Process Improvement Application - Research Paper Example

Process Improvement Application Abstract This paper will define QI story and also discuss several reasons for using a QI story. It will also list the basic steps of a QI story that one can use for quality improvement. In addition to these, it will also discuss the basic requirements of a QI story and analyze the two types of action that one can take in responding to issues to do with problem management. The paper will also identify and discus one of the best ways to demonstrate problem management. A Quality Improvement (QI) story is a step by step guide for problem solving or process improvement (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). In other words, it is an outline of a sequence that one needs to follow to arrive at a certain point that would define goal achievement. One can also understand QI to mean ways through which an organization can ensure client satisfaction through offering of meritorious services. In many circumstances, health care facilities are so far the known organization that uses QI story more than any other organization. This does not imply that QI improvement limits its application to health practitioners. In fact, some assembly industries like motor vehicle assembly also use QI in their management system. Some of the benefits that accrue to an organization that employs Quality Improvement management system are customer loyalty, improvement in market share, reduced service call, higher prices and greater productivity. Any organization that uses Quality Improvement story has varied reasons for doing so. The reasons for using QI story include helping the team to organize, gather and analyze data in a logical fashion; monitors the teams progress; facilitates understanding by non- team members and lastly, it standardizes presentation to management. For the case of a health practitioner, he/she needs to organize the work in search a way that it clearly defines who is going to be responsible for what task (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). It also indicates the time one would execute the task, and the duration that one would take to accomplish such kind of task. The QI story makes sure that it states how one would gather the necessary data and method for analysis of the collected data. Secondly, QI story helps one to monitor the team’s progress (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). The team enters whatever they have done in a format that one can identify easily or observe with ease. The management is able to evaluate and monitor the progress that the team is making from the format of presentation that QI story delivers. This is time saving for the management body and makes reference to any item easy for the work team. Monitoring progress also helps the work team members to gauge against their own parameters whether they are on track as they had planned. Such kind of monitoring system enables the work team to compensate for time losses in case such scenarios arise. Thirdly, another reason for using QI story is because it facilitates understanding by non-team members (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). The plan simplifies an otherwise detailed series of progressive activities. Those who are not members of the work team do not have to go through the complexities that team members had involved in the preparation of the data. QI story allows them to understand in a simplified manner what the work team members are to do under every step of task execution. It assists non-team members are also in a position to know who the work team members are and other details like when and why they got together. Lastly, QI story helps work team members to standardize their presentation to management (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). Given that management could be dealing with more than one team at a time, it would be hectic to go monitor the progress of each team in a format that is not uniform. QI story, therefore, saves the management the agony of perusing through different detailed works. Using a standard format enables management to identify with ease which teams are on track and which ones are probably on a deviation course QI story enables corrections and approvals with improved efficiency. In conducting a QI story, one should follow the following seven basic steps. These are identification of the problem area; observation and identification of causes of the problem; analysis, identification and verification of the root causes of the problem; planning and implementation of preventive action purpose; checking the effectiveness of the action taken; standardization of process improvement and finally determining future actions (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). Making sure that a QI story follows these basic steps is a safeguard against errors or omissions. A critical function of identification of the problem area is to single out the main problem that calls response and also to make out the significance of the problem. This involves becoming specific and deciding what the actual problem is and what threats the problem poses to the organization. Such a threat could be the damages that the organization would incur in the event that it delays in taking an appropriate response. For instance, there may be a need to find out why the physiotherapy department of a hospital keeps rescheduling patients to later dates other than those prescribed by the doctor. After identifying what the problem is, hospital management may also analyze what it means for the organization should such a problem persist. This is observation and identification of causes of the problem. Doing this helps in determining where the problem started to occur form and the probable causes that have caused such a problem. For example, in the above