Mississauga, Ontario – September 9, 2008 – IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association) is proud to announce that it has received three prestigious awards from the National Quality Institute (NQI). The association has been recognized with a NQI Progressive Excellence Program (PEP)® Level 4 Certification for Quality and Canada Awards for Excellence (CAE) Gold Trophies for both Quality and Healthy Workplace.

“Being recognized with these three awards is a testament to the passion, commitment, and dedication of all staff to making IAPA the best and healthiest workplace,” says Maureen Shaw, President and CEO, IAPA. “We will always strive to find new and innovative ways to achieve greater excellence so that we can continue to be a model healthy workplace. As a leader in workplace health and safety, it’s imperative that we ourselves maintain a high level of quality so that we can deliver to our clients. There is a strong correlation between quality and excellence and employee and client satisfaction. We’re honoured to receive these awards as it shows that our hard work is paying off. ”

As a previous recipient of NQI PEP® Level 3 Certification for Quality, IAPA had to demonstrate that it had continued to sustain overall organizational excellence to achieve a Level 4 Certification. In addition, IAPA had to illustrate that organizational improvement was an integral part of its business operations and provide positive trends in results over several years. IAPA also submitted applications to NQI that documented how the association met the NQI criteria. In addition, a team of NQI verifiers visited IAPA in June to conduct a series of focus groups with staff and clients. Obtaining a Level 4 Certificate in Quality made IAPA eligible for consideration for the CAE Gold Trophy for Quality.

A healthy workplace is a core value at IAPA and the development of its healthy workplace program is more than 10 years in the making. To be considered for the CAE Gold Trophy for Healthy Workplace, the association demonstrated that it had a long-standing, comprehensive healthy workplace program that effectively met the needs of its staff. It had to meet the Canadian Healthy Workplace® Criteria in the following areas: leadership, planning and programs, people engagement, process management and risk assessment, and results. 

IAPA is a not-for-profit, member driven organization operating in Ontario since 1917. Representing approximately 50,000 member firms and more than 1.5 million Ontario workers, IAPA is Canada’s leader in workplace health,

NQI is Canada’s leading authority on workplace excellence based on quality systems and healthy workplace criteria. An independent, not-for-profit organization, NQI is overseen by a Board of Governors com

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For more information, contact:

Lena Wan
Communications & PR Specialist, IAPA
Tel: 905-614-4272 ext. 2247
E-mail: lwan@iapa.ca