Two Standards Council volunteers honoured by federal government

2001-07-07

Two Standards Council of Canada volunteers are among 61 people recently honoured on Parliament Hill for their contributions to federal government initiatives. Graham Bagnell and Jock Sherry took part in a celebration commemorating National Volunteer Week and the International Year of the Volunteer. Read more about the careers of Graham Bagnell and Jock Sherry -- and about the contribution to standardization of thousands of other volunteers -- here.

Three Cheers for Volunteers!

People do make a difference. Some 15,000 people take part in the work of Canada's National Standards System. Some play a role on standards-development committees. Others are involved in the accreditation of organizations that verify the conformity of products and services to standards. Still others participate in the advisory committees that guide the work of the Standards Council of Canada and other standards organizations. Many of these people are volunteers -- they aren't paid by the National Standards System for the work they do. Some participate as part of their jobs, others may receive compensation for travel or other expenses, but by and large, the System runs on the generosity of people willing to donate their time, expertise and effort. It's largely these volunteers who keep the National Standards System on the right track.

Jock Sherry and Graham Bagnell posing with their certificates at the Recognition Ceremony for Federal Volunteers on Parliament Hill,  April 26, 2001

So when their contribution is recognized, it's cause for celebration. That's exactly what happened in April 2001, when the government of Canada honoured the people who contribute time and effort to support the work of the federal government. The 61 people honoured included two Standards Council of Canada volunteers: Graham Bagnell and Jock Sherry.

When Graham Bagnell joined the Standards Council family four years ago, did he anticipate that the world of standardization would offer him glamour and fame? Did he expect to be nationally honoured? Of course not. However, since then Bagnell has done more than his share for standards development in Canada and internationally. The Bedford, Nova Scotia resident is currently chair of the Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) to the International Organization for Standardization's technical committee on material, equipment, and offshore structures for the petroleum and natural gas industries (ISO/TC 67). As such, Bagnell is the chief Canadian representative on TC 67. This committee develops the international standards governing such thing as pipelines, drilling machines and barges used in the petroleum and natural gas industries.

Bagnell was recently named international chair of TC 67 sub-committee 7, which deals with offshore structures. He has been feverishly busy organizing the sub-committee's first meeting on Canadian soil. The event took place June 19 and 20 in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Bagnell also sits on two other ISO/TC 67 panels dealing with offshore structures: the first panel discusses the designs and operating conditions of offshore structures, the second panel studies the long term applications of TC 67's standards. A graduate of St. Mary's University and the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now DalTech) with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Bagnell's knowledge and know-how lend nicely to his work in standards development.

Closer to home, Bagnell has spent the past year and a half as a member of CSA International's Strategic Steering Committee for Offshore Structures Standards. Dedicated to proper Canadian drilling practices, Bagnell is also on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) and is the chair of the CAODC Atlantic East Coast Safety Sub-committee. An innovator in his own right, Bagnell participated in the drilling and production of the first offshore oil project ever to take place in Canada. He also took part in the first Canadian offshore natural gas project.

As the Engineering Manager for the Canadian Division of Rowan Companies, Inc., Bagnell has learned the importance of international standards. Rowan Companies recognizes that Canada has both a corporate and a public interest in maintaining sound practices for offshore production. The firm encourages its employees to do work in international standardization. The support Rowan has given Bagnell is crucial to his success as a volunteer. Bagnell estimates that he spends approximately 500 hours a year on ISO related matters.

Bagnell praises his experience as a Standards Council volunteer. "The Standards Council of Canada provides an avenue for Canadians to volunteer their time and participate in international standardization," explains Bagnell. No other Canadian organization could offer such a guarantee. When asked why he volunteers, Bagnell responds, "To succeed in globalization and to respond to global needs we must contribute our knowledge and efforts in the development of acceptable global standards." International standards must "give consideration to the unique characteristics of individual regions and individual cultures," he continues. An obvious way to ensure that one's needs are met by international standardization is to actively participate in the process.

While Bagnell has been helping to develop standards, Jock Sherry has been working to ensure that they are consistently applied. Sherry is one of approximately 275 volunteers who participate in the Standards Council's accreditation programs for conformity assessment organizations. These organizations verify that products, services and systems conform to the requirements of standards. Accreditation helps to ensure that the organizations have the necessary people, resources and expertise to carry out that work.

A resident of Woodlawn, Ontario, Sherry has been a volunteer for the Standards Council for more than twenty years. In 1979, because of his prior training and expertise in the field of electronics and quality control, Sherry was asked to participate on the Standards Council's Accreditation/Certification Committee (ACC). This committee was responsible for the accreditation of laboratories. According to Sherry, the work was compelling. He stayed with ACC for seven years, after which he moved to Richmond, British Colombia where he was responsible to the Hughes Canada Systems Division for all hardware quality activities on the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System (CAATS) Project.

