Creating a community  

We brought together over 100 Quality Practitioners from across Shell globally. Together, they defined a single, shared definition of Quality – what it is in practice, the role it plays, and how it should show up every day. We designed a set of values: versatile, insightful, and proactive, known as VIP.  

With these foundations in place, we selected a group of Quality Champions who were passionate about Quality to embed the values across Shell. As an incentive, we introduced the VIP awards and Quality Recognition Awards, challenging the community to submit projects that demonstrated Quality at its best. 

The tools to guide change 

To support Quality Practitioners and drive consistency in approach, we developed an engagement session for use within project teams. In total, it reached approximately 3,500 people on live Shell projects.  

We introduced the global No Defects Quality objective, establishing a shared goal for Quality at Shell, alongside a three-pronged framework for practitioners to follow. To support the framework, we developed Quality management resources, including guides, processes, data insights, and tools.  

To showcase the impact, we developed the cost of Quality approach, rolling out measurement globally, supported by early dashboards that would later evolve into the Shell Quality Intelligence (SQI) ecosystem.  

With these tools in place and frequent internal communications stressing the benefits of Quality, issues and defects became more visible; allowing opportunities for learning and continuous improvement.  

The right people to drive change  

Alongside the systems and data needed to drive change, we focused on the people delivering it and how they develop. 

Through a blend of communications, coaching and capability building, we supported Quality Practitioners to grow in confidence and self-awareness. 

Insights Discovery workshops helped practitioners better understand themselves and others – strengthening communication and collaboration across projects. 

This was reinforced by accredited learning programmes, recognised by the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) and the Shell Project Academy, giving Shell Quality credibility. 

At the centre of this was the Quality Career and Development Compass, a tool designed to plan growth and development. It clarified the competencies needed at each stage of delivery, aligned learning with career progression, and created transparent pathways for development. 

This approach was recognised externally, with a Silver Award at the 2025 Brandon Hall Human Capital Management Excellence Awards for best programme in talent development. 

Engagement and partnership 

With Quality embedded into projects and messaging reaching global audiences across Shell, we continued to support the function through global communications and events working as an extension of the team.  

Moments like World Quality Week, alongside large-scale conferences, brought the community together, reconnecting practitioners and engaging the wider Shell business. 

In 2024, all our collective work was recognised when Shell was awarded CQI Quality Organisation of the Year.  

Quality meets safety  

From the outset, Shell’s ambition was clear: position Quality as a core driver of performance, and a foundation for reducing risk. 

In 2026, that vision came full circle when Quality was elevated alongside HSE. And today, No Defects is a daily objective for every Shell employee in Projects & Engineering across the globe, and our partnership with Shell Quality continues.