MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

Freese and Nichols is the FIRST engi-neering/architecture firm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest national recognition for per-formance excellence in the United States.

The award was a major milestone on our Continuous Improvement (CI) journey. This ongoing effort revolves around planning, measuring and analyzing, and it empowers all employees to make improvements. In short, CI is our way of doing business — we’re always looking for ways to make things better.

In receiving the Baldrige Award, Freese and Nichols was recognized for:

� Fiscal accountability and performance � Strong leadership and leadership

development � Strategic planning and execution of

those plans � Constant focus on client service � High employee satisfaction � Exemplary ethics and community

service

THE HIGHESTNATIONAL HONOREstablished by Congress in 1987, the Baldrige Program helps organizations achieve world-class performance. To receive the Baldrige Award, an organization must have an exemplary management system, including continuous improvement in the delivery of products and services, efficient and effective operations, and responsiveness to customers and employees. The Baldrige Program is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD

Our journey didn’t end with receiving the award. We continue to improve our business practices, and we are committed to helping others do so as well. Freese and Nichols’ quality initiatives have raised our level of performance and service to each of our stakeholder groups: our clients, employees, communities and colleagues.

Some of the impacts on our clients include:

� Voice of the Client Program, which helps us understand clients’ needs and make improvements based on client input

� Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program and its continuous review and improvement � Seminars and Freese and Nichols University training � Long-tenured and motivated workforce providing consistency to client projects � Greater opportunities for project innovation � Project savings through process efficiencies � Improved client communications

We’ve had the opportunity to help a broad group of organizations raise their standards of operations, including the Cities of Corpus Christi, Dallas, Edmond, Fort Worth, Irving and Tyler, more than 20 cities around Raleigh and a number of school districts. As a result, the City of Irving received the 2011 Texas Award for Performance Excellence and 2012 Malcolm Baldrige Award. The city manager at the time commented, “During a time when many cities are cutting back their services, we are maximizing resources to enhance the quality of life for our residents without sacrificing quality.”

NATIONAL AWARD CEREMONYIn 2012, representatives from Freese and Nichols attended the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award ceremony in Washington, D.C. A delegation headed by U.S. Congresswoman Kay Granger and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price also included Jeff Fegan, CEO of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; Robert O’Neill, Executive Director of the International City/County Management Association; and City Managers Tommy Gonzalez, City of Irving; Mark McDaniel, City of Tyler; and Tom Higgins, City of Fort Worth.

When pursuing the Baldrige award, applying organizations are judged on seven categories: Leadership; Strategic Planning; Customer Focus; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Workforce Focus; Process Management; and Results.

CLIENT IMPACT

www.freese.com

Freese and Nichols, Inc. is a

professional consulting firm serving

clients across the Southwest and

Southeast United States. With

sustainability in mind, Freese and

Nichols plans, designs and manages

infrastructure projects. It is the

first engineering/architecture firm

to receive the Malcolm Baldrige

National Quality Award.