At the request of his wife, Sherry and family returned to Ottawa area three years later where he continued working for ADGA Systems International. He was again scouted by the Standards Council and asked to chair its new Quality Registration Accreditation Sub-Committee, now called the Task Group for Quality Management Systems Registration Organizations (TG-QMSRO), a committee in charge of accrediting registration organizations for ISO 9000. He has remained chair and an active member of TG-QMSRO since its inception.

According to Sherry, the success of TG-QMSRO is principally due to the high caliber of its members. He credits the hard work of the committee's original members, including Joan Brough-Kerrebyn (now the manager of the Standards Council's quality system) and Elva Nilsen (now director of intergovernmental affairs and trade). Sherry has since been impressed with many Standards Council employees, notably Hollie Last, the senior program officer for EMS/QMS, and Lynne Gibbens, the volunteer program officer. Sherry attests to the virtues of professional camaraderie, stating that the registrar program is comprised of a "great bunch of people."

Sherry squirms at the thought of being nationally recognized for his role as a federal volunteer. He insists that volunteering for TG-QMSRO does not parallel volunteering for the Red Cross or in a hospital. "They should be honoured. Not me," insists Sherry, speaking of the individuals who directly enter and touch the lives of the needy. Although he was thankful for the award and the festivities, he remained unmoved on his position that there was nothing "particularly special" about volunteering his time to apply his technical knowledge to national and international work on industry standards and quality control. "Here am I enjoying what I'm doing," explains Sherry, "Being honoured for it is rubbish."

Authoritative and enigmatic, Sherry is a character. He describes his duties as the chair of TG-QMSRO as "more human relations than management." One should not be fooled by his good nature and mild manner, Sherry is knowledgeable and resourceful with a firm handle on his beliefs. From the irresponsibility of the information technology sector to the fallibility of multiple choice-testing formats, Sherry makes no qualms about asserting his opinion.

After graduating from a Scottish high school at the impressive age of 14, Sherry immersed himself in a variety of fields. While interning as a marine engineer at the age of 17, Sherry held two delivery jobs, played in a jazz band and took night courses at Stow College in Glasgow, Scotland (now the University of Strathclyde). During his duty as a Bomber Commander in the Royal Air Force from 1941 to 1946, Sherry enrolled in a course on instrument making. He playfully boasts that he was taught everything there was to know about every instrument found in any plane in the world -- because there were so few models being used at the time! Shortly after completing the course, Sherry began teaching the curriculum.

With over 60 years of quality control and standards experience, Sherry personifies the type of individual the Standards Council needs as a volunteer. Committee work requires volunteers to have strong technical skills in very specific areas. Sherry attests to the diversity of knowledge that appears on the TG-QMSRO board -- every member specializes in something different. Currently, they are looking for an expert in information technology or aerospace training to join the Committee.

Although ACC will always remain dear to Sherry, his membership in TG-QMSRO has been very rewarding. Sherry is pleased that "you can see the results" of your work immediately, whereas with the ACC, the outcome was not always as evident.

Sherry confides that his job as an auditor for ISO 9000 accreditation is not simple. In fact, it is often quite tricky. Sometimes you have to play hardball and some audits can be messy. While tact and strong human relations skills can facilitate an investigation into a would-be registrar's background and documentation, technical prowess rules the game at the end of the day. Auditors must be able to see, almost instinctively, whether or not a registrar is made of "the right stuff." Auditors may point out where an organization falls short of the requirements, but cannot suggest specific measures to resolve them. That's regarded as consulting, an activity that auditors aren't allowed to engage in. The auditor's recommendations are viewed and voted on by the TG-QMSRO committee on behalf of SCC. According to Hollie Last, Sherry is an invaluable asset to SCC as both an auditor and TG-QMSRO chair.

Although in his 80s, Sherry remains a dominant presence at the SCC. Sherry scoffed when asked why he has remained a volunteer for so long. "It's not like I'm a volunteer," states Sherry, adding, "It's what I do...I already have the knowledge. I know what the reports say. Why not?"

Like many other volunteers, Bagnell and Sherry usually work in relative obscurity, with their activities recognized mainly by colleagues and other participants. All that changed on April 26, 2001. The two men represented volunteer participants in the Standards Council and the National Standards System as part of a special ceremony on Parliament Hill commemorating National Volunteer Week and the International Year of Volunteers. The event included a volunteer parade of honour, the presentation of certificates by the Honourable Jane Stewart, and a reception attended by the Prince of Wales.

Not every volunteer gets to meet royalty -- but maybe they should.

The Standards Council of Canada is currently establishing a volunteer recruitment, recognition and training program. If you have a fascination for standards or are interested in the specific aspects of a particular product or service, why not volunteer? If you have a personal or business interest in the future of a particular commodity, why not become an active participant in its standardization? If you have expertise in a specific field, why not help us make better judgements? Volunteer today! For more information, contact Lynne Gibbens or read more about volunteering with the Standards Council here.