Category: Quality Assurance

Introduction

Cubic Application Inc is an international contracting company that has specialized in offering technological services and products to military in over 50 countries across the world. Specifically, Omega Division Training Division has specialized in offering quality military services and products to defense industry, Department of Defense and other subcontracting agencies in the United States. Ray Kaufferman and Roger Hewitt co-founded Omega Training Division in 1990 after they retired from the United States Army. Proven record of accomplishment has boosted Omega Training Division to be a contractor of choice in military, for it provides quality-training services to soldiers and sophisticated equipments to military. For over 20 years in operation, Omega Training Division is still leading in supplying military services and training because of its core values of quality, integrity and soldiers that are matchless. To satisfy different needs of military, which are mainly Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force, Cubic Application Inc offers a wide range of programs, which include training, logistic management, analysis and studies, program management, software development and various technological applications in military. Recently, United State Army awarded Cubic Application Inc a five-year contract worth $49 million that entailed supply and maintenance of Surveillance and Control Data Link equipment. This research paper examines the quality assurance of services and products, together with a legal case of Cubic Applications Inc.

The Quality Assurance

Cubic Applications Inc. Omega Training Division offers quality of services and products to defense industry, Department of Defense, and other military agencies. With experience of over 20 years, Omega Training Division has established lucrative relationship with its customers because it offers quality products and services. The lucrative relationship that the company has built for many years has enabled it to offer diverse products and services that satisfy different needs of its customers with respect to Marines, Navy, Army, and Air Force. The United States Department of Defense relies heavily on Omega Training Divisions to provide military services and products, which are not only quality and cost effective, but also technologically oriented. Military services and products that Omega Training Division is providing are quality and innovative in that, they give military assurance about their capacity to combat many intriguing challenges of defense industry.

Moreover, Omega Training Division provides a wide range of programs to military that are essential in enhancing military capacity. One of the integral programs that Omega Training Division is offering is training. Given that trainers are military veterans who have immense experiences, they provide appropriate knowledge and skills, which is crucial in enabling military persons to gain experiences with regard to combat. Hence, training of military in terms of logistics, operations and fighting tactics develop soldiers and improve overall capacity of military personnel. Military veterans also train soldiers on how to apply new technological tactics and utilization of new military equipments. Thus, military personnel development and adoption of technological equipments by Omega Training Division gives an assurance that military defense is secure.

Additional programs such as program management, logistics management, New Equipment Training (NET), System training, test and evaluation, analysis, and studies amongst other pertinent programs are central to quality assurance of services and products of Omega Training Division. Given that Omega Training Division has numerous customers that range from Department of Defense, defense industry, foreign countries, and other defense agencies, it is evident that their services and products are of a high quality. Moreover, the nature of contracts that Omega Training Division has obtained from various customers is worth millions of dollars; thus, it implies that, they have a noble reputation in the sphere of military. Therefore, Omega Training Division provides services and products to military that are of matchless quality.

Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc

The case of Priscilla Ebare v. Cubic Application Inc emerged when Ebare, an employee of Cubic Applications Inc suffered back injury in 2004 during the course of duty when she accidentally stepped into a hole. Though Ebare reported the accident immediately to the authority, she did not seek medical attention instantly because she underrated the extent and consequent of the injury. It was after three months that Ebare started complaining of back injury when her doctor told her that the injury relates to her work. Then, Ebare reported the matter to her employer, Cubic Applications Inc that declined to accord her appropriately medical attention and compensation. Sullivan (2009) argues that, Ebare complained that Cubic Applications Inc did not compensate her temporary total disability benefits (TTDs) and further denied her to consult a physician of choice (p.2). In view of these complaints, Ebare filed a case at Office of Workers Compensation (OWC) to obtain her compensation benefits.

In the year 2006, two years after the injury, workers compensation judge (WCJ) made an oral ruling that was latter written and signed in 2008 at OWC, which favored Ebare. In the ruling, WCJ observed that the injury occurred in the course and context of employment in Cubic Applications Inc., and thus, deserve compensation. Moreover, the WCJ noted that Cubic Applications Inc denied her to consult a doctor of her choice. According to Sullivan (2009), WJC ruled that Ebare deserve TTDs from the time she did not work, in 2004 to present, and additional compensation of $2,000 as a penalty for denying her to see a doctor of her choice (p.3). Seeing that the ruling of OWC was unfair due to high compensation demands, Cubic Applications Inc. appealed the verdict terming it erroneous. Cubic Applications Inc singled out three errors: firstly, there was no corroborating evidence to support the occurrence of injury; secondly, WCJ awarded TTDs without recommendations of a doctor that confirmed her disability and thirdly, WCJ erred in determining the penalty of $2,000 yet Ebare had some other complications in her health. Thus, Cubic Applications Inc. found it reasonable to appeal and reverse the verdict.

The Case Brief

The case name is Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc, 5 So.3d 1028 (3th Cir. 2009). Ebare was a plaintiff who sued Cubic Applications Inc, defendant at OWC for not compensating her TTDs and denying her to consult the doctor of choice. WCJ found out that, indeed, Cubic Applications Inc. had not followed compensation procedures of workers, and thus ruled in favor of Ebare. Following the ruling, the Cubic Applications Inc appealed the verdict as an appellant, while Ebare became an appellee, thus making the case as Cubic Applications Inc v. Ebare. The appellate court affirmed the ruling in part and reversed it in part in 2009, and the reporter of the case was Southern Reporter, third series volume 5 (So.3d).

The Keys facts in the case Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc., is that, Ebare had sued Cubic Application Inc. for denying her to consult a doctor of her choice and demanded compensation of TDDs because she sustained injury in the course of job that made her physically disabled. WCJ ruled that, Cubic Applications Inc. needed to compensate her TTDs and pay extra $2,000 as a penalty for restricting her not to see her doctor. Consequently, Cubic Applications Inc appealed the ruling citing three errors, viz. there was no bearing evidence to support the occurrence of injury, WCJ awarded TTDs without recommendations of a doctor that confirmed her disability, and WCJ erred in determining the penalty of $2,000 because Ebare had some other complications in her health. Eventually, the appellate court disregarded the first two alleged errors and accepted the last error, thus affirming WJC ruling in part and reversing it in part.

Legal issues of the case Applications Inc v. Ebare revolved on three issues that Cubic Applications Inc has identified as erroneous in WCJ ruling. In the first issue, Cubic Applications Inc had asserted that WCJ depended only on Ebares testimony with no corroborating evidence to support the occurrence of the accident and subsequent injury. Basing on Bruno, 593 So.2d at 360-61, the Judge argued that a worker has the burden of proof and that workers testimony is enough given that circumstances of accident corroborate and there is no reasonable evidence to discredit it. Thus, the judge affirmed that the accident occurred in the course and context of employment. Regarding the issue of TTDs, the judge quoted Louisiana Revised Statutes 23:1221, which states that for any claimant to prove entitlement to TTDs, one must demonstrate physical disability clearly and convincingly. According to Sullivan (2009), the judge argued that the issue of disability is a legal issue rather than a medical issue; hence, workers have the privilege to prove their disability (p.6). Since physicians cannot approve disability of a worker, the judge affirmed the award of TTDs. However, the judge reversed the ruling of penalty that demanded award of $2,000 because it was reasonable that Cubic Applications Inc attempted to find out the cause of Ebare condition, since she had other health complications.

Following the appeal by Cubic Applications Inc, the court affirmed the ruling in part that Ebare sustained injuries during the course of employment and that WJC was right when he determined TDDs. The court also reversed the ruling on the basis that, Cubic Applications Inc, did not bar Ebare from seeing the doctor of her choice because, it acted reasonably in ascertaining the cause of Ebares health condition. Thus, the appeal relieved Cubic Application Inc from paying $2,000 as a penalty.

Courts Rationale

1. The Ebares accident occurred in the course and context of employment, although she did not experience any injury until after three months
2. Physician determination of disability is secondary to patient testimony; hence, Ebare has the burden of proof in justifying her disability.
3. Cubic Applications Inc. has the right to use reasonable means in determining the cause of Ebares health condition, since she had other health complications.

Conclusion

The case of Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc. showed that, WCJ had issued a verdict that Cubic Applications Inc. should compensate Ebare TTDs, in addition to $2,000, as a penalty for denying her to see the doctor of her choice. Following the verdict, Cubic Applications Inc. filed an appeal, for they cited a number of errors in the ruling. The appellate court examined the submissions of Cubic Applications Inc and affirmed in part that the accident occurred in the course of employment, and, therefore, Ebare need compensation of TTDs. However, the court reversed compensation of $2,000 because Cubic Applications Inc acted reasonably in ascertaining the cause of Ebares health condition. Since the ruling majorly had its basis on Ebares testimony, it is appropriate that the court should have considered corroborating evidence from third parties like doctors and workmates. Moreover, the court should have considered investigating other factors that might have complicated health condition of Ebare.

Reference

Sullivan, M. (2009). Priscilla Ebare versus Cubic Application, Inc. State of Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, 1-11.

Quality Assurance (QA) is a powerful process supported by many scholars because of its ability to improve the nature of services available to more patients. The QA approach is capable of improving the performance of many professionals thereby preventing sentinel events in a healthcare organization. Medical facilities should be aware of specific sentinel events that occur regularly (Lord, 2013). This understanding will ensure the most desirable approaches are put in place to deal with such events. Some of the approaches to QA learned in class have the potential to prevent sentinel events in different healthcare settings.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

To begin with, the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach focuses on the best cultural practices and organizational behaviors that have the potential to improve the level of performance. This model makes it easier for business organizations to develop positive attitudes and practices. The concept ensures that the diverse needs of different customers are put into consideration. The next step in improving the quality of services provided by the organization.

By so doing, the institution will ensure its employees work tirelessly to provide exemplary services to the targeted customers. When applied correctly in a healthcare institution, the TQM model will ensure more nurses work hard to deliver quality services to more patients (Padhy, 2013). The model will ensure the workers work hard to minimize errors and support their patients health needs. An empowered workforce will always focus on the needs of their patients. This approach has the potential to reduce or prevent sentinel events.

