Inauguration of ASQ LMC Qatar

A prestigious ceremony at the Doha Marriott Hotel was held on Monday, the 21st of November, 2011, to mark the official launch of a Qatar Local Member Community (LMC) branch of the American Society of Quality (ASQ). The ceremony was attended by around 100 leaders from a wide variety of industries, academia, and quality professionals.

  

 

The opening of ASQ’s Qatar Chapter was formally announced by the chapter’s Honorary Chairman, Mr. Khalid Salah, Quality Manager at Qatar Petroleum. Mr. Salah stated that His Excellency, Dr. Mohammed Al-Sada, Minister of Energy & Industry, and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, has outlined the Corporate Social Responsibility goals of Qatar Petroleum. In line with His Excellency’s directives, Qatar Petroleum has assisted in the establishment of various organizations in Qatar and abroad, including ASQ’s Qatar Chapter.

 

The ceremony’s keynote speaker was Ms. Tiffany Jackson, ASQ Global Member Development Manager, who travelled from the United States to witness and participate in this event. The American Society for Quality (ASQ), the world’s largest Quality Organization, is now in its 63rd year and has over 100,000 registered members in 150 countries.

 

A number of volunteers were called together by Mohammed Helaly, who had the drive and initiative to set up a Qatar-based Local Member Community.  In just 12 months these volunteers have reached the following significant milestones:

 

  • ·          Defined the community’s governance plan
  • ·          Set short- and medium-term business plans
  • ·          Selected the group’s officers
  • ·          Established a database of members and top 100 companies within 10 core sectors
  • ·          Secured sponsors

 

On the basis of the completion of the first three items above, the Qatar LMC was formally approved by the ASQ in April 2011.

 

The Doha LMC is represented by the following key officers, through which services are provided to members:

 

Honorary Chairman                                     Mr. Khaled Saleh – QP

Chairman and Country Consular               Mr. Mohamed Helaly – ASTAD

Secretary                                                    Mr. Efren Galabon – CEG

Treasurer                                                    Mr. Ossama Ali - Rasgas

Events, Training, and Certification              Mr. Peter Beck – Qatargas

Marketing and Membership                         Mr. S. Akhter Ali – QP

Communication                                            Mr. Abdullah Elamadi - Ras Gas

 

In addition to the inaugural event, another event was held in June, covering the important topics of Information Security and Business Continuity Management Systems.

 

The next event is planned for the 11th of December on the topic of Risk Management (ISO 31000).

 

Entrance to the DOHA LMC is free for ASQ Members and students. To join the Doha LMC as a full member, one must first join the ASQ. Companies can also join the ASQ - their staff members then receive most of the benefits of full individual membership.

 

Qatargas, Qtel, and Qatar Quality Plus are currently Sustaining (company) members within Qatar.

 

The ASQ LMC Qatar is a non-profit organization that has been able to achieve its goals thus far thanks to the support of British Standards Institute (BSI) as their core Platinum sponsor, as well as Qatar Quality Plus and Quality Austria as Bronze sponsors.