Improvement of OHS Processes

1
Improvement of OHS Processes

• Kari-Pekka Martimo
• PAA

2
Principles of Quality Improvement

1. Success depends on the ability to meet the
   customer needs
2. Quality consists of processes
3. Processes produce information that can be used
   for their improvement
4. Most employees strive for quality

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(Work) process

• Any work/activity/action can be described as a
  process
• A group of interacting actions presented one
  after another
• In a process inputs are modified into outputs,
  which include added value perceived by the
  customers

4
Flowcharts

• A graphical description of a process, where an
  activity is divided into various steps
• They describe usually the customers route from
  the beginning of the service to the desired end
• Enables to see the delivery of a service
• Best way to describe key processes

5
Advantages of Flowcharts

1. Drawing them encourages communication and mutual
   understanding among colleagues
2. They give an overview of the whole work process
   employees usually recognise their own part but
   not the whole process
3. Helps to understand how the work is done and to
   pay attention to bottle necks, repetition,
   unnecessary steps, inconsistencies, and knots

6
Advantages of Flowcharts

• Because they are used to verify how the customer
  should be served, deviations can be identified
  better
• They help to identify possibilities for
  improvements and reasons for problems
• They help to explain processes to outsiders

7
Customer calls by phone to make a reservation
Answering machine
Process of making a reservation for an
appointment with a physician
Receptionist answers the phone
How does the process begin?
How does the process end?
Urgent reason
YES
Appointment with physician on duty
Who does what?
NO
Decision to be made
Receptionist requests preferred doctor, date
and time
Appointment agreed with the customer
Appointment registered in computer
Customer has an appointment
8
Quality Characteristics

• What are the characteristics of a service that
  help assessing and making conclusions about
  quality?
• Which characteristics make customers delighted?
  ( Key characteristics)

9
Customer calls by phone to make a reservation
Answering machine

• Quality Characteristics
• Customer finds phone number easily
• Short waiting time
• Pleasant waiting time
• Friendly service
• Informative answering machine
• Qualified assessment of the nature of
• the illness
• If necessary, appointment a.s.a.p.
• Preferred doctor available, as well as
• suitable date and time
• -Customer knows where to come and when
• Polite closing of the conversation
• What else?

Receptionist answers the phone
Urgent reason
YES
Appointment with physician on duty
NO
Receptionist requests preferred doctor, date
and time
Appointment agreed with the customer
Appointment registered in computer
Which of them do you find to be Key
Characteristics?
Customer has an appointment
10
Process Variables

• What are the variables of a service process
  having influence on Quality Characteristics?
• Process Variables having influence on Key Quality
  Characteristics are Key Process Variables

11

• Quality Characteristics
• Customer finds phone number easily
• Short waiting time
• Pleasant waiting time
• Friendly service
• Informative answering machine
• Qualified assessment of the nature of the illness
• If necessary, appointment a.s.a.p.
• Preferred doctor available,
• as well as suitable date
• and time

• Process Variables
• Information available in telephone book or
  brochure
• Availability of employees and telephone lines
• Music/information during waiting
• Training of the receptionist
• Contents of the tape
• Training and experience of the receptionist
  assistance if needed
• Availability of physicians on duty
• Availability of physicians work contract
• Reservation made in computer as agreed
• Computers work

Customer calls by phone to make a reservation
Answering machine
Receptionist answers the phone
Urgent reason
YES
Appointment with physician on duty
NO
Receptionist requests preferred doctor, date
and time
Appointment agreed with the customer
Appointment registered in computer
Customer has an appointment
12

• Process Variables
• Information available in telephone book or
  brochure
• Availability of employees and telephone lines
• Music/information during waiting
• Training of the receptionist
• Contents of the tape
• Training and experience of the receptionist
  assistance if needed
• Availability of physicians on duty
• Availability of physicians work contract
• Reservation made in computer as agreed
• Computers work

• Measurements
• Is it available?
• Customer/market survey
• Waiting time can be measured
• Customer survey
• Training specification
• Audit of the contents of the tape
• Customer survey
• Training specification
• Survey among physicians on duty
• Waiting time
• Customer survey
• Waiting time
• Number of deviations
• Survey among personnel

Customer calls by phone to make a reservation
Answering machine
Receptionist answers the phone
Urgent reason
YES
Appointment with physician on duty
NO
Receptionist requests preferred doctor, date
and time
Appointment agreed with the customer
Appointment registered in computer
Customer has an appointment
13
Quality Improvement

• Recognise the process to be improved
• Invite the employees who know the process
• Clarify the present picture of the process
• Understand the deviations in the process
• Learn how to improve the process

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Deming Quality Improvement Circle
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Methods for Quality Improvement
Ishikawa Diagram
Materials
Manpower
Desired outcome
Market
Machines
Methods
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Group discussion

• What is the key process of Estonian OHS?
• How does it start? Where does it end?
  (employers, employees or providers view)
• What are the successive steps? (draw a flowchart)
• Who are the participants in the process?
• Who is responsible for the process (owner of the
  process)?
• What are the quality characteristics? What are
  the process variables? (employers, employees,
  providers view) How are they measured?
• What are the needs for quality improvement?