RIYADH, 28 April 2004 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, will inaugurate a two-day national conference on quality control on May 15, in anticipation of the Kingdom’s accession to the WTO.
The conference aims to highlight issues relating to quality control in sectors such as trade, industry and services. It is being jointly organized by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization.
Spelling out the details of the event, Dr. Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Azzam, head of the national quality control committee at the CSCCI, said the conference would reflect the importance that TQM (Total Quality Management) plays in the national economy as the Kingdom prepares to join the WTO.
He said that even though Saudi products have carved out a niche in the international market, there is still room for improvement. “Generally speaking, all locally produced goods and services are evaluated by international analysts, who are satisfied with the overall quality,” he said, adding that the value of Saudi exports increased by 17 percent last year to SR.32.4 billion.
Asked if the current focus on Saudization would push up the cost of local production, given Saudi expectation of higher salaries. Dr. Fahad said that three aspects had to be considered in this context — the quality of the product, price competitiveness and the speed of delivery.
“Those three dimensions constitute the major elements of quality. I don’t think Saudization will impact negatively on the competitiveness of locally manufactured goods. On the contrary, it will promote quality, since we have highly qualified and skilled manpower. What is needed is intensive training, knowledge management and IT-focused organization as well as new concepts in business management to bring down the cost of production and services.”
He also said implementation of TQM and business process re-engineering programs could enable the Kingdom to compete effectively in the international market.
Dr. Fahad disclosed that 3 of the 13 business councils of the CSCCI have undergone the re-engineering process which would also do away with departments that are not providing value-added services.
