest, smallest and fastest scales and invents powerful tools used by scientists around the globe. With research spanning particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, materials, chemistry, bio- and energy sciences and scientific computing, we help solve real-world problems and advance the interests of the nation.
SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Let's collaborate...
EMARI at SLAC, a Stanford Affiliated Department of Energy National Lab, strives to use best practices to reinvent quality integration in Engineering and Management for our Facility!
We encourage Construction Project Management, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Computer Science Graduates to join our effort!
Contact Information
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Dr. Harri Emari, PMP, CQM, CM-BIM, LEED | Quality Integration & Innovation Contractor Assurance and Contract Management for F&O Design & Construction p: 650.926.4596 | c: 650.524.5249 | w: emari@stanford.edu |