(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- Tgestiona, which is part of the Telefonica Group, a major cell phone operator in Argentina, was awarded gold-level status as part of the American Society for Quality’s (ASQ) International Team Excellence Award process for implementing quality tools to improve the company’s image and the service it provides to customers.

The ASQ announced the winners, which included six companies that reached bronze-level status, at its World Conference on Quality and Improvement at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. In its 27th year, the conference honored 32 teams from nine countries; the teams competed for gold, silver, and bronze status.

Tgestiona’s Delivering Quality team, based in Buenos Aires, used Six Sigma to increase efficiencies and save the company more than $600,000 annually.

“To be recognized for the third time is an incredible accomplishment,” says Luciana Barrera, project team lead with Tgestiona. “This has been a great experience for all of us, and for all of the Argentinean teams.”

Tgestiona is part of the Telefonica Group, which won the gold award in 2010 and 2011.

Teams that reached bronze-level status included:
• Alcoa Inc., of Morristown, Tennessee, USA. Alcoa’s Transformation to the Core team drove significant culture change, improving delivery time by 63 percent, and reducing costs by 26 percent annually.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Liner Continuous Improvement Team reduced potential quality issues by optimizing the placement of a liner compound used to create an airtight seal on cans.
• CSX Transportation and General Electric, of Jacksonville, Florida, USA. CSX and GE partnered to create the Fuel Conservation Team, which documented a 6.9-percent fuel savings for its pilot trains, a reduction of approximately 390,000 tons in harmful greenhouse gases every year.
• National Reconnaissance Office, of Chantilly, Virginia, USA. The company’s Media Services Center used Six Sigma to reduce production defects, increasing accuracy and generating significant cost savings.
• Reliance Industries Ltd. Hazira, of Surat, Gujarat, India. Reliance Industries’ Mission Excellence Six Sigma team increased productivity and achieved annual savings of $3.1 million.
• The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The location’s Housekeeping Defect Reduction Project diagnosed the cause of defects, specifically missing room supplies, which reduced the cost of guest supplies by 25 percent.

No companies were awarded silver-level status.

Since 1985, more than 1,000 teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and the United States have participated in this team recognition process, the only one of its kind in the United States. Organizations such as 3M; Alcoa; Bayer; Boeing; Humana; Reliance Industries Ltd., the largest business enterprise in India; and Telefonica, have all showcased proven results with long-term implications, resulting in cost savings of millions of dollars.

Next year’s International Team Excellence Award process final round will be held at ASQ’s 2013 World Conference on Quality and Improvement, May 6–8, 2013, in Indianapolis.

Intent to Submit forms for the 2012–2013 award cycle are due July 2, 2012, and entry materials are due Sept. 12, 2012. For information on how to participate in the 2012–2013 International Team Excellence Award process, visit wcqi.asq.org or email gbalagopal@asq.org.