<p>Today, firms compete with services rather than goods. Large service organizations are beginning to use Six Sigma as continuous improvement tool. An important part of the Six Sigma methodology is the calculation of number of defects in the process, i.e. points outside the specification limits. Unlike goods quality, which can be measured objectively by number of defects, in service goods the setting up of specification limits is a complicated issue because it is marked by the use and expectations among the different customers. As Six Sigma was originally created for manufacturing, this crucial fact is not contemplated in the Six-Sigma roadmap Define- Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC).</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to develop a new model to help the Service Division, Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB to set the specification limits according to the customer expectations.</p><p>A review of relevant literature is used to develop a new integrated model with ideas from the Kano model, SERVQUAL, Taguchi loss function, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) and a new model, the ”Trade-Off Importance”. A survey was carried out for 18 external customers and internal stakeholders.</p><p>The model has demonstrated its robustness and credibility to set the specification limits. Additionally it is a very powerful tool to set the strategic directions and for service quality measurement. As far as we know, this thesis is the first attempt to create a roadmap to set the specification limits in services. Researchers should find a proposed model to fill the research gap. From a managerial standpoint, the practical benefits in Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB, suggest a new way of communicating to customers.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-194).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Sociology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 344-364). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99151

<p>It has been over a century since African people were forcibly removed by official decree in 1901, from the Cape Town dockland barracks and District Six, to Uitvlugt, a farm where a location of corrugated iron &lsquo / huts&rsquo / had just been constructed. This occurrence followed an outbreak of a bubonic plague in Cape Town in 1901, which became predominant among the Africans who worked at the docks, and who were in direct and constant contact with the main carriers of the disease, i.e., the rats coming out of ships from Europe. The outbreak resulted in African being stigmatised as diseased, and being banished to the outskirts of the city. Since then, knowledge about this historical occurrence has been continuously produced, presented and communicated in many ways. It has featured in many representations through memory, heritage and history.In 1902, the new residents of Uitvlugt gave the location the name kwa-Ndabeni. Ndabeni was a nickname that the residents had given to Walter Stanford who had chaired the commission that recommended for the establishment of the location in 1901. The prefix kwa- was added to the name so that it meant in Xhosa language, the place of Ndabeni. In that way, the residents, who at that time did not consider the location as a potential place of their permanent abode, named it in a way that disassociated them from the place.</p>

Bakgrund: Idag är kvalitet ett viktigt konkurrensmedel i många företag. Koncept som Total Quality Management har utvecklats för att förbättra produkt- eller servicekvalitet och har haft stor påverkan på hur många företag arbetar med kvalitet. Därutöver ser företag olika på kvalitet och vissa lyckas tillämpa en effektiv kvalitetsstyrning medan andra har svårigheter med det. Därmed är det intressant att studera hur dagens kvalitetsstyrning bedrivs och fungerar för att skapa förändringar och ständiga förbättringar. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att ur ett ledningsperspektiv beskriva och förklara hur kvalitetsstyrning kan leda till ständiga förbättringar. Vidare syftar studien till att jämföra kvalitetsstyrning mellan tillverknings- och tjänsteföretag och att utveckla en generell processmodell för effektivt kvalitetsarbete. Metod: Studien har genomförts med en fallstudieinriktad ansats där Posten AB och SKF Mekan AB har studerats och jämförts. Studien har en kvalitativ karaktär där den empiriska datan är hämtad från totalt fyra djupgående intervjuer med anställda på Posten AB och SKF Mekan AB. Därutöver har litteratur och forskningsartiklar inom det studerade området konsulterats. Resultat: Studien har lett fram till en processmodell för effektivt kvalitetsarbete där företagsledning, system och individ är huvudkomponenterna. För att dessa ska kunna samverka effektivt ska företagsledningen agera på ett sätt som skapar medarbetarengagemang så att ständiga förbättringar och bra kvalitet kan uppnås. Företagsledningen ska vara engagerad, stöttande samt initiativtagande. Dessutom är en viktig förutsättning att ledningen delegerar kvalitetsansvaret ut i organisationen. Kvalitetssystemet ska bestå av verktyg och metoder som är anpassade efter organisationen samt kan med fördel vara integrerat och i elektronisk form. Individerna, som bygger upp organisationen, måste vara kvalitetsmedvetna, vara utbildade, ansvara för mätning och uppföljning, organiseras i förbättringsgrupper samt forma kvalitetskulturen i företaget. Studien har visat att det inte finns någon större skillnad mellan hur kvalitetsarbetet bedrivs och ska bedrivas i ett tillverknings- och tjänsteföretag.

