2007 Schaeffer Award Recognizes Robert Birkland

Later in his career, Birkland served as general manager for US Label Corporation in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he successfully changed the company’s quality philosophy from end-of-line inspection to a real-time one based on ISO 9000 standards. This change improved plant morale and reduced defects by 11 percent. He also implemented cross training programs at US Label that allowed the plant to operate more efficiently and balance the workload, which ultimately saved the company more than $450,000.