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US body sets up Doha chapter

DOHA: The American Society of Quality (ASQ) has set up a chapter in Doha called the Qatar Local Member Community (LMC) branch of the American Society of Quality (ASQ).

The event was marked by a ceremony held at a hotel here recently which was attended by around 100 leaders from a wide variety of industries, academia, and quality professionals.

The opening of ASQ's Qatar Chapter was formally announced by the chapter's Honorary Chairman, Khalid Salah, Quality Manager at Qatar Petroleum .

Salah said in a statement that the Minister of Energy and Industry, and Chairman and Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum , H E Dr Mohammed Al Sada, has outlined the Corporate Social Responsibility goals of Qatar Petroleum . In line with his directives, Qatar Petroleum has assisted in the establishment of various organisations in Qatar and abroad, including ASQ's Qatar Chapter.

The ceremony's keynote speaker was Tiffany Jackson, ASQ Global Member Development Manager, who travelled from the United States to witness and participate in this event.

The American Society for Quality (ASQ), the world's largest Quality Organisation, is now in its 63rd year and has over 100,000 registered members in 150 countries.

A number of volunteers were called together by Mohammed Helaly, who had the drive and initiative to set up a Qatar-based Local Member Community.

On the basis of the completion of the first three items above, the Qatar LMC was formally approved by the ASQ in April 2011. The Doha LMC is represented by the following key officers, through which services are provided to members: Honorary Chairman, Khaled Saleh - QP ; Chairman and Country Counsellor, Mohamed Helaly - ASTAD; Secretary, Efren Galabon - CEG; Treasurer, Ossama Ali - Rasgas; Events, Training, and Certification, Peter Beck - Qatargas; Marketing and Membership, S Akhter Ali - QP ; Communication, Abdullah Elamadi - Ras Gas.

In addition to the inaugural event, another event was held in June, covering the important topics of Information Security and Business Continuity Management Systems.

The next event is planned for the 11th of December on the topic of Risk Management (ISO 31000).

Entrance to the DOHA LMC is free for ASQ Members and students. To join the Doha LMC as a full member, one must first join the ASQ. Companies can also join the ASQ - their staff members then receive most of the benefits of full individual membership.

Qatargas, Qtel, and Qatar Quality Plus are currently Sustaining (company) members within Qatar.

The ASQ LMC Qatar is a non-profit organisation that has been able to achieve its goals thus far thanks to the support of British Standards Institute (BSI) as their core Platinum sponsor, as well as Qatar Quality Plus and Quality Austria as Bronze sponsors, the statement said.

© The Peninsula 2011