Living and Breathing Quality Raises the Bar of Excellence

Dik Hoogmoed has always wanted his work to make a difference in people’s lives. With a background in Electronic Engineering, he began his thirty-five-year career with Canon Medical Systems in 1986 as Ultrasound Engineer. He has held several positions since—from Development Manager and Business Systems Manager to his current role as Director of Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance.

“Canon Medical equipment was used day in and day out for COVID-19 screening as our equipment is an integral part of the healthcare system worldwide,” said Hoogmoed. “It’s been and still is great working for a company that has such a high level of service, quality, and social responsibility.”

Over the years, Hoogmoed has seen significant improvements in the healthcare industry, particularly in the quality and regulatory arena. “When I came to the U.K. from the Netherlands in 1994, the industry was not very regulated, and there was little government scrutiny. Today, the medical device field is rigorously regulated to ensure the highest levels of patient safety.”

In early 2019, Hoogmoed spearheaded a project to modernize the company’s quality management platform. The transition involved moving from Lotus Notes databases, to ComplianceQuest, a next-generation Enterprise Quality and Safety Management System. Hoogmoed’s background in software development and quality assurance was pivotal as he had just the right mix of skills to lead the initiative.

“Today, we have an all-in-one system that we can actively manage, which was impossible with Lotus Notes,” said Hoogmoed. “ComplianceQuest has helped us move from a reactive to proactive stance with live data that can be translated into actionable intelligence and insights.”

Hoogmoed is passionate about quality and has a built-in drive to do things properly without taking shortcuts. He also loves coaching the organization on how to do the right thing. “This is what really gets me excited and was borne out last year when we achieved zero nonconformities during a Notified Body Audit for the first time at Canon Medical Systems Europe.”

“As for the future, it’s an exciting time in the medical diagnostics field. Artificial intelligence is going to be amazing, and we’re smack bang in the middle of it. It will make for an interesting ride if you like regulations and the medical device environment.”

Hoogmoed inspires his team to be passionate about quality by setting the bar high. “You need to constantly live quality to make it work, but once you’ve got a team around you that wants to continuously improve, it’s infectious. That’s what we bring to the company. You need to live it and breathe it and you can only do that by being an example.”