The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc., the State’s leader for creating and recognizing Performance Excellence in Connecticut Organizations, announced award winners for the 2004 entry level Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA) Innovation Prize.

Oxford Science, Inc., whose animal blood analyzer helps to rapidly identify sickness and disease that can affect animals and humans, was the platinum winner among 111 CQIA Innovation Prize (CIP) applications from 67 Connecticut organizations including manufacturers, service companies, schools, universities, hospitals, and not-for-profit organizations as well as local and state government. Along with the platinum Prize, 21 gold and 62 silver CIP plaques will be awarded on October 15, all exemplifying the creativity, focus, and talent of Connecticut organizations.

“These award winners embody the critical intellect that is the foundation of Connecticut’s long-term growth,” said Sheila Carmine, founder and executive director of the 17-year old Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership. “By applying this Connecticut Intellect, each of the prize winners is focused on helping humanity and improving our lives with novel and superior products and services. They are creating better health services, improving resource use, widening communication, enhancing education, and increasing safety for all of us.”

Carmine continued, “The ingenuity of these award winners attracts more talented people to Connecticut, multiplying the business possibilities, and further strengthening the reputation of the Connecticut Intellect.”

The entry level CQIA Innovation Prize is broadly based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence’s three principles of approach, deployment and results which are translated into CIP’s criteria of Opportunity, Innovation and Numerical Results.

All 111 CIP applications are judged by 15 Baldrige trained CQIA examiners who read, rank and meet for consensus before determining the platinum, gold and silver winning levels.

At the 17th Annual Conference on Quality and Innovation on October 13 at Waters Edge Resort in Westbrook, the CQIA Partnership will highlight methods Connecticut organizations can use to drive creativity and growth, with an emphasis on continuing quality improvement. Speakers at the conference will include executives from both the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence Small Business recipient and from CQIA winning organizations. Contact Sheila Carmine at 203-322-9534 or www.ctqualityaward.org for more information.

The Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award for Performance Excellence

The Baldrige Award is given by the President of the United States to businesses — manufacturing and service, small and large — and to education and health care organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis, human resource focus, process management, and business results. Congress established the award program in 1987 to recognize U.S. organizations for their achievements in quality and performance and to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence as a competitive edge. The award is not given for specific products or services. Three awards may be given annually in each of these categories: manufacturing, service, small business and, starting in 1999, education and health care.

The Connecticut Breakthrough Quality Award recognizes Connecticut organizations that are ready to launch their first rigorous quality improvement, measurement, and business-impact initiative, using just 27 questions from the current Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria.

The Connecticut Leadership Quality Award recognizes organizations located in Connecticut that are ready to move from the breakthrough to the leadership level in quality performance and market competitiveness. To those organizations CQIA Partnership offers the complete Baldrige process, exactly as experienced by national Baldrige Award winners.

About the CQIA

A Connecticut nonprofit 501(c) (3) tax-exempt corporation, the CQIA is an active partnership among the private sector, state and municipal government, and the educational community, which annually sponsors a three-tiered awards program that recognizes organizations for their accomplishments.

The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc., America’s first state-level quality award, was founded in 1987 using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence criteria in an effort to advance innovative programs that improve quality, performance, and marketplace competitiveness.

Beginning in 1995, health care, education, government, and other not-for-profit organizations became eligible to apply along with manufacturing and service companies.

Among the recipients of the 2004 awards are:

CQIA Platinum Prize Winner Winner Oxford Science, Inc. (OSI) miniaturized sophisticated laser and impedance technology used for veterinary blood analyzers into its FORCYTE™ Veterinary Hematology Analyzer. OSI offers the most advanced blood analysis products and services for in-clinic use in a $200 million segment within the $1 billion United States market of 70,000 veterinarians.                                                                                                 

Gold:  

ABBA Corporation, Guilford                                                

Anthem Blue Cross, North Haven                                                               

Applera Corp., Norwalk

Canberra Industries, an AREVA Company, Meriden

Cardium Health, Farmington

Cendant Mobility, Danbury

ChapelHaven, Westville

Defibtech,Guilford                                                                   

FuelCell Energy, Danbury                                                               

GE Energy, Fairfield

Norwich Free Academy, Norwich                              

NXEGEN, Middletown

Ortronics, New London                                                                            

Pel Associates, Groton                                                                        

Protedyne, Windsor

Quinnipiac University, Hamden

SACIA, Stamford                                                                                

Saint Raphael Foundation, New Haven

Schick-Wilkinson Sword, Milford                                                   

Stamford Health System, Stamford                                                      

Trumpf, Inc., Farmington.                                                                                                                                                                                                   Silver:

ACSYS, Farmington

American Eagle, East Hartford

Automatic Rolls of New England, Dayville

Basement Systems, Inc., Seymour

Better Packages, Seymour

Capital Workforce Partners, Hartford

Carling Technologies, Plainville

CARTESIS, INC., Norwalk

Cendant Mobility, Danbury

City of Stamford, Stamford

ConnectiCare, Farmington

Connecticut Department of Labor, Wethersfield

Connecticut Light and Power CL&P, Hartford

Connection Concepts, Farmington

Con$ign-Net, Wilton

Creeth, Richman and Associates, Wilton

CTTransit, Hartford

Eastern CT State University, Willimantic

Fairfield University, Fairfield

General Physics Corporation, Mystic

Housatonic Community College, Bridgeport

Invisible Gold, Windsor

Janus Associates, Stamford

LifeCare, Westport

MachroTech, LLC, Bridgeport

Mason & Madison, Inc., Woodbridge

Northeast Elementary School,  Stamford

OperationsRespectCt, Wethersfield

Pel Associates, Groton

Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford

 Qualidigm, Middletown

Quick Tracts, Rocky Hill

Robinson & Cole, LLC Hartford, Stamford

Saint Francis Hospital, Hartford

SARAH, Guilford

Teikyo Post, Waterbury

Transcentive, Inc., Shelton

Triple Point Technologies, Westport

University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport

University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington

Western Connecticut State University, Danbury

Wheelabrator Lisbon, Taftville