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In the traditional use of conjoint analysis, in order to evaluate the relative importance of several elements composing a service, interviewed customers are asked to express their judgement about different scenarios (specific combinations of elements). In order to reduce the number of possible scenarios, design of experiments methodology is usually exploited. Previous experiences show that, even a limited number of proposed scenarios cause difficulty in answering for the interviewed customer if the scenarios differ for elements of very low interest to him/her. Consequently, a high rate of abandon of the interview has been observed. In this study it is assumed that a service can be decomposed in several improvable elements and/or enriched with new “optionals”. In both cases, what under study is assumed to be a set of dichotomous attributes. For each of these attributes, its marginal contribution to customer satisfaction has to be modelled and estimated. To obtain the required information, an opportune questionnaire is proposed to a sample of interviewed customers. An interviewing procedure consisting in a customer driven design of scenarios is followed, starting from the full‐optional scenario and eliminating one by one the less satisfying elements. for each interviewed customer, a ranking of attributes is so obtained. Then, by asking the interviewed customer to evaluate on a metric scale the scenarios he previously selected, a rating of attributes can also be obtained. A case study conducted in collaboration with a public transportation company is presented. Contrarily to previous experiences, the abandon rate proved extremely reduced.

The paper seeks to investigate decision‐making processes within hospital improvement activity, to understand how performance measurement systems influence decisions and potentially lead to unsuccessful or unsustainable process changes.

A longitudinal study over a 33‐month period investigates key events, decisions and outcomes at one medium‐sized hospital in the UK. Process improvement events are monitored using process control methods and by direct observation. The authors took a systems perspective of the health‐care processes, ensuring that the impacts of decisions across the health‐care supply chain were appropriately interpreted.

The research uncovers the ways in which measurement systems disguise failed decisions and encourage managers to take a low‐risk approach of “symptomatic relief” when trying to improve performance metrics. This prevents many managers from trying higher risk, sustainable process improvement changes. The behaviour of the health‐care system is not understood by many managers and this leads to poor analysis of problem situations.

Measurement using time‐series methodologies, such as statistical process control are vital for a better understanding of the systems impact of changes. Senior managers must also be aware of the behavioural influence of similar performance measurement systems that discourage sustainable improvement. There is a risk that such experiences will tarnish the reputation of performance management as a discipline.

Recommends process control measures as a way of creating an organization memory of how decisions affect performance – something that is currently lacking.

Alongside the ubiquitous computer games apparently the marketing success of the 1992 toy season was a series of 25 year old puppets who had featured in a repeat showing of the orginal ITV series on BBC — Thunderbirds — more than 70 franchises have been sold to sell goods marked with the International Rescue logo and it is alleged that these products are even bigger than the previous smash marketing hit the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles, saving thousands of jobs and making substantial profits for the British toy industry. The characters are licensed for right‐owners ITC (originally the international marketing arm of ATV, the ITV company which put out the programme, and now an independent company, ATV having long since lost its ITV franchise) by Copyright Promotions, Europe's largest licensing company (‘Thunderbirds are go to save the toy industry’ Sunday Telegraph 15/11/92).

Outlines a model for the development of quality systems in New South Wales schools. Also considers quality assurance as a means of auditing such a system and the role of leadership in the development of such systems. Looks into the nature of quality systems and international quality standards. Notes the problems and challenges inherent in the introduction of a quality system concept into schools and suggests further research to look into leadership factors and training required to support such an introduction.

Stronger, more efficient turbine blades are being produced by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Group in a completely automated casting facility at the company's Middletown, Connecticut, plant.

This paper develops an optimal service design model by combining a conjoint analysis‐based optimal product design model from marketing with capacity and demand management strategies from operations management to determine a profit maximizing service facility. It extends optimal product design models to services by specifically modeling the interactive relationship between potential attractiveness of a service, capacity and waiting times. Additionally it extends current capacity‐demand operations models by modeling the impacts of different capacity/demand matching strategies in a competitive market. Combining these two perspectives provides a more direct link between customer perceptions of various service attributes, including waiting time and profitability. An example is shown where the model is applied to an existing ski resort. Data are incorporated from resort management, existing customers, potential customers and industry experts to determine the profit maximizing mix of capacity and demand management strategies for an actual ski resort. The results show that important insights about profit maximization are gained from a model that captures the effects of capacity and demand management strategies.