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

Hospitals that record many never events can benefit significantly from the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) framework. This quality improvement model encourages healthcare professionals to work as a team and improve the outcomes of their patients. The model is evidence-based whereby timely data is used to make the most desirable decisions. The caregivers focus on their current practices and identify the existing gaps. The strategy can be used to make desirable decisions and offer timely support to more patients (Schattenkirk, 2012). The gaps or contributing factors to different sentinel events will be addressed promptly. More workers will be involved in the decision-making approach. The practice will eventually improve the level of healthcare delivery.

Lean and Six Sigma

The Six Sigma concept has been applied in many companies to eliminate errors and improve productivity (Schattenkirk, 2012). This approach embraces the use of data-driven methodologies to remove defects throughout the service-delivery process. The ideas of the Six Sigma model can be used to improve the performance of many healthcare organizations. The QA strategy uses evidence-based data from an institution to identify the major defects or problems affecting the quality of services available to different clients (Jebb et al., 2014). This model can be used by health leaders (HLs) to identify the major challenges affecting the nature of service delivery.

The Lean Model presents similar approaches that can be used by healthcare workers to prevent malpractices and improve the quality of services available to more patients. The important thing is to identify the major issues making it hard for different workers to deliver quality medical care and support. Errors will be presented ad eventually make the targeted institution a leading provider of superior health services (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, n. d.).

This information can be used to outline the resources and skills that might be developed by healthcare workers. Such skills and resources will empower the targeted followers and eventually make them competent providers of exemplary care. By so doing, the workers will be able to identify the potential sources of sentinel events. The next step will be to promote the best practices that can prevent such never events.

Response to the Statements

The best response to the proposed changes in the Quality Assurance (QA) program is that they can deal with various never events (also called sentinel events). The issue of the nursing shortage is a major challenge that contributes to different never events. This is the case because many patients are unable to access quality and timely medical care (Jebb, Esegbona-Adeigbe, Justice, & Crumbie, 2014). With proper changes, more health institutions will be able to deal with this problem. The main focus should, therefore, be on specific strategies that can increase the number of nurse practitioners (NPS). The workforce will transform the nature of nursing and eventually ensure better services are available to more patients. The management should address the problem of inadequate staffing to prevent various sentinel events.

Defining a Never Event

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (n.d.) defines a never event as a shocking medical error that should never occur (para. 1). The definition has been expanded to include various unequivocal and adverse events that can affect the health outcomes of more patients. Most of these events are surgical, care management, criminal, device or product, or environmental (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, n. d.).

Targeted Never Event

The sentinel event in the institution occurred when one of the patients received a drug intended for another client. The malpractice resulted in a serious injury thus forcing the institution to provide immediate medical support to the affected patient. The sentinel event showed conclusively that the quality of health care available in the hospital was unsatisfactory (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, n. d.). The event was discussed at the meeting because it explored the major gaps affecting the institutions performance. The individuals indicated that new practices were needed to deal with similar never events.

Examining the Validity of the Presented Statements

The individuals at the meeting indicated that the sentinel event occurred because of inadequate staffing. However, it would be wrong to generalize and argue that inadequate staffing was the main cause of the event. That being the case, I would examine the validity of the presented statements by analyzing the facts of the event (Lord, 2013). The approach would make it easier for me to identify the major circumstances, malpractices, and gaps that might have led to the sentinel event. The next step will ensure the major factor responsible for the event is clearly understood. The approach will ensure the exact cause of the never event is clearly understood (Jebb et al., 2014). Preventive measures can then be outlined after completing the analysis.

Measures to Prevent a Recurrence of the Never Event

One of the most important things in every medical institution is to prevent sentinel events. However, this goal might be unattainable because such events are caused by a wide range of factors. As a health specialist, it will be necessary to implement new measures to ensure such a sentinel event does not occur again. The first measure is ensuring that every healthcare worker is aware of the needs of different patients (Schattenkirk, 2012). The approach will promote the creation of better healthcare delivery procedures for different patients. The second procedure is ensuring all medicines are labeled properly. The labeling approach should be by the targeted patients. Proper medical records will be kept to ensure the targeted patients take their medicines promptly.

The other useful strategy is empowering nurses to calculate dosages accurately. The nurses will be allowed to collaborate with their patients. The practice will play a positive role in averting similar errors. A multi-disciplinary team should be developed to provide quality care to different patients with critical health needs. Such teams will be comprised of caregivers, patients, and their respective family members (Schattenkirk, 2012). The practice will minimize most of these errors. The healthcare professionals in the organization should be equipped with relevant resources. The workers should be empowered using effective leadership practices.

Evidence-based approaches will be supported in the healthcare institution (Lord, 2013). Different healthcare workers will be required to engage in continuous learning. This practice will make it easier for them to acquire new concepts and ideas. By so doing, the caregivers will be able to monitor the outcomes of their clients. They will design new nursing philosophies in an attempt to address the needs of their patients. This approach will ensure healthcare delivery is an ongoing process that is improved continuously (Lord, 2013, p. 124). These measures will eventually minimize most of the never events experienced in the facility.

References

Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. (n. d.). Never events. Web.

Jebb, P., Esegbona-Adeigbe, S., Justice, S., & Crumbie, A. (2014). Never say never event: Should unsafe staffing in hospitals be classed as a never event? Nursing Standard, 28(19), 28-29.

Lord, S. (2013). Are staffing levels adequate in your department: if not what are you doing about it? The Journal of Perioperative Practice, 23(6), 122-129.

Padhy, C. (2013). Total quality management: An overview. Srusti Management Review, 6(1), 119-124.

Schattenkirk, D. (2012). Building sustainable internal capacity for quality within a healthcare environment. TQM Journal, 24(4), 374-382.

Abstract

Performance assessments have always been used as a rationale to gauge the profitability of an organisation. This included use of strategic plans and other set objectives as a measure of achievement.

The qualitative and quantitative aspects of the products and services offered by an organisation were not of any significance as long as they could meet the demands of the consumers. ISO is the current tool of measuring the performance of a company since it is all inclusive and focuses on all the aspects of an organisation at the same time focusing on the treatment of the companys employees.

The purpose of this study is to check and validate the quality of the services and the wholesome performance of one of the fire brigade companies. Various strategies of Quality Assurance (QA) in this field such as the legal stipulations have been outlined and used as score-cards to find out on the quality performance of the company. It is true that every field has their own rules and therefore the rules of the jungle must be followed to the latter.

The study therefore focuses on all the areas of the Fire Brigade Company and reports on the proper training regimes, rating and performance, regular feedback as well as all the relevant statistical analysis. This ensues from appropriate methods of statistics and legally approved interpretations of the data available in order to make conclusions that appertains to QA (Maidment 59).

Introduction

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance (QA) is defined as a systematic procedure of monitoring and evaluating the various facets of a service, project, or a facility with the intention of optimizing the probability of adherence to the minimum standards used to measure quality and their achievement at the process of service execution. Despite the fact that QA does not guarantee quality products, it helps in regulating assemblies, raw materials, products and components, production related services, inspection, production processes and management. For our case QA has two main dimensions; the services offered should fit to intended objectives and the elimination of errors. The determinants of quality are the recipients of the services through their satisfaction.

Overview of Cleveland Fire Brigade

Cleveland Fire Brigade is the organization under focus in this study. This is a legal fire and rescue service whose area of jurisdiction includes; Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Cleveland and Hartlepool. The brigade derived its name from Cleveland County which saw its abolishment in 1996.

The company has fifteen fire stations, nine of which operate full time; day and night, while the remaining six are those which have the firefighters on duty residing close to the establishment and can be called to duty within five minutes upon the raising of an alarm.

Cleveland Fire Brigade Plans

Cleveland Fire Brigade has an explicit Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). This strategy is being amended if need be to gather for the increasing demands and better service provision. The recent amendment is the inclusion of the public input in the IRMP. This ensures that the information and comments of the resident of Cleveland will be of great significance to the company.

It is evident that the company has been on an upward trend in terms of serving the resident with the help of IRMP for the last three years. This is evident from the view of the individuals that the brigade has been offering effective and impactful services.

The government has intervened and subsidized on the cost of fire services which the brigade has adopted and therefore the clients get services at 25% less than the initial costs. The four year plan also includes the factors put in place to ensure that the company meets the financial challenges without compromising on the quality fire rescue service provision. It is also worth to note that the company does not adopt a new strategy before gathering feedback from all the stakeholders and the surrounding community.

The management and the leadership of the Brigade are committed to the safety of their society and place it as the core of their activities, consequently they endeavor to satisfy the rigorous standards of response to meet the needs of the employees and meet the policy requirements.

Cleveland has the record of continuously reducing the number of deaths and injuries reported over time owing to the protection, prevention and emergency response services. The company is committed to upholding the same standards though the methodology of offering the services might change (Cleveland 1).

The strategy in the IRMP proposes the decentralization of the services to the district level within of the areas of jurisdiction so as to take the services closer to the people. This will help in integrating the company with their partners at the district level as well as adopting smarter and efficient methods and as a result help in evading financial obstacles.

Methodology

Effective performance measurement is founded on a planning system which is effective and gives specifications and standards of performance for risk control and management arrangements and therefore forming a rationale for the process of measurement.

The tools used to gather information include;

1. Direct observation: this is where the conditions of the Brigade or the peoples behaviour is observed directly
2. Interviews: this involves use of structured or open ended questions both oral and written to gather information from the employees and the clients.
3. Secondary data: this involves the use of available information such as reports, records and documents to access adherence to quality.

Procedure

The following steps are key in the measurement of quality keeping in mind the fact that whole the stakeholders must be included in the process. The stakeholders in this case include: the premises of Cleveland, the plant and the equipment used, the procedures used in the company and the people who are involved in all the operations. The procedures therefore include:

Process identification

This is the first step where all the companys processes are outlined. In this case the main processes include; management arrangements, work place precautions and risk control systems

Process analysis

The identified processes are analyzed to find out if they are properly designed as per the set standards. A flow chart at this level is very significant to facilitate understanding. It is also important to involve the individuals concerned in the process so that the processes are clearly understood.

