Continuing the quality journey after winning Emerging Talent award 2020

What was your journey into the quality profession?   

I started my quality journey with LifeScan through the four-year quality engineering apprenticeship. I studied Engineering and Business part-time through the University of the Highlands and Islands, before going on to complete a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Quality.  

Throughout the four years I rotated around the different quality departments within LifeScan, gaining an appreciation for these differing roles. I really benefited from these rotations, not only in a networking sense, but from working in areas such as supplier quality, operations quality and customer quality, to name a few. I learnt a lot about how quality influences everything we do at LifeScan from start to finish – and beyond. 

What do you think the impact of your win has been on your career?  

Since winning the Emerging Talent Award in 2020, there have been a number of changes and opportunities. It was a great privilege to be asked to judge the 2022 Emerging Talent category, being involved in the interview process and working with the other judges.  

I have also become more involved with the apprenticeship programme at LifeScan, mentoring and coaching current apprentices. Since winning I have moved role twice, first to a role within the laboratories and clinics of LifeScan, and then back to the manufacturing side of the business. These moves have helped build my network and skills as a quality professional. 

In what ways do you think that the quality profession can better sell quality as a career?  

From my own experience, a lot of younger people do not know what quality is, and those who do typically assume it is still a case of the old ‘quality = final inspection’ idea. We need to better explain how quality is everywhere, in every industry and how it affects the population on a daily basis. Examples of sectors should be communicated in these messages too. I have only worked in medical devices, but I think the impact and role of quality in industries such as energy, defence, construction, banking and manufacturing, to name but a few, should be widely shared. 

What do you feel are some of the challenges facing the quality profession at present?   

Sustaining talent has in recent years become quite a challenge. Graduate, apprenticeship and trainee schemes, alongside the professional development offered by the CQI, have contributed very successfully to recruitment and retention over the past few years. 

Complex changes in technology are also affecting the quality profession. From moving to sustainable practices and materials to the increased introduction of artificial intelligence, quality professionals are now required to have a more in-depth understanding of specific areas, alongside the tools, techniques and mindset that make a quality professional. We need to work more closely with experts in these areas, not only to gain further knowledge of the subjects but also to pass along the ‘quality mindset’. Then, the experts can begin to consider quality in their decisions and we can work more as one team to achieve the same end goals. 

"We need to better explain how quality is everywhere, in every industry and how it affects the population on a daily basis."

John Jack, Quality Engineer, LifeScan

What do you believe are the emerging risks in your industry?  

Material supply is a significant challenge for many industries, but I believe the medical device industry is suffering from the effects. So many external factors in recent years have disrupted supplies of raw materials, and in medical/pharmaceutical, as well as many other areas, it is not as simple as finding an alternative source. 

The unwavering commitment to ensuring quality and safety of products to patients and customers cannot change, so a lot of effort is going into the sourcing, testing, qualification and implementation of alternative sources of materials. Hopefully in the near future the external factors causing disruption will be resolved, and all industries can move their focus from sustaining to improving. 

Both the ESG and EDI agendas are key focuses at present – how do you think the quality profession can assist with this work?  

In terms of ESG, the quality profession has always been very good at the governance part. Staying compliant, managing risks and being transparent on practices for audit purposes are key parts of our roles in quality. We are also getting better at supporting environmental and social pillars too and we should continue to improve in these areas. When making quality decisions, not only do we need to ask ourselves “How does this impact our product or service?”, we should also ask ourselves “How does this impact the environment and the people around us?”. Through this kind of open consideration, we can improve our focuses on ESG even further.  

In terms of EDI, again the quality profession is getting better at supporting people from diverse backgrounds. At LifeScan, the inception of ‘OpenNess’, LifeScan’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group (ERG) has been a success. The team was founded in 2018, with the objective of making LifeScan the medical device employer of choice for the LGBTQ+ community. The past few years has seen OpenNess grow exponentially to drive a culture of inclusivity and make a positive impact to staff and their families. This has been done in partnership with Stonewall through a year-round programme of staff education and LGBTQ+ ally training. Non-LGBTQ allies are crucial to an inclusive workplace where everyone can be their authentic selves and a large number of employees have now attended this training.  

What are your professional development ambitions and how do you intend to fulfil them?  

My professional goals are to continue with my development as a quality professional in the areas of audit and leadership, in particular by spending time with our compliance team, as well as supporting the many audits we undergo on an annual basis. I also want to continue my role coaching and mentoring LifeScan’s quality apprentices, using my experiences as a previous apprentice to guide others through the start of their quality journeys. 

What advice would you give to others who are at the start of a quality career?  

My advice is to spend time with other parts of quality. Quality is so much more than a ‘final release quality control check’ these days; it is beneficial to spend time understanding the entire quality lifecycle from planning/design to customer interactions and back again to see how every function interacts with the others.