World Standards Day 2013

I have written on World Standards Day (WSD) before, first in 2011 [see: http://www.medicallaboratoryquality.com/2011/10/standards-do-make-world-go-round-wsd-14.html ] and again in 2012 [see: http://www.medicallaboratoryquality.com/2012/02/world-standards-cooperation-academic.html ].  And as I settle in to write again on WSD in 2013, on a personal level I can say now THIS is a BIG DEAL.

What I knew at the beginning was that the international community has recognized WSD for over 40 years, going back to 1970.  WSD was fixed to October 14^th because it was the anniversary of the meeting in London to develop an organization committed to international standards.  By coincidence, October 14^th also W. Edwards Deming’s birthday in 1900, so it is a particularly poignant  day to look at Quality and Standards together.

What I have learned over the last couple years is that Canada has acknowledged WSD for many years, not exactly as a national holiday, but as a day worth marking.  Usually Standards Council of Canada (SCC) has held an event in Ottawa, which had relevance, but maybe not too much resonance.

In 2012 due to some incredible luck and timing, we were able to create a new opportunity and a new event.  SCC had already been ruminating about taking the WSD event on a road trip to increase awareness and outreach when I opportuned by planning a Quality meeting in Vancouver.  The mutual benefits were too obvious to ignore, and in October 2013, SCC is holding its national celebration of WSD in Vancouver, in conjunction with our Quality Conference for Medical Laboratories.  

How good is that!

As it turns out Monday October 14^th is Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday and part of a long week-end, so our two meetings will begin on Wednesday October 16^th, 2013,  giving folks a day to eat far too much turkey and then another day to travel and recover.  

The two events have coordinated themes that focus around standards, both international and domestic, that impact on healthcare and Quality.  We will share the same conference room in the same hotel in beautiful downtown Vancouver BC (Marriott Renaissance)  and have some common audience.  We will share some speakers and social activities.  I know that many of the folks planning to come to the Quality Conference will come early to participate.  I am hoping that the same will happen in reverse, that some coming for WSD will stay and participate in the conference.  Time will tell.

The audience of the Quality Conference is already international in nature.  In addition to folks from across Canada, people attending will be from the US, Australia, Oman and Saudi Arabia. I suspect, perhaps unfairly, few if any have ever heard of WSD.  (With my own personal bias strongly in hand, if any group is aware, it will be the Australians.) At the same time I suspect that the collective group will be very interested in participating in our Canadian WSD.  Who knows, some of them may go back to their respective countries and encourage their standards boards to become more visibly engaged in their own WSD events.

So October 16, 17, 18, 2013 are going to be very busy days for Canadian Quality.   The action is in Vancouver, but the spirit is national and international.  

I am really happy to be fully engaged.

To register for the Standards Council of Canada World Standards Day event go to:  [ https://www.scc.ca/en/world-standards-day-2013-registration ].

To register for the POLQM Quality Conference for Medical Laboratories, go to: [http://polqm.ca/conference_2013/conference_2013/conference_home.html ]

See you in Vancouver.