Identification of critical measures in each process

This involves the analysis of the outcomes of the identified processes. They include, time limits, the nature of the output, the manner in which it is achieved and the fact that individuals are carrying out their duties as expected. The measures should be acceptable and meaningful, simple, objective, defined, timely, cost effective and promote good behaviour (HSE 357).

Setting of the baseline for each measure

The minimum required standards of the above measures are set in order to act as the threshold measure for compliance to the standards.

Establish targets for each measure

This is the setting of the objectives of each of the measures and should be done in conjunction with the people who implement it so that it cannot be imposed on them since they are familiar with the systems.

Assignment of responsibility for collection and analysis of data

This is the level where the role of collection of data from the respective area is assigned to the available audit members or the team carrying out the measurement.

Comparison of actual performance and target

At this point it is important to lay emphasis on the success but at the same time the reasons for failures should not be overlooked. This is because the substantial performance ought to be maintained and failures to be reduced.

Decision on corrective action

The measurement data ascertained is now used to design the best practices which can be adopted to avert the situation when and where it is applicable.

Review the measures

The measures that have been derived from the studies needs review time to time to ensure that they remain relevant due to the changes in the industrial set up, however this changes should not be frequent as they might lead to confusion.

Improvement of performance measurement arrangements

This is done so as to improve the current measurement procedures so as to better the quality of the information derived. It is important to use team approach at this level and include the managers, safety representatives, supervisors and employees (Turner 96).

Discussion

Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004

This was an act of parliament in the UK which replaced the act of 1947 and applies to Wales and England only. The act clarifies the roles of rescue and fire authorities as; fire safety promotion, fire fighting, Protection of property and people from fires, Road traffic accidents rescue and other emergencies like terrorist attack or flooding (Owen and Maidment 6).

Quality Assurance in Cleveland Fire Brigade

Figure 1: Quality Assurance mark of the British Standard

The fire protection products with the related services are required to be in line with their intended purpose. Moreover they should adhere to the proper installation and maintenance provisions as stated by the British standards or the instructions from the manufacturer. The fullest form of assurance of quality is achieved through the use of third party certification concerning the services and products offered particularly those that concern fire protection.

This boosts the reliability and safety standards of the company; however this does not mean that products and services which lack the third party approval are less reliable but probably this is a sure way of quality demonstration. Third party quality guarantees comfort to the clients that the goods and services they have purchased are fitting to the purpose and compliant to the laws of the land.

The level of assurance should always be maintained across the levels of the company. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure that the subcontractors and their partners are also subjected to the same tests and therefore they are to the expected standards and competence so that the services offered are unanimously standard throughout all the stages and processes.

Quality Assurance performance of Cleveland Fire Brigade

The quality assessment of the Cleveland Fire Brigade can be better understood by focusing on the following areas;

Customer focus

The company puts the security of the people within their area of jurisdiction as a priority. This is evident when the company seeks the opinion of the consumers of their services before implementing any new policy or new procedure.

Leadership

The organization of leadership is very strategic and fits the standards set by the QA. Each of the sections is headed by competent leader. Promotions and recruitment are based on merit. It is also important to note that the personnel are always trained to suit the tasks they are assigned.

Involvement of people

The stakeholders of the Cleveland Fire Brigade are wholesomely involved in the decision making concerning the operations of the company. Their opinions are treated with utmost significance in order to serve them better. This is a good measure of quality service when the all the players are involved.

Process approach

The companys processes are well documented and are followed during service execution. The procedures adopted by Cleveland are lucid easily understood and up to date. They also give provision for continual improvement. Recruitment, decision making and revision and review of the current practices are some of the processes that the Brigade displays a high level of adherence to quality standards.

System approach to management

The management of the company is organized in such a way that they emulate a complete system where each of the level is significant to the entire system. This approach is prominent in the Brigade and thus it adheres to the recommended models of management by the quality stipulations.

Continual improvement

The Brigade acknowledges the fact that fire risk assessment process is continuous in nature and therefore it is mandatory to audit and monitor. This process will lead to ensuring that the current procedures are still relevant and at the same time ensure that the new methods are adopted. Regular assessment ensures that the changes in the Brigade are in tandem with the arising new hazards and risks. Any trivial change however does not warrant amendments but the overall significance of the change should be considered first before the changes are affected. Some of the factors considered here include;

1. Ignition sources or increased fuels due to change in processes
2. Furniture or office layout might cause obstruction to sight of fire and escape mechanisms
3. Increase in man power would mean that the fire exit is small for safe escape duration
4. Expanding the office to another floor would mean a new fire alarm system is installed.

Factual approach to decision making

The decision making process is done after consultation of all the stakeholders. This is done in liaison with a laid out strategic plan and integrated management risk plan (IRMP). It is evident therefore that the quality of decisions making in the company fulfils the minimum requirements.

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

The brigade has very good relationship with their partners and therefore they have been able to raise enough finances to run their affairs. The company is committed in making their clients live a safer life and help those who are faced by disaster in the society in various ways. This indeed is in tandem with the quality requirements.

Importance of Quality Assessment in Cleveland

Through quality adherence, the company has been able to reach global markets, maintain dependable and consistent processes, minimize wastage and meet customers requirements, uniformity, better relationship among the stakeholders and growth in efficiency and effectiveness of service provision (Department Labour Research 3).

Conclusion and Recommendations

It is recommendable therefore that the company updates themselves with the current procedures as well as maintaining the current processes which lead to better management. The Brigade should also explore world standards not only those that apply to specific countries and integrate them so that they can be wholesomely be quality compliant.

Figure 2 gives an illustration of the adherence of the company to the standards of quality Assurance (QA).The Brigade has well set policies which dictate the working proximities and guide all the processes and individuals. The processes and management of the company are well organized in such ways that they fulfill the core values of the Brigade systematically without raising confusion.

The planning and implementation of the companys activities is well outlined in the strategic plans and is all inclusive a key requirement for quality is. The activities of the company are closely monitored by the regulatory body such as the British assurance standards which gives the third party certification. Furthermore the company is on a continual review process ensuring that there operations meet the changing demands of the society.

Figure 2: measurement of performance in an health and safety

Management system

In conclusion, the Brigade has made advancement pertaining provision of quality service, processes and maintenance of good relationship among the stakeholders ((ISO), International organisation for standardisation 1).

Works Cited

(ISO), International organisation for standardisation. About ISO, n.d. Web.. <https://www.iso.org/about-us.html>.

Cleveland. Cleveland Fire Brigade, n.d. Web. <https://www.clevelandfire.gov.uk/>.

Department Labour Research. In The line of Duty Research. Kingston: College Hill Press, 2008. Print.

HSE. A guide to measuring Health and Safety Perormance; Procedure. England: Healtyh Safety Executive, 2001. Print.

Owen, Fred, and Derek Maidment. Quality assurance:A guide to the application of ISO 9001 to process plant. London: IChemE, 1996. Print.

Turner, Rodney. Gower handbook of project management. England: Gower Publishing, Ltd, 2007. Print.

Abstract

In order to ensure that their service provision and delivery is excellent, Shropshire fire and rescue services had come up with strategies that would promote this objective. Within their strategy, they focused on the needs of the service recipients through discussions and feedback systems. In addition, they ensured that cooperation between service recipients and other stake holders was reinforced. To achieve this, they worked closely with the police, youth organizations, churches et cetera.

With a reliable leadership, Shropshire fire and rescue services are confident to achieve excellent quality services to their clients through implementation of the strategies mentioned within this paper. Another good thing about the strategy of Shropshire is that it puts the future in consideration. They have put up measures to ensure consistent improvement that would reflect the changes in the internal and external environment.

After the government directives in their 2008/11 policy framework, Shropshire fire and rescue services included the policy of diversity within their strategy. They aimed at recruiting a diverse and skilled workforce that puts in consideration the community that would be receiving their services. This included minorities and gender differences. This, based on scholarly studies leads to augmentation of quality of service.

Introduction

For success in service delivery in any field, it is imperative that strategy programs are developed to give guidelines that would act as road marks upon which success can be measured. Likewise, fire and rescue services, in tandem to the spirit of cooperation with the entire government directive and the need to offer unrivalled safety and quality services, have embraced the marvel that is modern technology.

These measures are itinerary to their main principle for existence; to have strategies of service provision to ensure that residents within their respective areas of operation are safe from all dangers. To further promote proper service provision, the government also plays an integral role by providing measures upon which the service providers have to refer when forming their own strategies and projections. On the other hand, changes in the environment (both internal and external) could lead to changes in the measures enacted.

This paper will try to highlight the appropriateness of measures concerning fire and rescue services that were put up earlier in the United Kingdom and further analyze the appropriateness of the later version that was enacted in 2008. To facilitate this, Shropshire fire and rescue services will be used as the case study in the paper (safer communities 14).

Like most fire and rescue service stations, Shropshire has, as its main objective, the need to ensure that people within the region live within reasonably safe environments. Shropshire fire and rescue service operates have a good reputation and the populace think highly and very positive of them, and to maintain this rapport with the civilians the company has had to stick to its core fundamental values.

These values are multi faceted; they touch on every aspect of the society (Safer communities 16). They treasure their job as community servants and as such work hand in hand with the people. They give all members of the community fair and respectful treatment, working on their queries and giving out their best in all their undertakings.

To the people, the company first recognizes that its employees are human beings thereby treating them respectfully and fairly. It identifies the level of qualification of its employees and promotes a culture of sincerity, reliability and mutual trust. To service delivery, they encourage diversity through provision of variant solutions to the different needs of the public.

They are also an equal- opportunity employer working towards eliminating unfairness and favoritism. They also champion innovation and improvement within the organization through virtues such as open mindedness, accommodating critics and learning from their own experiences. They also encourage consultations whenever possible. All this principles are geared towards bringing out the very best in all the parties involved and ensure that quality services are rendered to the public (Communities and Local Government 14).

To ensure that they remain within their set quality objectives in service delivery, and even propel them ahead of the pack in quality service delivery, they have come up with myriad strategies to help them attain these standards. In their quest to stay afloat over current events and the evolution of crisis in the department, they have developed a master plan that guides them through the work and serves as the blue print for their services.

These are set out in the resolutions outlined Key principles of the fire and rescue service equality frame work. Enshrined in these principles are three basic concepts with which they use to gauge themselves.