case it would involve finding out when the physiotherapy department started experiencing the problem. After that the next step in QI story involves analyzing, identification and verification of the root causes of the problem. In this example, it would involve analyzing the operations of the physiotherapy department, establishing where deviation started to occur and observation of proceeding trends to affirm the problem. Thereafter, the QI story requires that a work team should plan and implement preventive action. The work team comes up with possible solutions to the problem it identified. The team members evaluate these possible options for correcting the previously confirmed problem. They then put such corrective measure into action. For example, in the above case, if time inefficiency were as due to increasing clients against a small work force, the work team recommends immediate hiring of additional care givers. This improves the process of booking patients, and actual clearance to give room for more to receive prescribed care. From this point, the next step of the QI story that should take place is checking the effectiveness of the action taken (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). For example, if the work team took action by hiring in a few more health care givers, ten they to need to go back to the drawing board and assess whether the previous problem still persists or whether it has come to an end. After this, QI requires that there should be permanent elimination of the previously encountered a problem by coming up with a measure that makes sure that the process runs uninterrupted henceforth. This may include adopting the previously checked action that the work team checked and approved for effectiveness. Such an action ten becomes the official way in which to maintain the process especially if the process is a repetitive one. Lastly, a work team determines future actions for solving related or such cases should they occur again in the future. This step also presents a summary of the whole story from the first step all the way to the last step. It serves as a reference point for which an organization may opt to respond during repeated incidences of a similar nature. One of the best ways to demonstrate the importance of problem management is that it helps to keep both an organization and its client satisfied. When a client has received excellent service because an organization took some measures to correct internal problems that had a negative impact on the client, the client will speak well of the organization. The organization also benefits from increased demands for its products or services. Such an increase directly improves the financial position of the organization. Such problem management is a double benefit to the parties involved. For instance, the above problem management in the physiotherapy department will improve service to clients. A satisfied client is always a returning client. The organization also benefits from good will and reliable market from its faithful customers. Two types of action that one can take are corrective action and preventive action (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). Corrective action is one that QI story recommends addressing a problem that an organisation is already experiencing. On the other hand, preventing action is one that a QI story recommends for unseen but possible problems that may occur in the future. Preventive action aims at making expected problems not to occur by taking measures that eliminate the likelihood of them happening. Basic requirement of QI story requires knowledge of quality control tools. One can understand these tools to imply the seven steps involved the seven basic steps in a QI story that I have discussed above. They range from identification of the problem all the way up to the last step which is the determination of future action (Omachonu and Ross, 2004). A former quality problem that I had encountered was a network problem between a pharmacist computer and a matron’s computer. The pharmacist’s computer could not receive drug booking from the children’s ward where I was doing a community service. Under the regulations of the hospital, matrons do online bookings of drugs so that flow of drugs from pharmacy to wards has a clear record. The problem was that the children’s ward bookings to the pharmacy were in vain. To solve the problem, the IT team came to the children’s ward and checked the settings of the computer. They next observed, analyzed and verified that settings and connections were okay from the matron’s computer. Closer analysis revealed that a colored network cable was unplugged, probably by a child who might have strayed in sometimes back. The IT team then recommended use of non-colored cables since colored ones attracts children’s attention. They replaced the cable appropriated and plugged it in the network port. The system was up again. They also fitted alarm system in the network cable so that each time the cable was off the port, it raised an alarm and the matron fixed it back. Future occurrences of network cable getting plugged off the network port became easy to approach. That was the end of network problems in the children’s ward as a result of children straying into the matron’s office. Reference Cresswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). California: Thousand Oaks. Dale, H.B. (2004). Quality Control, Seventh Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hill International Eckert, S.G. (2007). Inventory Management and Its Effects on customer satisfaction, Journal of Business and Public Policy, Volume 1, Number 3(Summer 2007). Omachonu, V.K. and Ross, J.E. (2004). Principles of Total Quality, Third Edition. New York: CRC Press. Summers, D.C.S. (2004). Quality, Third Edition. New Jersey: University of Dayton. Read More