In today’s society we are surrounded by large amounts of information, quick decisions and high expectations to perform successfully in everything we do. As a statistical agency, Statistics Sweden is responsible for producing some of the information that is used for decision-making in society and is therefore under constant internal and external pressure to perform well. The responsibility to produce high-quality statistics to all customers and users is not simple. What is the quality of the statistics produced? How do we assure and control the quality of the statistics? Do we use our resources efficiently? These are important questions, which need to be addressed. One way of addressing these and other issues is to work with quality in a systematic fashion. Thus there is a need for a Quality Management System, i.e., a systematic way to handle quality issues of all kinds in all parts of the organization, and to continue the journey towards the vision of being a “world class statistical agency”. This Masters thesis is a description and discussion of the efforts to find a suitable Quality Management System. The thesis starts with a discussion about the vague quality concept, continues with a description of numerous frameworks, methods and systems related to quality management as well as their pros and cons and ends with a recommendation for Statistics Sweden. The recommendation is to use the EFQM Excellence Model as a quality framework, Six Sigma as a tool-box for improvement projects and modern internal auditing methods for evaluation and follow-up. Finally, issues related to the implementation of the system are discussed.

The evolving roadmaps of TQM (i.e. Six Sigma and Lean Production) have reached a consensus that creating value to customers is the aim of quality management. However, it is not uncommon that suppliers do not have a thorough understanding of customer value, do not know the methods and tools to enable value creation, or not knowing how to demonstrate suppliers’ competence in creating customer value. Although quality management has provided the fundamentals for creating value, further development is required in order to reduce or close the gap between the strategic and the tactical implications of customer value. This dissertation describes the development of quality management toward customer value creation in order to reduce the “gap” between value creation as the aim of quality management and the value as perceived by customers. The development of quality management requires a Profound Knowledge of Customer Value (PKCV), guiding principles that enable organisations to gain customer-related knowledge and to take necessary actions in order to create, deliver, and optimise customer value through quality management. The principles of PKCV are: appreciation for a value-creating system, knowledge about customer value modes, theory of improvements, and perceptions. A central point in the PKCV is Value Modes Effect &amp; Analysis (ValMEA), a concept which connects the higher and the lower level of customer value abstraction by describing that customer value appears in different “modes” in different contexts. This interconnection indicates that customer value is not just a concept that is goals/needs-related (fulfilment of goals or needs) or product-related (linked with a product), but also is competence-related (implying suppliers’ value creation potential). Hence, customer value is both the input and the output of a value-creating system, which “reveals” the bi-directional relationship between quality improvements and customer value. This means that customer value measurements may lead to the identification of improvement opportunities, and suppliers’ efforts in improving quality may influence customers’ perceptions regarding the value of the product. Through a re-interpretation of the principles of Six Sigma and Lean Production and the adaption of tools to capture customer value, quality management can be further developed toward customer value creation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the literatures on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and to present an overview of TPM implementation practices initiated in a ‘connecter’ manufacturer in China. It also examines the need to develop, practice and implement such maintenance campaign, which not only reduce unscheduled and scheduled failures in process but also decrease operation and maintenance costs. Design/methodology/approach – A case-based approach in combination with scientific theory and standard tools, techniques and practices is used to discuss various issues related with TPM implementation in industry. Findings – The findings indicate that TPM not only leads to increase in efficiency and effectiveness of manufacturing equipments measured in terms of OEE index by reducing the failure, time loss, and defects but also helps organization to improve morale of people and working environment significantly. The contributions of strategic TPM programs towards improving manufacturing competencies of the organizations have also been highlighted here. Originality/value – The paper contains a comprehensive literature on the field of equipment maintenance and also presents an interesting investigation of TPM implementation issues which may be useful to researchers, maintenance professionals and other practitioners concerned with maintenance to understand the significance of TPM.