The principles are based on three primary factors that focus on development, their level of achievement and their degree of excellence based on their operational rules and regulations. It is with this effect that different states have set out to enact rules and regulations running this department in correspondence to their specific and immediate needs.

Pre Reforms Era

In order to determine whether the pre-reform strategic plans were profitable and worth implementing, it is necessary that we use available standards so that clear analysis can be made. To begin with, studies point out that a good service delivery should be customer oriented.

As it is well known in the reams of business, the customer is the central and most import part of any business (Anandarajan & Viger 36). Equally, fire and rescue services need to ensure that their strategic plans are customer oriented. They should give the needs of the customers first priority. This can be done through analysis of what the customer needs and what he feels is the best approach that would reduce instances of poor service delivery.

Considering this approach, how can Shropshire fire and rescue services strategic plan be measured? It is clear that this strategy has clearly put in consideration the needs of the customer. In addition, it has diversified its customers in different categories. This assists them to identify the different needs of the different categories.

Their strategy calls for reduction of deaths that result from injuries and fires not just in the domestic but also non domestic set ups. This includes increasing the number of land and house owners with approved risk assessment for fire and injuries. The strategy also involves ensuring that proper measures are put in place to ensure that no false alarms are responded to at the expense of real fire incidents. These approaches are a clear indication of focus on customer needs and expectations.

A good service delivery must not work as an island. The people, who are actually the main recipients of the service, need to be actively involved within the operations. The plans should give every stakeholder a role to play (Anandarajan & Viger 36). In the case of Shropshire fire and rescue services, there is strategic approach that obliges the station to ensure that they actively incorporate the citizens in their endeavor to ensure that the best service is provided.

Shropshire works in consultation with community through holding of regular meetings, getting responses from local leaders and contacting interviews and questionnaires. In addition to this, Shropshire intends to work with other stakeholders like police, local safety forums, voluntary groups, churches, et cetera.

These two mentioned factors above do not only show that Shropshire is customer oriented and ready to involve new members but also brings into question another characteristic of good quality standards (Besterfield 21).

It is necessary that good quality service delivery puts into consideration mutual benefit between the service deliverer and the customer. It should be a one sided affair where the business organization benefits while the customer is subjected to suffering. In the case of Shropshire, consultation with the community helps them understand the needs of the people.

To this extend, the community benefits through proper service delivery in that their needs are met. On the other hand, the strategy calls for ways through which false alarms could be reduced. This assists in reducing wastage, not only of time but also other resources like fuel and workers who would run to attend to a false alarm.

Leadership and management play an important role in service delivery (Besterfield 21). This is the arm of the organization that plays the role of important decision making. As a result, if the decisions made are faulty, the whole system would end up faulty. At Shropshire, competence and professionalism are prerequisites in attaining managerial posts.

This makes the management of this organization reliable and worth believing in. although competence and professionalism are good attributes that can propel an organization to economic greatness; there are some factors that could still hinder this growth. These include lack of capacity to freely make decisions without interference, getting too many responsibilities within one docket, et cetera.

To curb such in eventualities, Shropshire has devolved powers so that fewer roles are bestowed upon one shoulder. Furthermore, managers are given power to make decisions without interference from other quarters. Finally, leadership in Shropshire advocates for supportive collaboration where innovation and creativity are given an upper hand (De Waal 17).

Finally, a good service delivery strategy must have room for continual improvement. Given the ever changing nature of business environments, it is necessary that measures are continually changed in order to reflect the changes in the internal and external environment.

At Shropshire, there are several measures developed to ensure that continual improvement is experienced. To achieve this, they have come up with quality service assurance policy that involves provision of avenues through which performance could be measured and assessed. In addition, the company has within its strategic road the need for embracing technology through new technological tools needed in communication. Through these tools, communication will be enhanced and hence quality services will be delivered.

Post government reforms

After some profound analysis, the government felt that the fire and rescue services in the UK were delivering averagely quality services. However, they needed to make sure that the services delivered were beyond average. They wanted to ensure that what civilians received was excellent.

As a result, they came up with a national policy framework from which the fire and rescue services were to base their quality assurance strategies and operations. Although there are several inclusions that were made, this paper will focus on the human resource strategy of diversity and see how relevant this is in the overall endeavor to ensure quality in service delivery (Communities and Local Government 16).

In the new policies, 2008/11 national policy framework, the government realized the role of human capital in service delivery. They purported that workers are the most important resource that any organization can have. In order to ensure that all the citizens within the geographical area of operation are receiving appropriate services, the government realized that it was appropriate that employment policies and procedures needed to be clearly stipulated and maintained.

To ensure the above, the government set up laws to ensure that fire and rescue services employed people with the pertinent and outstanding skills. In addition, the workers had to be taught to understand that they were potential. This could be realized through fair treatment and equality in opportunities. Finally, the chances for career development and growth had to be equal for every employee.

What could have pushed the government to force fire and rescue services to come up with a diversity policy? To begin with, the importance of diversity has been discussed in a plethora of academic work. Several studies have argued that the quality of services increase drastically if the policy of diversity and inclusion is adopted.

First, within a diverse workplace, there is a great pool of talent in which quality can be experienced. When the work place is made up of people from all races, religious back grounds, sexual orientations et cetera, the wide nature of the skills and knowledge allows the organization to get almost every skill required for a given role (Communities and Local Government 24).

In addition to a wider pool from which talents can be tapped, diversity also allows for diversity of views. This means that tackling a given task could end up with quality outcome as a result of variety in approaches given by the variety of back grounds and view points. Finally, diversity kills discrimination. Within a diverse climate, there are reduced chances of discrimination not just in the work place but also to the customers and other service recipients. How, therefore can this be of importance to quality assurance strategy of Shropshire fire and rescue services?

In order to ensure that they are operating within the governmental expectations and also for the benefit of their own productivity, Shropshire fire and rescue services developed a revised edition of quality assurance strategy that put into consideration diversity and inclusion. The main objective of this new strategy was to ensure that no employee was harassed or discriminated.

Every employee had to feel welcome and part of the Shropshire fire and rescue services team. In their own words, we recognize the importance that there are no barriers inhibiting accessibility to an equitable standard of service provision and fairness in employment and we will make reasonable adjustments where necessary to achieve this (Community Safety 22).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Although the service provision of Shropshire was good before the reforms, it is clear that the new directives by the government would not only improve on their own wellbeing but also the wellbeing of the society as a whole. Their quality assurance strategy, when measured against the standards, shows that their services were good. However, unavailability of diversity programs could have been a draw back to overall quality delivery.

For instance, some areas never received services due to lack of diversity and discrimination. A good example of such areas is Eastern Europe. However, in the new directives, Shropshire has adopted a diversity focused strategy which involves recruitment of workforce that reflects the communitys diversity. It also includes recruitment of minorities and people from remote areas like Eastern Europe.

By doing this, they believe that service provision will not just remain an affair for Western Europe but Europe as a whole. Through the diverse workforce, workers from the minority groups will be able to champion for quality service delivery for their people from remote areas (Community Safety 23).

With such changes, it is clear that the service provision for Shropshire will increase. Given the mentioned importance of diversity in work place, the inclusion of this policy in the quality assurance strategy of Shropshire is a step forward that would increase the talent pool, views and opinions, reduce discrimination and champion for formerly neglected regions like Eastern Europe.

Works Cited

Anandarajan, Ali and Charles Viger. The role of quality cost information in decision making: An experimental investigation of pricing decisions. Advances in Management Accounting 10 (2001): 227-249. Print.

Besterfield, Dale. Quality Control: A Practical Approach. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1979. Print.

Communities and Local Government. Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2008/11. Feb, 2011. Web.

De Waal, Andre. Power of Performance Management: How Leading Companies Create Sustained Value. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Print.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service. Safer Communities Core Strategies, 2006-2009. Feb, 2011. Web.

Community Safety Prevention Business Plan 2008/11. Feb, 2011. Web.

Standards and Standardization

Over a period of time, standardization has been widely known as a process that entails developing and implementing technical commodities standards. Commodities in this case include services and products. Standardization as applicable in social sciences is closely allied to the good-natured solutions for harmonizing problems (Barker & Aydin 1991, p.21).

Often, the term refers to a state where each partaking party is bound to realize shared gains by making mutually consistent decisions. Standards can only be achieved when appropriate decisions are ratified and consistent decisions are made.

Standardization is regarded as an obligation in the current organizational backgrounds. It represents one of the most proficient techniques used to maximize on the utilization of organization resources. It has been embraced at international levels by multinational corporations that are compelled to do so by the globalized markets.

In fact, market globalization call for regulations and standards that have the capacity to provide corporations with eminence unification conditions that are integral in a wide-range of marketable products.

Standardization has been used by multinational corporations for recognitions as well as to take standards elaboration and implementation initiatives (Barker & Aydin 1991, p.21).

This is necessary since commercial enterprises and clients attitudes are based on standardization, believing that corporations that give priorities to standardizations have the chance to dominate the market.

Basically, consumers materialize to be an imperative force which pushes for standardization. They always require commodities that have high market standards. This implies that corporations are obliged to implement standards which link up with product qualities being presented to the market.

Thus, corporations find it a conditional practice that must be approved in order to expand and maintain their consumer bases. The consumer demand impacts are apparent in standardized activities that corporations assume in order to harmonize the efforts of the producers so as to accomplish the individual client complex needs (Barker & Aydin 1991, p.28).

Consumers similarly struggle to stimulate collectivities via selecting products which nearly reflect and correspond to the recipients requirements.

Selecting an adequate solution for a need requires familiarity with the market atmosphere and the consumers. For instance, consumers always choose an ambient cost-effective product from a corporation besides gauging its operational efficiency.

The precise and clear definitions of the characteristics of a particular product quantity always tend to amass the consumers loyalty and faith with respect to enterprise, trade and economic ventures within the entrepreneurial purlieu. It allows for the commercialization and development of markets procedural precincts considering client-provider relations.

Such an association requires that the technical clients support and any other technicalities be clarified taking into account the commodities technical systems. When client oriented technical system is provided, it might be deemed as product and service facet of particular fields.

