Empowering Quality in Mexico

As the global market becomes increasingly integrated, customers demand that businesses have a superior level of quality and performance. In that respect, geographical location is becoming irrelevant, says Robert Chalker, American Society for Quality’s (ASQ) global managing director.

“The concept of quality is the same everywhere. I think what you find—and this is true in Mexico, China, or in the United States—is companies and individuals being in different spectrums of quality. In fact, discussions of what quality is and what it should be is the same wherever you go,” he says. "Quality is less the culture of a country as it is the culture of an organization.”

Chalker is currently overseeing ASQ’s new expansion in Mexico City, where the organization plans to promote and strengthen quality in Mexico through its training and certificate programs.

Although Mexico’s commitment to quality is strong, a few obstacles are undeniable, Chalker says. “Challenge No. 1 is technology—though this gap is closing quickly. Second is the [limited] availability of investments. Last, the accessibility of educational resources to help advance the concept is scarce,” he says, adding that ASQ’s presence is Mexico aims to boost this scenario.

According to Chalker, Mexico’s advancements in quality started in the 1970s when many U.S. companies started up manufacturing plants in that country because of the advantageous costs involved. This went on through the 1980s, until China and India came along and Mexico wasn’t the key place to carry out manufacturing any more. “So companies in Mexico had to change the way they competed,” says Chalker. “The good companies started providing products and services with much higher quality. Today, Mexican companies are every bit committed to quality.”

With more than 90,000 members worldwide, only a small portion of them—about 600—are in Mexico, while 73,500 are in the United States. In the past two years, ASQ has also opened offices in Beijing and Shanghai, and in New Delhi, and is looking to open more offices in the near future, including more in the Americas.