~ 3 ~ Abstract Master Program in Business process and Supply Chain Management Degree Project in Logistics 15 hp, Course 4FE06E Authors: Alexandra Dagberg, Alexander Thorén, Giovanni Tozzi, Kalin Velichkov Tutor: Roger Stokkedal Examiner: Helena Forslund Title: “Minimizing the risk of material shortage and waiting times via an improved order to delivery process – A study conducted within IV Produkt in Växjö” Background: Inventory Management activities have gained a relevant importance over the time in reducing uncertainties at both upstream as well as downstream levels of the supply chain, allowing a smooth material flow between chain members while responsively meeting customer demand. Control activities over the inventory represent a challenged and controversial aspect for most of today’s companies, including IV Produkt. Problem discussion: IV Produkt has, due to the rapid growth during the last ten years, fallen behind the area of inventory management as well as internal material handling process. The reason is that the company has not been able to develop these functions with the same pace as the economic growth. Consequently, the firm is facing difficulties to efficiently supply assembly lines, causing material shortage and waiting times. Research questions: RQ1: - How is the order to delivery process, from material supply functions to the Assembly line 2, at IV Produkt built up today? RQ2: - How can the order to delivery process of raw material and semi-finished products, between material supply functions and the Assembly line 2, be improved in order to minimize the risk of material shortage and waiting times? RQ3: - How can the physical storage of raw material and semi-finished products be structured within the studied area in order to support RQ2? Method: This thesis represents a descriptive case study conducted via a positivistic perspective and a deductive approach. Data was collected by interviews, observations and questionnaires, as well as via academic literature procured via a research in Linnaeus University’s library and via the use of approved web databases. Results are based on quantitative data collected from the studied company, guaranteeing the scientific credibility of the thesis. The respect of ethical principles were ensured by a discussion with company to mutually agree on the confidentiality of the presented information. Conclusion: The conclusion shows how the studied order to delivery process is built up today, highlighting several kind of waste in the current material and information flows. As a result, several actions, such as an extended use of the data system, the application of Kanban and the implementation of the ABC logic, in combination with a new proposed storage layout, were identified and proposed in order to minimize the risk of material shortage and waiting times.

Syftet med mitt arbete var att undersöka sexåringars miljömedvetenhet, samt hur de har tillförskaffat sig denna kunskap. Jag har genomfört kvalitativa intervjuer med samtliga 13 elever i en förskoleklass. Genom att diskutera kring 7 saker glasburk, läskedrycksburk, löv, papptallrik, plastmugg, tidning och äppelskrutt som vi lade ut i skogen under en månad fick jag kunskap om vad barnen trodde skulle ske med sakerna under tiden i skogen, var barnen skulle ha slängt sakerna samt hur de hade erhållit denna kunskap. Barnen trodde att det var vädret som påverkade processen med sakerna i skogen. De utgår från vad de har sett och sätter in det i ett sammanhang. Det har lärt mig att utgå från barnens vardag när det gäller naturvetenskapliga fenomen. När det gäller återvinning var kunskapen större om glasåtervinning än om plaståtervinning hos sexåringarna. Kunskapen om kompostering var obefintlig. Genom detta arbete tror jag att kompostering kan vara ett bra sätt att väcka miljöintresse hos barn. Jag fann att mamman var en viktig kunskapsförmedlare inom detta område. 10 av 13 barn svarade att någon anhörig hade lärt dem det som de svarade i denna studie. Av dessa 10 barn nämnde 8 mamma eller mamma och pappa som anhörig. Två av barnen svarade att de hade erhållit kunskapen genom TV. Ingen av barnen nämnde förskolan eller förskoleklassen som kunskapsförmedlare. / The purpose of my study was to examine the environmental awareness of six-year-olds and how they have acquired this knowledge. I have carried out qualitative interviews with all the thirteen pupils in one pre-school class. By discussing seven things, a glass jar, a soda can, a leaf, a paper plate, a plastic mug, a newspaper, and an apple core, which we put away in the forest for a month, I gained the knowledge of what the children thought would happen to the seven different things and where they had acquired their knowledge. The children thought it was the weather that affected the process of the seven things. Their assumptions were based on what they see and put into a context. I have learnt to start from children’s everyday life when explaining scientific phenomena, to children. When it comes to recycling, the fact was that the knowledge of recycling glass was more widely spread than the knowledge of recycling plastics among the six-year-olds. The knowledge of composting was nonexistent. As a result of this study, I think that composting might be a good idea in order to raise an environmental interest among children. I found that mothers were important contributors to knowledge in this field. When questioned who had taught them what they knew in this field, ten of thirteen children answered that a close relative had taught them what they knew, i.e. what they had answered in the study. Eight out of these ten pupils mentioned their mothers or their mothers and fathers as this/these close relative/s. Two of the children said that they had acquired this knowledge through TV. None of the children mentioned day care centre, nursery school or pre-school class as contributors to any environmental awareness.