Milestones of the Management Method Development in Russia Systematic works in the field of quality management in our country started in the mid 50-ies of the past century. Many industrial companies developed these issues. Thus specialists of the Saratov aircraft plant developed the Saratov System of Organization of Free of Defects Products’ Manufacture and its delivery to a customer with the first presentation (BIP). This system was designed for the arrangement of organizational and technical conditions, ensuring that products are manufactured by a worker or a team without deviation from the technical documentation. To ensure effective application of the system, trainings and education of personnel were constantly performed. One of the characteristic training forms of this system was the so called quality schools. There existed a particular organizational form within the system - a meeting called "Quality Day", at which a critical analysis of the results of the work for the products’ specified quality assurance over the past period was performed and improvement actions were developed. BIP was one of the most widespread quality systems in Russia. In the 80-ies it was registered in almost 60’000 companies. The BIP system covered the main production workshops’ workers. The system worked on the principle of "there is no defect – there is a defect." The variety of weaknesses and different degrees of their impact on the products’ quality were not taken into consideration. Further development of the BIP system continued and as a result the System for Free of Defects Labour (SBT) was developed. It provided a more effective solution to one of the most important problems of quality assurance – planning and maintaining the achieved level of labour quality. Main indicator of labour quality in the SBT System was a generalized criterion – coefficient of labour quality. SBT covered all services and business units. The next step in the development of works in the field of quality was the concentration of attention on pre-production stages of its formation - design, creation of prototypes and production samples and technological preparation of the production. This problem, first and foremost, was solved by the KANARSPI (quality, reliability, resource with the first products) System developed at Gorkov aircraft plant named after S. Ordzhonikidze. Also NORM (scientific organization for research on engines efficiency) System should be mentioned. It was developed at Yaroslavl Union "Diesel". NORM ensured regular increase of engines’ efficiency (main indicator of their quality) by improving design and manufacturing technology of parts and components, which optimizes the use of materials, as well as the maintenance of the production and exploitation level. Thus NORM System impacted all stages of the products life cycle with managing actions. Quality management systems were also developed at companies in Moscow, Minsk, Tiraspol, etc. Our region, and first of all, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) was in the first line. The Leningrad Centre for Standardization and Metrology (CSM) (now Test - St. Petersburg) specialists together with leading companies of the city and the region examined and analyzed advanced practices and implemented all the best that appeared in the Soviet Union and abroad developing their own approaches. There were quite a lot of initiatives and undertakings in the Leningrad industry. Along with BIP, initiatives such as "Raising of the products’ technical level and reduction in 1,5 - 2 times timing of new technologies’ creation", "Quality guarantee - from the project to the product”, “Superior quality products - the maximum amount", "High quality products - due to the savings of all kinds of resources”, etc. were implemented. Each of these beginnings was designed to improve one or more sides of works in the field of quality. Together, they formed a modern mechanism for product quality management, whose peculiarity was an integrated, systematic approach. Based on this experience, an Integrated Product Quality Management System (KS UKP) was developed. KS UKP resulted from the integration of knowledge and experience; it became a combination of science and practical achievements in the area of systemic quality assurance and management of activities, aimed to achieve the planned quality level with continual improvement. It was KS UKP, based on the process of product quality assurance and improvement that was the basis of a management system. When developing this System, terms such as "product life-cycle", "life-cycle stages", "level of management", "special functions of management" appeared. The KSUKP quality management was implemented at all stages of the product life cycle and all the levels of the management using special management functions. Among these functions were the review of the needs in specified products and the needed level of its quality as well as the planning of this level when manufacturing the products. Furthermore the design and technological preparation of production when developing new products and finally the personnel and the legal assurance of work etc. were included. In 1975 the decision-making authorities of USSR approved the KSUKP principles and recommended it to mass implementation in the industry. This was initiated under the guidance of Gosstandart of USSR organizations . Scientists and experts of leading companies prepared a set of inter industry methodological documents, which have become the basis of the KSUKP implementation in more than 30’000 companies. The scientific soundness of this system and its practical integration enable this approach being applied not only to the field of quality, but also to other areas of production activities of companies. Thus, an integrated system for production efficiency improvement (KS PEP) was developed, which covered almost all areas of the technical and economic activities of companies. In the same way an integrated product quality management system and efficient use of resources (KS UKP and EIR) was developed, enabling companies to cooperate in carrying out a united technological cycle of manufacturing products. KS UKP principles were also used in the development of industry and regional quality management systems. To link these systems the basic principles of the Single System of Governmental Product Quality Management (ESG UKP) were developed, which in November 1978 were approved by Gosstandart of USSR. ESG UKP’s main objective was to ensure the use of science and technology as well as the production, the social and economic opportunities for improvement of production efficiency. Moreover it was thought to meet the needs of the population, the national economy as well as the export and defense of the country. The first regional system was the Leningrad Territorial System of Product Quality Management (LTS UKP), in development of which the team of specialists participated under the leadership of Vladimir V. Okrepilov (now General Director of Test-St. Petersburg, Doctor of Economy Sciences, Professor, and Correspondent - Member for