The specific field aspects include legal, organizational, economical, technical and social fields (Barker & Aydin 1991, p.31). Furthermore, it can be linked to isolated activities namely environmental and consumer protections as well as engineering.

The concepts cited in standards can be accredited to the fundamental specialty discipline principles that warrant grounds for systematic terminologies.

Usually, the ideas approach the general and practical modalities of the real-world phenomenon which develops collaborations within the varied science branches. In regard to this, standardization emanates as a basic constituent of the entire scientific activity (Kinney & Clark 2004, p.297).

Standardization places consumers rights amongst its various perspectives. In most organizations, consumers safety falls under the prioritized aspects considered to be of great essence. Food safety is a clear example that most corporations deem as an isolated and significant concept. Generally, the perspective has hosted variations within the legal and economic systems of various global corporations.

The food safety area has ideally endured modifications from the implementation of universal market regulations that the European Community approved. This community affirmed the regulations and recommendations for suitable foodstuffs (Kinney & Clark 2004, p.301).

For corporations to fully participate in the universal food market, it is a requirement that they must keep to high standardization levels, adhere to civil rights movements and official governments controls.

Corporations are bound to observe the safety of consumers as they exercise entrepreneurial undertakings within the free trade marketplaces. In the recent years, the food safety standardization seems to have been strictly shadowed by various legislations.

The whole chain of food production has experienced amendments for instance, corporations seek to observe the manner in which food crops are grown and animals are raised prior to reaching the consumers.

Higher responsibility standards are set for producers by such corporations concerning food safety and quality (Barker & Aydin 1991, p.31). The stipulations are that any food that is to be taken to the market ought to be safe for consumption purposes and must not cause any disease to the consumers.

A handy assessment of the food security regulations discloses that the European Union and the U.S. extremely honor consumers food security. In fact, various common wealth nations want corporations to adhere to food security as a prerogative. To monitor consumer food security, numerous regulations have been set by state administrations. These regulations are firmly traced by specific government regulatory bodies.

The main aim of the regulations is to warrant high food safety standards. This entails protecting the basic consumers interests and health via closely monitoring the entire process relating to food products sales, processing, transportation, production, food chain and storage.

The vibrant and preemptive principles concerning food safety consist of the consumers protection policies which embrace integrated and wide-ranging approaches (Regulation, 2002).

Corporations in the recent years appear to integrate technical discussions in food productions. The foundation with respect to human health right is considered the utmost reasonable standard given that it must be organized in a sustainable, systematic and operational modus.

According to Hise (n.d., p.15) assertions, corporations which provide health services that are derived from international standards tend to implement integrated, operative and realistic health systems.

Health providing corporations embrace health related determinants and medical cares which are entirely responsive to both international and local precedence that are deemed wholly accessible. The corporations institute standards which replicate service quality being offered (Hise n.d., p.19).

Health service quality standards are reliant on medicine interventions and public health insights. Kinney and Clark (2004, p.292) assert that each and every individual has a right to standard and available healthcare services. Often, standardized health services tend to warrant the population with an operative healthcare system.

Corporation which offer standard health services mostly prosper as a result of the loyalty and acceptability they attain from the global marketplaces. E-commerce has greatly contributed to the amplification of reliable corporations clients base given that consumers usually seek better health providers advice and information from friends.

Any corporation that does not set high service standards is bound to fail from negative publicity ensuing from the provision of grave and prevalent human rights health problems.

Basically, patients are believed to have the rights to high standard and accessible health services. The strengthening as well as the development of health systems is perceived to be very essential in achieving poverty reduction, economic affluence and securing sustainable development from a vigorous population.

In most global nations, the consumers rights with respect to the delivery of high healthcare standards are constitutionally enshrined (Freedman, 2005, p.20). In states where consumers rights health standards are not incorporated in the constitution, the health service standards are instituted by various enforced human rights accords.

Systems which reflect high health service standards appear to be apprehensive of the consumers rights. Such corporations are attributable to certain features including the citizens rights to operational perspectives which ensure that producers meet the utmost attainable service standards.

The attributes further entails the consumers right to view the corporations health in order to strengthen the health systems as the international health standards require. These standards are particularly emulated by the employees found within the corporations that offer health services.

Another important attribute of the health care service provision standards appertains to the welfare of the individuals, populations and the communities. These standards are specifically revealed when technical health matters incorporate experts (Kinney & Clark, 2004, p.301).

Quality assurance standards (QA)

DNA Advisory Board (DAB) QA

Basically, this is a QA panel that was instituted under the DNA Identification Act to review and improve quality assurance acclaimed principles. The DNA Advisory Board realizes its undertakings through commending QA principles to innumerable administrations including QA principles for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories.

These standards categorically define the quality assurance obligations that should be followed to warrant the reliability and quality of data produced by laboratories which utilize the combined DNA index system or perform forensic DNA tests.

The standards are thus particularly apprehensive of safety. They are general and this always results into varying interpretations (Nfstc, n.d, p.1). In fact, the program requires that all laboratories should inaugurate and similarly advance documented quality structures.

According to DNA Advisory Board (1998) stipulations, any adopted system must be suitable during the testing procedures. The generalization of these standards implies that they need expert staffs to perform specific operations.

Furthermore, the standards take into consideration vendor laboratories which execute scientific DNA tests according to Standard Seventeen (17). However, the participations of laboratories are not precluded either in collaboration with the others or by themselves on research and development relating to practices and actions that hitherto have not been corroborated (FBI, 2009).

ESG European QA Standards

The E4 set which consist of of the European symbolic groups namely universities, scholars, new higher education institutes and QA organizations merged to improve the European Standards and Guidelines for QA (ESG).

The guidelines and standards were designed for application to the European quality assurance agencies as well as to each and every higher education institution irrespective of its size, function, structure and national systems where they are situated. ESG was purposely designed to offer quality assurance by improving transparency and promoting mutual trust whereas respecting subject areas and national contexts diversities.

It is not avowed that detailed procedures should be incorporated in the report recommendations chapter given that agency and institutional procedures emerged to be imperative components of their autonomies. The agencies and institutions are bound to cooperate within their individualized contexts when deciding on the technical significances of approving these standards (Bernhard, 2011, p.91).

The ESG report encloses principles, recommendations and procedures that distinguish the states higher education classification preeminence, the worth of the supporting organizations and formal independences within such state systems as well as the definite necessities for the diverse learning subjects. The guidelines and standards are indebted to the knowledge acquired thru ENQA, TEEP coordinated pilot project.

Consistent with the institutional autonomy principles, quality assurance has a basic responsibility in higher educational systems which lie with every institution. It offers the foundation for actual responsibility of the educational systems within the state quality context (Bernhard, 2011, p.91).

Therefore, with regard to procedures and principles, a proper equilibrium has been tailed amid the responsibilities being assumed by the peripheral QA processes and improvement as well as the conception of the interior quality philosophies.

Petrochemical and Natural Gas Industries Quality Standard (ISO/TS 29001)

This is visualized as a common and inimitable source of global sectorial quality management standard (Gasiorowski, 2003).

This quality assurance standard addresses the well-being and protection of both the personnel as well as the public. ISO/TS 29001 seeks after ensuring that surrounding environment is well protected and profit streams for both the corporations and national economies are well maintained (Global Group, 2008).

Business Excellence Models (BEM)

BEM is perceived as a remarkable administrative exercise which leads to the realization of outcomes that are anchored on a set of primary principles or conceptions. This practice has generated models stipulating how global organizations ought to operate.

Indeed, business excellence models have developed and continuously advance via studies conducted on this practice alongside the values bequeathed to the universally highest performing corporations. Two of the renowned business excellence models are the Malcolm Baldrige Award (MBNQA) and the Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF).

Baldrige Model

Similarly dubbed as Performance Excellence Criteria, the model is alleged to be the utmost effective and prevalent business excellence model set up in the western countries. It was launched by the United States government and it is currently being used by more than twenty five nations who base their frameworks upon it (Nadi, 2001, p.15).

Basically, the Baldrige Criteria comprises of practices which are integrated into six methodological categories and results scope assessment category. The results assessment and approach categories include:

• Workforce focus.
• Market and clients focus.
• Process management.
• Strategic planning.
• Leadership.
• Business results and,
• Knowledge management, analysis and measurement.

The Baldrige Values take account of;

• Systems perspectives.
• Management by facts.
• Personal and organizational learning.
• Focus on the future.
• Visionary leadership.
• Managing for innovation.
• Social responsibility.
• Agility.
• Valuing partners and partners.
• Focus on creating value and results.
• Customer driven excellence.

Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF)

ABEF is non-prescriptive management and leadership system which describes the critical organizational systems elements on the basis of twelve quality principles and seven categories (Nadi, 2001, p.28).

Quality principles:

• Organizational goals can be achieved when there are clear directions that permits organizational focus and alignment.
• Organizational directions can be translated into actions through jointly agreed plans.
• Organizational action, direction and strategy can only be influenced by understanding the current and future clients values.
• When systems and the associated processes are improved, the outcomes will be improved.
• Organizational potentiality can be realized via its personnel participation, resourcefulness and enthusiasm.
• Innovations and continual improvements ensue from constant learning.
• To improve the outcomes, employees need to work on the systems while all work in the systems.
• When knowledge, facts and data are effectively used, they might give rise to better decisions.
• Performance and predictability are impacted when all procedures and systems display variability.
• Organizations can offer community value if the undertaken actions warrant prosperity, safe, clean and fair society.
• Organizational capacity to generate and distribute values to all stakeholders determine its sustainability.
• For an organization to attain its full potentials, these principles must be constantly role modeled by the senior leadership while creating supportive environment for their adoption.

The categories:

• Business results.
• People.
• Innovation and leadership.
• Services, products and processes.
• Market and customer focus.
• Knowledge and data information.
• Planning and strategic processes.

Conclusion

In its broad sense, quality assurance standard relates to any set of action that has been selected, assumed and implemented so as to avert the occurrence of any quality problem. Business enterprises usually implement quality assurance standards to demonstrate their commitments towards the delivery of quality services and products to the consumers.

Practically, this implies devising systems that could be used to carry out responsibilities that might directly impact on the quality of products. QA documents how corporations intend to meet the clients requirements in a reliable and systematic manner. However, QA does not warrant quality product.

