- What is a quality improvement story?
This is a guide arranged systematically used to solve a problem. It is referred to as a story because the work the team does and its story is told. It identifies the team, how it was formed and for what purpose it was formed. It identifies why and when the team was formed and how it worked to solve the problem. Communication is standardized because every team uses the same technique to tell the story. The standardization facilitates easier transfer of ideas between departments, teams and the company as a whole. Standardization of communication also offers a framework that enables training of all the employees in the organization on the use of quality control tools.
- Discuss several reasons for using a quality story?
A quality story is used to allow various departments to work on improving their processes. The teams will start to deliver their best when they hear a story from other departments. They will implement what they get from their counterparts in other departments of the organization. The various departments get to know what is happening in other departments and they start applying what they learn from other teams in improving the quality of the processes they engage in as a department.
- List the basic steps of a quality improvement story.
A quality improvement has many steps that it follows to solve a problem. The steps follow each other systematically. The steps include the following:
- Identification of an area with a problem-This step is to identify the area that has the problem. The problems available in the organization are large and others are small (Omachonu & Ross, 2004). The best method of knowing the important problem in the organization is by use of good data. The good data enable the managers to know the significance of the problem. The problem in the organization may arise from the complaints from the customers or the upper management.
- Observation and identification of causes and reasons of the problem-The purpose of this step is to assess the status of the problem and to identify the causes of the problem. This is achieved by examining the specific types of the problem. Four features define the problem. The features include; place, time, symptom and type.
- Analysis, identification and verification of the root cause of the problem-This step determines the cause of the problem identified. The problem is easily eliminated once its cause has been determined. This is achieved by constructing a cause and effect diagram
- Planning and implementation of the actions taken to curb the problem-The purpose of planning is to eliminate the causes of the problem. The actions taken are of two types: corrective action and preventative action.
- Checking of the effectiveness and efficiency of the action taken- This ensures that the causes of the problem have been eradicated. The data obtained after preventive action is compared with the data before the implementation of the actions. If the problem is still present, the problem is re-analyzed and the action is repeated.
- Standardization of the process improvement-This step eliminates the cause of the problem forever. The preventive action is replicated and documented. This is important in communicating the new standards and ensures the cooperation of all the employees of the organization. It also assists in the training and education of the employees of the new developed standards.
- Determination of the future actions that might be taken in case the problem recurs-This step is to give a summary of what the story is all about. It is facilitated by studying the whole process of problem solving and putting measures to solve the problem if it will occur in future. The team does a post mortem of the actions that were taken and the results obtained. This reflection allows the team and the individual to grow. The team gives recommendations on how and when the process will need checks to ensure that the preventive action applied is effective. The team also identifies the problems unresolved and gives solutions to the problem. The team will involve itself in other teams of the organization to solve other problems and improve the processes because the overall goal of the organization is to continually improve on its processes.
- . Identify one of the best ways to demonstrate the importance of a problem to management.
The best way to demonstrate the importance of the problem expresses the loss in performance of the organization and how much it will improve if the corrections of the problem occur. The loss includes the loss of time, wastage of raw materials, loss of money and loss of workers of the organization. It is also important to identify the customers of the process. How the problem affects the customers must be known.
- What are the two types of action that can be taken? Give an example of each action type.
There are two types of action taken to solve the problem: the corrective action and the preventive action. The corrective action functions to fix the problem. It corrects the problem for some time. It is likened to taking aspirin to relieve pain. This action treats the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. The preventive action stops the problem from happening over. It eliminates the cause of the problem and it prevents it from occurring again. It is a good way to solve a problem in the organization although finding the correct preventive action requires time. It important that a preventive action is implemented temporarily to minimize the problem. When selecting a way to prevent the root cause, it is appropriate that care is taken to prevent other problems from occurring.
- What are the basic requirements of a QI story?
QI story requires individuals that they have knowledge of the quality control tools. After they have the tools, the individuals in the teams must know how to use them. The tools include the seven tools of the company. The QI story requires that the members of the team communicate their ideas well. The communication is done either verbally or in writing. Another important requirement is the construction of the QI story. Training for this occurs through experience and support from the team members. The final requirement is teamwork. The employees must learn to work in teams. The employees need to understand the importance of teamwork and delegation of work to team members.
Quality improvement story
Team name: Cobra Team.
Team mission: To reduce the time the callers spend waiting for connection of the line.
Status of the problem: The customers who call the organization have to wait for three to five minutes before their calls were connected to the departments they wanted. This was very bad thing to the organization because it cost the organization a lot. The customers stopped buying products from the organization because of they felt they were not valued by the organization. The delay in connection of the calls to the destination was maybe an enquiry on the availability of a certain product and when they stayed on the line for long the customer got tired and bored. The customers also lost money by staying on the line for too long. The suppliers of the organization were also calling to deliver their supplies and when they did not get through to the respective departments, they got a bad image of the organization. The customers and the suppliers got dissatisfied and looked for other partners to carry out their business. This is costly to the organization because money was spent in looking for suppliers. The customers once lost are hard to get and the customers may go spreading the word that your organization offers poor services to its customers. The reputation of the organization was lost. The cobra team was formed by the management to spearhead the task of eliminating the losses and implementing a change to the organization that will lead to the right direction. The team composed of members from all the departments and they underwent a training of two days. The training was on communication and identification of the problems. After the training, the team started by collecting data from the customers and suppliers to the organization. the responses from the customers and suppliers was bad and if not addressed well the organization was at a dangerous point. The team analyzed the responses from the customers and suppliers. After analysis, the team came up with recommendations that would curb the problem the organization was facing. The organization was to buy new telephone exchange. The telephone exchange the organization was using was analogue. The exchange that the team recommended was digital and it could allow many calls to be connected at once. The exchange was manual and the team recommended an automatic exchange. This reduced the time the callers stayed on the line before connection to their subscribers. The results obtained after installing the new automatic exchange were good. The customers and suppliers were happy. Other recommendations from the team were training of the telephone operators. The telephone operators undertook a three-week refresher course on how to handle the clients. This brought in good results because the telephone operators became effective and efficient in doing their work. The operators working schedule was changed. They started to work in shifts that allowed them to work for twenty-four hours and proceed on an off duty of two days before resuming to work. This gave the operators flextime to be with their families and this made them feel valued by the organization. They could now discharge their duties well after the two-day rest. The results were documented and it was made a requirement that all operators must undergo a refresher course after every one year. It was also made a requirement that the organization will upgrade its systems when need arises to keep up with the technology of the world that changes rapidly.
References
Omachonu, V. K. & Ross (2004). Principles of Total Quality, Third Edition. London: CRC Press.
