The role of the Quality Manager

Quality Managers can be found in a variety of settings, including laboratories, manufacturing facilities, hospitals, research centres and government agencies. Quality Managers are responsible for ensuring their organisations meet applicable regulations and standards; for developing and implementing procedures and systems to ensure quality and safety; and to conduct operational audits to identify areas of potential improvement. Another important aspect of their role can be to act as a liaison between the organisation and regulatory agencies, customers and external quality assurance organisations (and UKAS).

While the ultimate decision to embark upon or maintain on UKAS accreditation lies with the senior management team, it is likely that once this decision is made, the Quality Manager will have a central role in the role of preparing for assessment and maintaining the central Management System.

In other words, Quality Managers are critical stakeholders within an organisation’s approach to quality and risk avoidance. Any organisation for whom quality is of central importance will have individuals tasked with maintaining best practices for quality control and UKAS is no exception.

In our ‘Meet the people’ series, we introduce various UKAS employees (some may be technically focused, and others may be office-based support staff). In the most recent ‘Meet the people’ we introduced UKAS’s very own Quality Manager, Tracy Pia, who is both technically focused and office based. Tracy was previously a Quality Manager within a testing laboratory and was also a UKAS Assessment Manager for two years before taking up her current role.

What is your name??Tracy Pia.

What UKAS department do you work in??Technical, Quality & Risk (TQR).

What is your job title??Quality Manager.

How long have you been with UKAS??12 years.

What do you like most about your job??My UKAS colleagues and other people I meet through my work are the best thing about my job, and our common goal of providing confidence in services and products. our people have such a wide range of expertise and experience that I feel I am learning all the time.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work??I play oboe in a local orchestra, which is always my highlight of the week and I also play piano/keyboard at home. I love going to concerts (classical or indie/rock). I go to the gym several times a week, mainly to do spin classes. Recently I have started painting; I don’t consider myself to be very artistic but it is very therapeutic! finally, I must mention my love of gin.

Why is accreditation important??Accreditation plays a vital role in providing independent third party assurance of the competence of bodies providing services including testing, certification, validation, verification and inspection. This provides confidence to the international market. The assessment process is effective in identifying areas of weakness and driving continuous improvement.

What’s your most memorable moment at UKAS??Travelling to Abu Dhabi to work with local accreditation body ENAS. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with some amazing people. Their hospitality was fantastic and I learned so much. A great experience!?

This course is aimed at personnel from accredited or applicant laboratories who have responsibility for the technical or quality management of the tests or calibrations performed. This could include Laboratory Quality and Technical Managers or Laboratory Technicians and Supervisors. The next course is running in April 2023.