Case study: Pattonair, open course appreciation

In September 2007 when Colin Barton attended his first CQI open course, Introduction to Quality, he had been a quality administrator at Pattonair International for about six years. Part of the Umeco group of companies, Pattonair is one of the world’s leading providers of distribution and supply chain management services for the aerospace and defence markets.

‘We provide supply chain solutions,’ Colin explains. ‘We help our customers to reduce their costs and increase reliability. The goal of our department is to ensure that our customers’ expectations for quality are fully met while looking to reduce waste and non-value added activity throughout the company. We make sure the components we supply are of a high standard, are controlled and will have full traceability through our system and supply chain.’

Colin initially began his CQI training because he wanted to achieve associate membership of the CQI. He therefore accessed the learning and training pages on the institute’s website and signed up for three initial courses. ‘As a service provider Pattonair recognises that the workforce is its greatest asset,’ he says. ‘If the training is justifiable on a work-related basis, the company will fully support it.’

Colin went on to complete a further four CQI training modules in order to gain the Certificate in Quality Management Practices. He subsequently completed another two training courses on environmental management systems and corporate social responsibility. Now an associate member of the CQI, Colin is in the process of putting together his portfolio in order to apply to become a full CQI member by the experience route.

Completing the CQI courses hasn’t only changed his membership status. It was also instrumental in Colin being promoted to a quality engineer. ‘The training and the Certificate were contributing factors,’ he says. ‘My role had been growing and growing. I was moving into an engineering role and the training supported that. I was able to put the training into practice.’

Colin found he benefited in unexpected ways by attending the open courses. ‘There were people from different companies,’ he says. ‘Meeting people from other industries was good. You can get a blinkered view of how you do things, so it was interesting to meet people from the nuclear sector, consulting, construction, accountancy and other industries.’

Colin is interested in further CQI training. ‘All the tutors we had were excellent,’ he says. ‘I do check the website regularly to see what courses are on there. One future possibility might be the external auditing course and there will certainly be more on the horizon.’