ABF Freight System’s service centers in Fort Smith, Ark., Hickory, N.C., Reno, Nev., and Albuquerque, N.M., are scheduled to receive the President’s Quality Award, which recognizes service centers most exemplifying the ABF Quality Process. All ABF service centers annually undergo extensive evaluations, including a nomination process, a quality awareness survey, an onsite validation audit and scrutiny by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee. The comprehensive process gauges resource management, damage/loss prevention, customer satisfaction and other key performance indicators for the previous year.
“The employees at these four service centers have shown what can be achieved when the principles of the ABF Quality Process are put into practice,” says Wes Kemp, ABF president and chief executive officer. “ABF continues to prosper because of our dedication to serving internal and external customers in a helpful, efficient, innovative and error-free manner. In this context, these four facilities have earned the highest honor our company can bestow.”
The ABF Albuquerque Service Center is earning the award for the third consecutive year, and it is the second win for ABF Reno, while this is the first Quality Award for ABF Service Centers in Hickory and Fort Smith. Each facility is presented with a plaque that resides permanently at their location and a Quality Cup that resides only as long as a facility maintains the distinction.
The ABF Quality Process uses a five-step problem elimination system: 1) define the problem; 2) fix the problem; 3) identify the root cause; 4) take corrective action; 5) evaluate and follow up. Education through quality seminars, job-skills training, focus groups and designated quality teams help facilitate the process, which emphasizes ongoing prevention rather than end-of-line inspection, while identifying and eliminating the causes of problems, which saves money and requires no additional expenditure.