Conversely, most nations have developed their specific business excellence models which they use as frameworks in assessing and recognizing organizations performance via the award programmes.

As outlines that corporations and businesses might adopt, BEM offers assistance to businesses to tailor their activities and beliefs in a well-structured and logical modus which brings about enhanced performance. The ABEF and Baldrige Criteria models seem to be wide-ranging given that they revolve around all administrative scopes and parts, particularly aspects which foster organizational performance.

References

Barker, A. T. & Aydin, N. 1991, Implications of Standardization in Global Markets. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, vol.3 no.4, pp.15-34.

Bernhard, A. 2011, Quality assurance in an international higher education area: A case study approach and comparative analysis, Springer, Florence.

DNA Advisory Board 1998, Quality assurance standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories. Web.

FBI 2009, Quality assurance standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories. Web.

Freedman, L 2005, Achieving the MDGs: Health systems as core social institutions, Development, vol. 48 no.1, pp. 19-24.

Gasiorowski, E. 2003, Quality management system for the oil and natural gas industry. Web.

Global Group, 2008, ISO/TS 29001: Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries specific quality management systems. Web.

Hise, R. Are US companies employing standardization or adaptation strategies in their international markets? Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies. Web.

Kinney, E. & Clark, B. 2004, Provisions for health and health care in the constitutions of the countries of the world, Cornell International Law Journal, 37, pp. 285355.

Nadi, F 2001, The quest for global competitiveness through national quality and business excellence awards. Web.

Nfstc, Quality assurance standards for forensic DNA testing laboratories (QAS). Web.

Responsibilities of the Continuing Airworthiness Manager and the Staff

Continuing airworthiness managers ensure that they carry out pre-flight inspections on aircraft. Pre-flight inspections are achieved through the drafting of appropriate airworthiness management exposition; to be used by the CAMO staff. In particular, the continuing Airworthiness exposition guidelines will help CAMO staff in carrying out maintenance activities on aircraft before they go airborne (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002: 23).

Continuing airworthiness manager and staff also ensure that they rectify any defect and damage affecting the normal operation of aircraft. However, while performing this role, they must take into account the requirements of the configuration deviation list which normally specify maintenance requirements for aircraft. The arrangements contained in the airworthiness management exposition should be coordinated to ensure that maintenance activities lead to airworthiness. The manager and the staff will be more concerned with the fulfillment of operator and aircraft registration holder requirements. Failure to adhere to the requirements can lead to accidents.

The preparation of monthly reliability reports that assess the technical reliability of the aircraft fleet is also undertaken by the CAMO staff members. In particular, the maintenance planning staff ensures that they perform A Checks and C Checks of aircraft. The quality assurance team ensures that they oversee the work being done by the maintenance planning staff. The work of the maintenance planning team and maintenance control staff should meet the set guidelines contained in the Maintenance Control Manual (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002: 25).

The continuing airworthiness management exposition must ensure that there is clarity on who is responsible for certain tasks. In particular, the exposition must state the organization’s commitment to providing continuing airworthiness. In addition, the exposition must clearly state the names of staff members in charge of various maintenance duties (Dalamagkidis, Valavanis, and Piegl, 2011: 72).

Airworthiness maintenance is not complete without coordination of scheduled maintenance. Managers ensure that they coordinate scheduled maintenance activities. The activities ensure that there is the appliance of airworthiness commands to the replacement of aircraft parts that are limited, and performance of component inspections to ensure that maintenance work is carried out properly (Dalamagkidis, Valavanis, and Piegl, 2011: 72).

Consequently, the continuing airworthiness manager ensures that he or she becomes responsible for ensuring that the CAMO organization works according to the set outlaws in the CASR. In particular, the organization manager must ensure that there is compliance with the aircraft maintenance program as outline in the CASR laws of practice. Other roles that must be conducted by the manager and the staff include the approval of the design for modifications, honoring the manufactures instructions concerning spare parts installation, approving maintenance programs, and using reliability programs in ensuring that maintenance programs are effective (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002).

For an individual to become approved as a continuing airworthiness manager, they must have appropriate knowledge in dealing with continuing management exposition. This ensures that all maintenance activities are in line with the rules and regulations of the operator and aircraft manufacture. In addition, the CAMO manager must have an appreciation of the operator’s approved system in carrying out maintenance duties. Operators often have their own requirements unique to every aircraft. Further, the manager must ensure that he demonstrates a clear understanding of the laws and regulations. Finally, the manager must have qualifications, and relevant experience, in aircraft management, or maintenance practices in aircraft (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002).

Control over all aircraft maintenance that is completed at the Approved Maintenance Organization (AMO) on the Operator’s aircraft

Controlling aircraft maintenance at the CAMO will be successful when the responsibilities of these three areas are carried out effectively. The areas include technical services, maintenance planning, maintenance watch, and ensuring that quality assurance guidelines are met. In achieving success at the organization, I will ensure that the technical services department is continuously involved in maintaining airworthiness control. In particular, I will ensure that the department comes up with monthly reliability reports that contain reliable information concerning the technical reliability of the aircraft fleet (Price and Forrest, 2009: 37).

The next indispensable duty in controlling aircraft maintenance at the organization will involve conducting A Checks and C Checks. I will ensure that the maintenance planning process comes up with a work schedule on how the maintenance activities will be carried out. The work schedule will help me, as a manager, to have a 24-hour surveillance activity in ensuring that technical reliability is achieved at the organization (Price and Forrest, 2009: 77).

Consequently, the maintenance Control Manual will have to be used in carrying out maintenance duties. The maintenance control manual has operator instruction on what should be done when defects are detected in aircraft. In particular, I will ensure that the quality assurance team is functional. They will ensure that they have control over technical oversight over maintenance providers and maintenance control staff (Price and Forrest, 2009).

I will also engage in preparing Continuing Airworthiness Exposition. The exposition will have to be based on the requirements of CASA; this is the only way to ensure that rules and regulations concerning aircraft maintenance are followed. I will also ensure that the CAMO personnel uses the exposition procedures as a guide in carrying out operational and maintenance of operator’s aircraft (Price and Forrest, 2009: 17).

The success of the CAMO depends on making follow-ups. Responsibilities given to various persons must be monitored. Every staff member must be made responsible for their actions. In particular, organizational structure sets out the duties but not a chain of command. The responsible persons will have the authority from the Registered Operator to develop an effective system of carrying out maintenance activities on aircraft. Further, as CAMO manager, I will ensure that the organization complies with the Aviation Authority’s regulations in achieving the airworthiness of aircraft (Price and Forrest, 2009).

Significance of CAMO Quality Assurance (within CAMO)

Quality assurance within CAMO ensures that there is compliance with CASR laws and the relevancy of CAMO procedures. In addition, quality assurance ensures that there are standard maintenance practices being carried out on aircraft. In particular, quality assurance ensures that the maintenance practices meet the requirements set out in CASR Part 42. Consequently, quality assurance ensures that CAMO organizations engage in the collection and recording of all audit findings (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002).

Quality assurance within AMO ensures that there is the monitoring of quality systems being provided by the maintenance provider. In addition, the quality assurance team within AMO also ensures that the operator’s quality policies are adhered to. Further, they also ensure that the maintenance control manual (MCM) is used when carrying out maintenance practices to the aircraft. Effective airworthiness can only be achieved through the use of a maintenance control manual. The quality assurance team ensures that no aircraft is serviced without strict adherence to the maintenance control manual. MCM and CASA documents are valuable documents relevant to the CAMO and AMO (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2002).

The adherence to MCM and CASA guidelines is achieved through frequent audits done by the quality assurance team. In particular, quality assurance assesses the provider’s procedures and practices to determine whether they adhere to MCM and CASA guidelines.

References

Australian Transport Safety Bureau (2002), Investigation Into Ansett Australia Maintenance Safety Deficiencies And Control Of Continuing Airworthiness Of Class A Aircraft, Sydney: The Bureau.

Dalamagkidis, K., Valavanis, K and Piegl, L (2011), On Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the National Airspace System: Issues. Challenges, Operational Restrictions, Certification, and Recommendations, New York: Springer.

Price, J and Forrest, J (2009), Practical Aviation Security: Predicting and Preventing Future Threats, Sydney: Butterworth-Heinemann.

The Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) refers to a comprehensive safety program designed to address safety in the aviation industry by allowing pilots and commercial airlines to share aggregate flight data with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continuously. The FOQA aims at identifying and reducing safety risks through partnerships between airlines, pilots, and FAA.

FOQA also aims at ensuring that operators observe FAA regulations concerning duty/rest periods of the cabin crew to minimize fatigue-related accidents/incidents.

Aviation safety is a major concern in the aviation industry. Accidents result in the loss of human lives and hamper consumer confidence, which, from a commercial perspective, affects the growth of the aviation industry. Normally, commercial airlines have internal safety management systems that analyze flight data to establish the causes of accidents or incidents. In FOQA, specific flight data undergoes preliminary analysis by flight data analysts to identify if pilots infringe flight guidelines (Holtom, 2000, p. 11). Subsequently, analysts review the data before consulting the pilot flying the aircraft. Therefore, the FOQA program is essential in noting any unsafe aviation practices to avoid future accidents.

In the aviation industry, the majority of accidents arise from a combination of organizational or technical failures. Therefore, analysts should investigate safety incidences using flight data and recommend effective measures to prevent future accidents/incidents. FOQA facilitates the pooling of flight data from many airlines to identify trends in the aviation industry and implement measures to correct such trends and avoid accidents (FAA, 2004, p.220). Most importantly, under the FOQA program, flight data analysts can collect and analyze flight data during normal operations through a Flight Data Monitoring program. This helps in the early identification of unsafe trends before an incident/accident occurs.

Essentially, FOQA aims at recognizing unsafe practices that if not corrected would contribute to an accident. Additionally, FOQA involves a follow-up and monitoring program to assess impending unsafe flight conditions regularly to promote aviation safety. It focuses on aviation trends as opposed to specific flights and is a continuous monitoring process. Most importantly, FOQA analysis does not aim at faulting or punishing the crew or airline companies for organizational or systemic failures. FOQA is limited to commercial flight operations and not military flight operations. The flight data for a specific flight operation is captured, processed, and recorded aboard the aircraft. This data is then analyzed using specific software tools to identify trends and violations of the FAA guidelines.

