Firewalk Night

Gofal Cymru Firewalk Caerphilly (see original article below) was a huge success - there were 14 Firewalkers on the night and in total around £2500 was raised; £250 of that from one of our Solutions boys, Jonathan.

The participants were briefed beforehand on safety and given a session on the powers of positive though. Meanwhile, supporters outside the Pontygwindy Inn watched on as the Firemasters tended to the flaming coals that warmed the frosty night-time air. Eventually the first Firewalker trooped out from the inn, followed by the rest of the Fearless Fourteen. They crossed the barrier, and prepared themselves for the 20 foot of coals at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit that lay ahead. One by one, they yelled their names and battlecries, and marched down the fiery path, cheered on enthusiastically by the crowds. Thankfully no-one was burned, and some even wanted to go around again, if only to keep warm!

All in all, a fantastic night out for a fantastic cause. Congratulations to the crazy Firewalkers, their dedicated supporters, and to everybody who dug deep for Gofal Cymru.

What is quality?

The most successful organisations are those that give customers what they want. Satisfied customers are loyal to the company they feel best understand their requirements, and reciprocate the benefits they bring by recommending the company to friends. Quality is therefore about learning what works well and doing it better; finding out about what has to change to meet and exceed the expectations of the customer. The cost of improving quality can be expected to be recovered manyfold by increased sales, more satisfied customers, fewer problems and a greater competetive advantage.

Good quality management is an organisation-wide approach to understanding what customers need, and consistently and accurately delivering. It ensures the effective design of processes that verify needs, that plan product life cycle, and that design, produce and deliver the product or service.

Quality Checklist

• know what you hope to achieve and decide how you want to go about it
• learn from your experience
• use this new-found knowledge to help develop your organisation and its services
• always look to achieve continuous improvement (rinse and repeat)
• satisfy your customer as a result, and enjoy the benefits!

Environmental management
Step by step

We all have a major role to play in helping protect and enhance the environment, in line with wider goals of sustainable development.

The way in which your business manages its interaction with the environment is coming under closer scrutiny - there is an increasing spiral of new legislation. However, increasingly companies are recognising that the environment is a management issue and not just a matter of compliance.

When evaluating your environmental system, make sure that emphasis is placed on the following: an environmental policy and impact review, clear and measurable targets and objectives, and mechanisms for improvement.

An effective policy does not have to be complicated. It is simply a realistic statement about what you are doing and how you are doing it. An environmental impact review will allow you to assess your company's baseline.

Based on your environmental impact review, you will also be able to make short-term targets and longer-term objectives to ensure that the policy is followed by all employees. Targets can be straightforward, for example 'to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by x% each year', but in all cases you should ensure that targets and objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound).

Remember that small investments can reap large rewards and that environmentally friendly practices can save money while resulting in happier customers and of course a healthier ecology.