This paper develops a smart system based on the concept of Industry 4.0 to prevent customer dissatisfaction. The value of this prevention system is that it enables hoteliers to interact with customers by understanding what they like/dislike from their behaviors via data analysis. Therefore, this system helps hoteliers to enhance service quality by predicting service issues.

The system, named the dissatisfaction identification system (DIS), is developed. A total of 127 service items were examined by a hotel manager who preset the threshold values for the measurement of service quality. A big data set for the questionnaire survey is statistically generated by a pseudorandom number generator and 10,000 mock data sets are taken as input for comparison.

The results indicated that 36 out of 127 service items are identified as service issues for the participating hotel. Examples include customer code number 01d, “Space of parking lot is adequate” in the safety management category, and number 05a, “A hotel's service time meets my needs” in the front office service category. The items identified require improvement action plans for preventing customer dissatisfaction.

This paper offers a new perspective paper emphasizing customer dissatisfaction using a big data-driven technology system. The DIS, prevention system, is developed to aid hotels by enhancing their relationships with customers using a data-driven approach.

THERE is no attempt made to be mathematical in tliis article, as it aims to interest the non‐statistical inquirer in the possibilities in a type of undeveloped quality control suited to much of our modern industry. Many of our most promising industries are only in the experimental phase, and thus success in international markets after the war is going to depend on the efficiency of the experiments undertaken. Such a statement applies to most modern light engineering industries, but is particularly true of the aircraft industry.

This paper describes a quality improvement project to improve oversight of quality at national board level using statistical process control (SPC) methods, complimented by a qualitative experience of patients and frontline staff. It demonstrates the application of the “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach and shares the lessons learnt.

Using co-design and applying the “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach, the project team supported the directors of the Irish health system to identify and test a qualitative and quantitative picture of the quality of care across the health system. A “Quality Profile” consisting of quantitative indicators, analysed using SPC methods was used to provide an overview of the “critical few” indicators across health and social care. Patient and front-line staff experiences added depth and context to the data. These methods were tested and evolved over the course of six meetings, leading to quality of care being prioritised and interrogated at board level.

This project resulted in the integration of quality as a substantive and prioritised agenda item. Using best practice SPC methods with associated training produced better understanding of performance of the system. In addition, bringing patient and staff experiences of quality to the forefront “people-ised” the data.

The application of the “Picture-Understanding-Action” approach facilitated the development of a co-designed quality agenda item. This is a novel process that shifted the focus from “providing” information to co-designing fit-for-purpose information at board level.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an optimal model of an integrated quality and safety management system (QSMS).

Keywords related with these systems were identified from international standards and subsequently mined from a selection of peer reviewed articles that discuss and propose varying forms of integrated models for both systems. Cluster analysis was used to establish the degree to which integrated models, as described in the articles were quality dominant vs safety dominant. Word counts were utilized for establishing content and attributes for each category. An optimal integrated model was developed from the final cluster analysis and substantiated by a one-way analysis of variance. Experts from industry were consulted to validate and fine-tune the model.

It was determined that characteristics of an optimal integrated model include the keywords “risk,” “safety,” “incident,” “injury,” “hazards,” as well as “preventive action,” “corrective action,” “rework,” “repair,” and “scrap.” It also combines elements of quality function deployment as well as hazard and operability analysis meshed into a plan-do-check-act type work-flow.

Given the vast array of clustering algorithms available, the clusters that resulted were dependent upon the algorithm deployed and may differ from clusters resulting for divergent algorithms.

The optimized model is a hybrid that consists of a quality management system as the superordinate strategic element with safety management system deployed as the supporting tactical element. The model was implemented as a case study, and resulted in 13 percent labor-hour saving.