The data is also important in the reconstruction of the flight path for the crew during safety incidences. The processed data is also essential in the identification of potential events that might result in an error during flights (Ramana, 2001, p.143). Usually, a combination of multiple events contributes to unsafe flight operations. These events or actions can be identified from the processed data. Additionally, from the analyzed data, precursors that indicate unsafe flight conditions can be identified. However, FOQA programs have limitations. Pilots may be reluctant to provide flight data to FOQA for fear of punishment. In addition, the transmission of flight data during the monitoring process may not be secure hence putting the airlines at risk.

In conclusion, the FOQA program ensures aviation safety through the acquisition of aggregate flight data and specialized analysis to identify unsafe aviation trends early. Various techniques are used in the data acquisition, data analysis, and transmission to a flight for flight path reconstruction. Thus, FOQA focuses on identifying unsafe trends and ways of correcting them to avoid accidents/incidences and promote aviation safety.

Reference List

FAA. (2006). The agency’s Air Transportation Operations Inspector’s Handbook. Flight Standards Information Management System. (FSIMS).

Holtom, M. (2000). Properly managed FOQA Programme Represents an Important Safety Tool for Airlines. ICAO Journal, 5, 11-14.

Ramana, M. (2001). Flight Operational Quality Assurance through Exploitation of Flight Data Recorders. QuEST, 143.

Executive Summary

Remington Hotel is a large hotel located at the airport and is involved in checking in passengers who want to spend their nights at the airport. The hotel is very large comprising of more than 100 rooms spread across adjacent buildings. It is important for this hotel to provide high quality services to the customers since it is the quality of the services that will either draw the customers to the hotel or drive them away.

These services have to be offered expertly by front desk attendants who serve the guests on a daily basis. It is the endeavor of Remington Hotel to provide its customers with the best services ever. As part of this endeavor, earlier in the year before Lewis joined the hotel, they conducted a service quality assessment to determine the satisfaction of the hotel guests with the services provided. The hotel guests were supposed to provide information on the service dimensions including tangibles like rooms and lounges, assurance, responsiveness and empathy.

The kind of assessment provided by the management was a scale rated up to seven given to the hotel guests to fill. This was a suitable method for the hotel management to determine the level of service quality in Remington Hotel (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010).

Introduction

Hotels located at the airports are crucial facilities that provide services to passengers on transit. This report basically documents my experience after being transferred to Remington Hotel to improve the services at the hotel. One of the reasons why I am transferred to this hotel is because of the good performance I have exhibited in my previous work places. Before joining Remington, I was fully aware of the challenges I was bound to encounter in this new place of work.

This is due to the high number of passengers who check in at the hotel necessitating the establishment of an efficient system to ensure that all guests are handled effectively. There are only two front desk assistants involved in the process of checking in the guests which proves to be quite a hard task (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010). These are some of the challenges that I am expected to deal with.

Findings

Right from the onset, I knew that there was a big challenge to be dealt with and what I witnessed on my first day at Remington confirmed my anticipations. There were about 20 guests waiting to be cleared when a vehicle arrived with 80 more guests also to be checked in. This implies that there were about 100 guests to be checked in by only two front desk agents. However, after 40 minutes the agents had managed to check in all the guests. Despite the fact that the front desk agents had managed to check in all guests within this time frame, I did though get wind of other challenges existing in Remington within the first day.

As I was preparing the ideas that I was supposed to discuss with you on how to improve the service delivery in the hotel, a guest showed up and explained that he was not satisfied with the services offered in the hotel. The guest said that he had called at the hotel after seeing its advertisement and was confident that he was going to get relevant services from the hotel. However, since it was during the day he was informed that there were no services being offered during the day. What this passenger wanted was to secure a room before it was late as he waited for his luggage (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010).

Analysis

Service Quality Gaps at Remington Hotel

In my opinion, there are numerous service gaps at Remington that should be addressed. Instead of the employees providing a satisfactory answer to the guest, the hotel employee who was approached by Spencer simply said that the services were not available during the day. I believe this is knowledge gap among the employees of the hotel because they could not provide information from an informed point of view.

The employee could have explained to the guest the procedures of operation of the hotel and probably inform the guest of the most appropriate time to look for a room. This would have been a satisfactory answer to the guest because he really hoped that the essence of an airport facility was to assist in such situations.

The other gap I have identified from what Madeline witnessed in her first day at Remington is that there is lack of good service delivery at Remington. This is witnessed in the lack of willingness among the employees to assist the guests. For instance, when more guests arrived at the front desk some minutes before 11 p.m, they had to stay there for long. This is because one of the front desk attendants was supposed to be off duty exactly at 11 pm.

It would have been better for this attendant to wait a little bit longer and assist the other colleague in checking in the guests. This definitely shows that there is a gap in service delivery among the hotel employees. In places where service delivery is given the first priority, employees would not be in a rush to leave guests unattended to just because they have to go off duty.

Another gap I identified from what I observed on my first day is the failure to assist guests in delivering their luggage to their rooms. After Mr. Spencer and his wife got a room, they were supposed to walk a certain distance carrying their bags. Their situation was made problematic by the fact that they were also supposed to carry their son who was asleep. They tried to ask for help but they were unfortunately informed that there were no people available to assist them during that time of the night (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010).

In my view, this is a big gap in service delivery in Remington hotel since there are no delivery mechanisms for clients to get their luggage to their rooms. Since the management of the hotel is aware of the fact that the hotel rooms are not in the same place and guests might be forced to walk a little bit longer distance, they should ensure that guests have a way of delivering their luggage to the rooms. For example, it was very inconveniencing for Spencer to be left to struggle with the luggage together with his wife yet they also had to carry their child who was asleep.

Service Quality Dimension to be improved first

After my arrival at Remington, you expressed your desire to get some ideas from me on how to improve service quality at Remington. To help me in accomplishing this goal, you presented me with data collected earlier in the year.

The data was collected from amongst the guests visiting the hotel where they were required to give their feedback on the quality of services they received. The mode of rating was a 1-7 scale with 1 being an indicator that they strongly disagreed with the service quality while 7 indicated that they strongly agreed with the service delivery. The rating was based on all dimensions ranging from the tangibles such as the rooms, lounges and dining facilities. Other dimensions evaluated included responsiveness, reliability, empathy and assurance (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010).

From the data you handed over to me, the area where the participants expressed their greatest dissatisfaction is the area of assurance. As a result, this is the area that I am supposed to focus on first in order to improve it. In any organization, it is always wise and beneficial to identify areas of weakness and improve them first. It is not logical to continue concentrating on some areas when there are areas that already require immediate action.

According to the scale that was being used, assurance scored 5 which indicated that it is the area the guests strongly disagreed with. This implies that the perception of the guests was that they needed to be surer of the services they were getting. This could have been occasioned by some of the incidents that they had already reported. For example, after all the hassle Spencer had gone through in his attempts of getting a room, he finally went to the room and his wife and found that the room had been booked. For the guests the indication is that one can be allocated a room yet the room has been allocated another person. It is really important for me to improve assurance for guests to have confidence in the services they get.

Impact of Reviewed Files on my Decision Making

From my observations on my first day in Remington, it is apparent that there is knowledge gap among the front desk attendants who are supposed to check in the guests. Brit Spencer who presented his case me only wanted to secure a room before it was dark as he waited for his luggage (Hoffman & Bateson, 2010). It is obvious that after Remington announced its commencement of services at the airport that the hotel was expecting guests to start checking in. Spencer definitely expected to get services at this time because this is the essence of such facilities in airports. The answer that he got from the front desk attendants confirms that there is knowledge gap that needs to be addressed.

The report on customer expectation indicated that the customer expectation for assurance was 5 in the scale. Although as I took over office assurance showed the poorest results, the data collected by my predecessor indicated that this was actually what the customers expected. This impacts the decision I made in choosing assurance as the first area to be improved positively. As attempts to improve assurance are underway, I need to put more effort to surpass the expectations of the customers because their satisfaction will be higher when the services provided go beyond their expectations

Information I Require to Improve Service Quality

It is crucial for a new employee to have full knowledge of the new organization or place of work in order to start off well (Kandampully & Mok, 2001). Lack of enough knowledge on a new enterprise will often lead to problems in running activities. In my opinion, it is important to know what motivates the employees of Remington since motivation is an important factor in performance. Motivated employees always exhibit high performance as opposed to de-motivated ones. Once she knows how to motivate the employees, they will in turn improve service delivery to the customers and the result will be increased satisfaction for the customers.

There are different ways of motivating employees in a bid to improve their performance at the work place. For instance, hard work and exceptional performance should always be rewarded. I should focus on identifying employees who work hard and give incentives to them. Another piece of information I should possess in order to improve service quality at Remington is to identify the historical performance of the different departments in the hotel.

This will make sure that departments that have always performed poorly do continue with their poor performance but rather strategize on improving their performance. This may also instigate good performance since various departments will be working hard to avoid being identified as one of the poor performers.

Recommendations

It is clear from this report that there is need for Remington Hotel to improve the service quality since many passengers rely on the hotel. Its strategic location at the airport implies that it is a crucial facility that is expected to provide excellent services to guests without failing them. There are gaps that require immediate action and this justifies the idea of my being transferred to the hotel. I will come up with sound strategies of ensuring that I live up to the high expectations Remington hotel has on me. In my opinion, some of the strategies that I can put in place include educating the employees of the hotel on how to deal with guests and attending to their needs effectively.

The employees are the people who are in direct contact with the guests and are crucial in either painting a good or a bad image of the hotel. I will also hold regular meetings with heads of various departments to get reports on how the employees are performing their duties. Such close monitoring will keep employees on toes and facilitate rectification of areas where there might be anomalies. This will ensure that there are no complaints from guests like the ones Madeline faced on her first day in Remington.