the Russian Academy of Sciences). The experience of Leningrad, Krasnodar and Dnepropetrovsk formed the basis for the development of a set of standards GOST 24525-1, 24525-2 GOST, GOST 24525-3, 24525-4 GOST, GOST 24525-5, 24525-6 GOST “Management of industrial company (association)". These standards were developed and approved for implementation at the beginning of the 80-ies of the past century and were implemented within two years in 120 companies. The most significant moment in the development of the approach to quality issues was a change in the attitude of the companies’ management and the inclusion of these issues in their strategy. If today we would compare KS UKP principles with the principles of quality management systems based on ISO 9000, we would find many similarities. That is why it is not a coincidence that the first companies that implemented the ISO 9000 series standards were those that had a firm procedural basis of quality assurance based on KS UKP. Domestic experience of integrated quality management became a good foundation for the implementation of the ISO 9000 standards, which are a higher level of quality management science development. At a meeting of the Council of European Organization for Quality Control (EOKK) in 1971, the Soviet Union made the proposal to establish within the EOKK a new technical committee named "Standardization in quality management." Vasiliy V. Boytsov, who became the President of ISO in 1977, charged TC 176 with the job of developing standards on quality management. As a result, the work of ISO in this direction began and was completed in 1987 when ISO 9000 series standards were created, and were later widely adopted throughout the world, including our country. It this period Gosstandart of USSR began its work on harmonization of domestic standards for quality systems with international ones. In particular, the technical policy of Gosstandart in the field of quality management included support to domestic manufacturers in the implementation of quality systems at companies in accordance with the requirements of international standards ISO 9000. Gosstandart specialists translated standards of the first (1987) and then of the latest (1994 and 2000) versions of ISO 9000 series, and on that basis national standards and methodological documents for their implementation were developed. Intense propaganda of these standards’ ideology and practices of their application was carried out. A system for voluntary certification of quality systems as part of the general Certification System GOST R was developed and functioned successfully. Also the relevant Certification bodies were established. One of the first management system certification bodies in Russia was "Test - St. Petersburg." During the transition to market conditions directive methods of management disappeared, competition of producers appeared who directly experienced the demands of the world community to the quality of products. Test - St. Petersburg carries out a great deal of work to promote international standards ISO 9000 series. As works on development and implementation of quality management systems evolved, TEST-St. Petersburg began carrying out procedural scientific work in this area. Thus, in order to support companies wishing to implement and certify according to a quality management system, " “Methodological Guidelines “Development, implementation and certification of quality management system on compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 and environmental management systems on compliance with the requirements of ISO 14001:96 at companies" were published in 2003. In 2006 specialists of Test-St. Petersburg developed a method for the evaluation of the degree (level) of management systems integration. The partnership of Test- St. Petersburg with IQNet plays a major role in activities on management systems implementation. We promote all products that are designed by IQNet partners on the Russian market. Along with the quality management systems in St. Petersburg, the Leningrad as well as other regions of Russia implemented other standards, such as the ISO 14000 series, OHSAS 18001, HACCP, SA8000, ISO / TS 16949, etc. Much attention is also paid to training and education of specialists. For this purpose, in most institutions of higher education specializations of standardization, metrology, certification, and quality management were introduced. On the initiative of TEST-St. Petersburg and with our direct participation for the development and deepening of the educational process, basic departments in a number of institutions of higher education of the city were founded. In the past ten years specialists of TEST-St. Petersburg published several textbooks and training manuals for various institutions of higher education of the city. The tutorial book "Quality Management", whose author is Professor V.V. Okrepilov is recommended by the Ministry of Education of Russian Federation as a textbook for students of institutions of higher education. V.V. Okrepilov was awarded by the Award of President of Russia (2002) and the Award of the St. Petersburg government (2007) for his merits on the development of education system. Being a member of EFQM since 1996 and the regional Partner of EOQ since 2006, Test-St. Petersburg has been doing a great job on the implementation of the Total Quality Management (TQM) principles. Ten years ago, on the initiative of Test- St. Petersburg, the Governor of St. Petersburg and the government of the Leningrad region established regional Awards of St. Petersburg for quality and criteria that are harmonized with the National Award and the European Award for Quality. Over these years in the city and in the region more than 800 companies and organizations took part in these Awards. In elaboration of self-assessment methods, the specialists of TEST-St. Petersburg developed and successfully applied the method of analyzing the results of competition. The obtained results are used by authority bodies to make strategic decisions. Long-term experience clearly shows that the participation in competitions and application of self-assessment methods enables St. Petersburg companies to improve their performance. This fact is confirmed by the growing number of companies that have implemented management systems. According to the ISO statistics Russia held the 28th place in the number of certificates issued around the world for quality management systems in 2006 (compared to the year 2005 – 32nd place). Development of work in the field of quality management, active participation of Russia in activities of international organizations, such as EFQM, EOQ, IQNet, ISO, IEC, and work in TC 176 helps Russian companies becoming full members of the international community and join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Head of CB TEST – St. Petersburg Co. Ltd. Candidate of Economy Sciences                     Galina N. Ivanova TEST-St.Petersburg Co. Ltd. 1 Kurlyandskaya st. RU-St Petersburg, 190103 Russia Tel: +7 812 575 00 93 Fax: +7 812 251 41 08 assessor@mail.ru http://www.test-spb.ru