CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS


Whereas the manufacturing criteria for success are more concrete and definite, the fact of the matter is that services also have criteria for success. A typical comparison is found in Table 17.1.

Table 17.1: A Comparison of Manufacturing and Service Success Criteria

Manufacturing

Service

Safety

Safety

Quality

Quality

Delivery

Delivery

Cost

Cost

Morale

Morale

Transformation

  • Tangibles

  • Concrete (objective)

 

It seems that the only difference between the two types of criteria is indeed the energy transformation to change something into a product. But that is not all. Although the words seem to be the same, the connotation and the outcomes of these words are quite different. For example, in manufacturing, we focus on the product as being tangible , solid, measurable, and objective. On the other hand, in service we deal with intangibles that are ethereal and emotionally or perceptually based (eye of the beholder). In addition, the characteristics of quality are also quite different. Let us examine some in Table 17.2.

Table 17.2: A Comparison of Quality Characteristics

Manufacturing

Service

Safety:

Safety

  • Lost time

Quality

  • Severity rate

Delivery

  • Fatalities

Cost

Quality:

Morale

  • Things gone wrong

Intangibles

  • % units and zero defects

Subjective

  • Campaigns

Treatment of customer

Delivery:

  • Build per day

  • % parts on pull

Perhaps some service organizations have some things in common with the manufacturing characteristics

  • Changes

The important issue is that service is very fluid indeed and has to worry about maximizing things such as the following:

  • Supplier release stability

  • The right product

Cost:

  • The right time

  • Year to year

  • The right quality

  • Issue to issue (part)

  • The right place

  • Budget

  • The right value

  • Inventory

  • The right information

Morale:

  • The right service

  • Total% of work teams

  • EVERY TIME

  • % of team leaders in place

WHY?

  • Effective work teams

  • So that the products are targeted right

  • Total work teams

  • So that constraints are eliminated

Transformation:

  • So that disciplined behaviors are learned

  • Facility efficiency rating(s)

  • So that treatment of the customer is a positive experience (Bowman 2001)

 
  • So that customer loyalty may continue

For that maximization to occur, metrics must be developed. Once they have been, then controlling and monitoring become very important issues for the entire organization. What kind of planning is required for such development? We believe that everyone in the organization has definite responsibilities to carry on this improvement initiative. The following are examples:

  • Executives and directors define metrics that deal with customer satisfaction. Those metrics, however, must be robust to facilitate improvement effectively. That means that factors and noises must be characterized on this level and then cascaded to the lower levels. In essence, this level of management defines the Y ( X ) = F ( x, n ), where Y ( X ) are the customer needs, wants, and expectations; x are measurable requirements that correlate to the Y ( X ); and n is the noise that despite which these requirements must be effective. The reader should note that the traditional six sigma focuses only on Y ( X ) = F ( X ), which is an appraisal approach. When we talk about Y ( X ) = F ( x, n ), we refer to planning a system that is free of problems and responsive to customer needs, wants, and expectations. There is a big difference between the two approaches. More about this in Volume VI.

  • Operating management defines, develops, and executes metrics that deal with the right procedures, right time, and right experience.

  • Analysts deal with metrics on the root cause level in such a way that the cost impact of poor performance is identified; then they make sure that this information is accurate and available to higher management.




Six Sigma and Beyond. Statistical Process Control (Vol. 4)
Six Sigma and Beyond: Statistical Process Control, Volume IV
ISBN: 1574443135
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 181
Authors: D.H. Stamatis

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