Conclusion

This report has focused on a case study of service delivery at Remington Hotel. The hotel is taken as a crucial point of providing services at the airport. As a newly posted manager in the hotel from my past sterling performance elsewhere, I can immensely assist in improving the service quality at Remington hotel. From the previously collected data, a lot needs to be done making the task of improving the service quality a challenging one.

References

Hoffman, D., & Bateson, J. (2010). Services Marketing:Concepts,Strategies & Caases. Australia: Cengage Learning.

Kandampully, J., & Mok, C. (2001). Service quality management in hospitality, tourism, and leisure. New York: Routledge.

Aims and objectives

This research seeks to explore the quality standard and also review several quality assurance systems applied by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

It will conclusively identify and recommend ways in which the research findings can be disseminated.

Introduction

Quality is the level to which integral characteristics measure up to required and mandatory standards.

Quality assurance systems are benchmarks put in place to continuously evaluate the organization’s performance.

They also are considered to gauge a given organization performance relative to other organizations in the same field.

Quality Assurance Systems

The quality assurance systems have guidelines tackling issues in work and operating environments.

Quality assurance relies on the approval of entities outside the organization. This approval is given after an assessment of the system to check conformity.

Incident Recording Systems (IRS)

• Are event recording systems used to electronically collect and confirm data?
• The collected data is used by fire officers, making them able to make quick and valid decisions.
• The data collected is uploaded to a web-based form for analysis to improve response to similar incidents.
• After analysis, the data is then published, which is simply to send the information to the Community for Local Government(CLG) (Hoyle 57).
• The IRS is also advantageous in its function of printing standard reports and ease of retrieval of the reports for use in other systems.

Integrated Risk Management Plan

• The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue plans to have a protected society by minimizing the losses from fire and other incidents. To attain this, it uses a command system to predict responses and plan for appropriate resources and training.
• The Fire Service Emergency Cover (FSEC) is adopted to analyze threats posed to communities.
• The FSEC also has lifestyle data to evaluate and pinpoint the persons who are at risk
• The plan is frequently reviewed to ensure that the plan is updated on risk information contained.
• The plan works under these phases:
  • Identification of existing risks.
  • Evaluation of countermeasures.
  • Identification of improvements prospects.
  • Allocation of resources and setting policies and guidelines to be followed.

Prince 2

• The Project IN Controlled Environments(PRINCE) is a progression based quality assurance standard.
• It ensures that organizations achieve more efficiency in management and risk assessments (Bentley198).
• The efficiency is achieved because it focuses on the why, when, and for whom of entities of projects.
• The system defines the whole standardization process and checks the progress against the plan
• Its merits are ease of usability, the minimized errors, and superior resource control.

Health and safety standards

• Investment in the health and safety guideline ensures efficiency in risk management.
• Policies are set to ensure reduced financial losses by conservation of the human resource.
• There are key stages to meet the health and safety standards:
  • Policy
  • organization
  • planning,
  • quantifying,
  • performance audit,
  • evaluation. (Hughes and Ferret 124).

Conclusion

• Ensuring quality assurance requires a commitment to set targets. This involves a constant review of policies governing the quality assurance systems to ensure positive progress.
• From the review, improvement of incident reporting systems can be made to ensure quality service delivery.
• Furthermore, a positive health culture should be promoted by enhancing health and safety standards.

Works cited

Bentley, Collin. PRINCE 2: A Practical Handbook. 4^th ed. Oxford: Reed Publishing Ltd: 2001.

Hoyle, David. Quality Management Essentials. 2007 Ed. United Kingdom: Elsevier Ltd.

Hughes, Phil & Ed Ferret, Introduction to Health and Safety at Work, 2005 Ed Oxford.

Introduction

Providing high-quality services and products is an essential aspect of any company, since it ensures customer satisfaction. High quality is guaranteed by the correct planning, organization, and creation of a service or product, which implies many different elements and many employees’ work. At the same time, although the quality is necessary for any company, a failure in its provision in one case can lead to the loss of a client or additional expenses for correction, but in another case, to fatal consequences. This paper will look at the quality assurance process for a house renovation, which belongs to the third category of projects; thus, Crosby’s philosophy will be applied to design the steps.

Philosophy of Quality

House renovation is often a complex and durable process, especially if the clients want to change the interior significantly. For this reason, every stage of quality assurance, from planning to final inspection, must take into account many details such as customer desires, staff skills, and features of the environment. The most appropriate approach, in this case, is the Crosby philosophy as it has all elements to provide the highest quality of house renovation.

The first feature that must be considered when renovating a house is the absolute quality of all work since any mistake can bring fatal consequences. For example, house layout changes, and electrical and plumbing connections must be perfect to avoid fires, floods, or collapsing walls. Since Juran’s philosophy determines that quality depends on how many customizers find a product useful, this approach is not suitable for a specific home renovation for one client (Furman, 2015). At the same time, Deming’s philosophy is aimed at continuous quality improvement, which is also impossible because the renovation must be completed within a certain time frame. However, Crosby’s philosophy characterizes the quality of such project execution as “zero defects”, and thus, it is most suitable. Although this approach implies only striving for the ideal, it helps avoid any mistakes (Furman, 2015). In addition, another Crosby’s principle sounds like “prevention, not inspection”, which implies the correct implementation of all requirements instead of fixing them, which is usually more expensive (Furman, 2015). These two principles ensure that homeowners will not continually experience minor or major breakdowns after a house renovation.

Moreover, the house design should meet all the clients’ requirements and wishes, since the home should ensure the physical and mental comfort of its owners. Clients are less likely to make concessions if the company wants or needs to make changes after the planning phase, for example, changing the previously discussed color of the walls. Hence, all the details must be made according to the requirements of the clients. Deming’s philosophy defines quality as customer satisfaction, but the need for constant change to improve will be a nudging factor for clients and the team and reduce their satisfaction (Furman, 2015). Thus, this philosophy is not aligned with the goals of the project.

In addition, Juran’s approach is also inappropriate as, more often than not, people want a unique design for their home and not one that suits the majority. The only way to apply this approach might be in a house with many residents whose interests need to be met. However, this feature is better fulfilled by Crosby’s philosophy. Crosby defines this approach as “conformance to specifications” and explains that quality can be measured by its exact implementation (Furman, 2015). Therefore, Crosby’s philosophy is most appropriate in terms of organizing the renovation process.

Furthermore, assessing the project’s quality also should be straightforward and understandable to determine the company’s success. Deming’s philosophy measures change at different stages of the project and between the initial and final product (Furman, 2015). However, tracking changes in every detail is impractical, and the definition of stages is often impossible, for example, when strengthening walls. Juran’s measurements are also inappropriate, as the final product will only be useful to several customers. Nevertheless, Crosby’s approach makes assessment simple by calculating the failure costs, that is, the funds used to fix design and construction errors (Furman, 2015). However, in this process and the contract with customers, it is necessary to indicate the time and conditions under which the company fixes the breakdown since the mechanisms and parts of the house wear out over time. Accordingly, the lower the failure costs, the higher the quality of the project. Thus, Crosby’s philosophy is the most suitable for house renovation as it considers all the features of the project.

The Project’s Development

The application of Crosby’s philosophy in practice should be achieved through several stages that take into account all the details of the project. Since Crosby’s philosophy in most aspects coincides with the PIM, this approach can also be applied to develop a project. Consequently, a house renovation will have three stages or processes to ensure the project’s quality, such as planning, execution, and controlling.

The first process is preparatory and should take into account all the details that will be involved in the project. For this reason, the first step is to define the renovation requirements of the clients, such as building a fireplace or patio, repainting the walls, and resizing the room. In addition, such aspects as terms and cost of the project must also be taken into account at this stage to determine their coincidence with reality.

Moreover, a risk assessment should be carried out, since some details can be missed and customers’ wishes may not coincide with reality (Project Management Institute, 2017). For example, a house can require additional insulation due to the climate, and the desired location of the fireplace can be hazardous due to the ventilation system. The assessment should include project risks such as unexpected breakdowns and difficulties, personnel problems, a supply of materials, and others. In addition, the identification of crucial systems and processes requiring quality assurance, such as foundation depth, wiring isolation, and fireplace safety, should be identified at this stage (Project Management Institute, 2017). The roles and responsibilities of employees should also be determined during the planning phase. All details should be recorded in documentation and contracts with customers, employees, and suppliers to guarantee the quality of work and compensation for its failures (Project Management Institute, 2017). Thus, all the details must be considered at the planning stage, which ensures quality work for the following renovation processes.

In the next phase of the renovation, quality assurance is also essential for the project’s success. This stage assumes that all employees responsible for specific jobs follow the client’s specifications or requirements, as well as the general quality rules (Furman, 2015). For example, builders must use approved techniques and be careful about safety regulations such as insulating wiring, wearing protective clothing, or using the required amount of materials. At the same time, the manager must control that the renovation takes place according to the client’s requirements, for example, to make sure that the color of the paint from the suppliers matches the requested one. In addition, at this stage, detailed documentation of all processes is also maintained, and employees must report any problems and their possible sources to prevent breakdowns (Project Management Institute, 2017). Thus, this approach will prevent potential errors, and in case of their occurrence, the documentation will allow managers to identify their source and fix them faster.

The last step is to control the quality of the work. Firstly, this process involves evaluating the completed renovations according to the client’s specifications using a checklist. Since Crosby defines quality by meeting all requirements, the checklist must be 100% complete (Furman, 2015). In addition, quality control also includes checking that all systems work correctly and safely. In a home renovation, such a check can consist of any detail from all switches and sockets to the correct work of a fireplace. At the same time, quality control at this stage should be carried out by an unbiased expert who can objectively assess all processes and mechanisms according to the checklist (Furman, 2015). This way, the company will be able to see the problems and fix them before the project is completed and avoid the failure cost.

Conclusion

Therefore, this project demonstrates that house renovation requires applying the Crosby philosophy for quality assurance, as it guarantees that there are no or fewer errors. Since any malfunction at the house can lead to negative financial and even fatal consequences, this approach is critical. For this reason, a renovation project must be completed through a planning phase that takes into account all the details and sets requirements, quality assurance to prevent errors, and quality control to eliminate them and comply with specifications.

References

Furman, J. (2015). The project management answer book (2nd ed.). Management Concepts.

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.