Making of a successful seminar: Pacific Northwest Laboratory's 'Quest for Quality'

摘要

Five contractors located on or near the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State support technical communications staffs, all trying to meet the needs of one primary customer the U.S. Department of Energy. Historically, these staffs have maintained different processes and standards with regard to document production, and little interaction or information-sharing has occurred. To begin remedying that situation, the communications staff of Pacific Northwest Laboratory, a multiprogram national laboratory located in Richland, Wash., planned and hosted a one-day 'Quest for Quality' seminar. The seminar was the first of its kind to comprise technical communications professionals from all the local DOE prime contractors, including technical editors and writers, publications assistants, text processors, and document production staff. The goals of the seminar were to identify ways to improve the quality of Hanford's communication products and processes, to strengthen ties among technical communications staffs, and to open the lines of communication for future collaborative efforts. An eight-person committee selected topics, arranged facilities, recruited speakers, coordinated activities, hosted the seminar, and prepared proceedings.