Upgrading of the management review on the basis of the EFQM excellence model

Suppliers in the automotive industry can use for strategical planning a number of different approaches and tools, which can upgrade the quality management systems (ISO 9001, ISO/TS 14696) to achieve the breakthrough power to meet needs in order to achieve a significant role in the automotive supplying chain. One of the very popular and positively accepted tools to achieve continually improving is implementing of the principles of excellence, according to the EFQM model. On the basis of case studies is in the article analysed and represented a useful value of the implementation of the quality management system audits and management review according to ISO/TS and their positive impact on the development of key indicators of the company TPV d.d. from Novo mesto, which is mounted as a development supplier in the automotive industry. With the implementation of self assessment according to the model of excellence EFQM we demonstrate the added value of the take up of the principles of excellence, according to the present system auditing according to ISO standards and the implementation of management review according to ISO/TS requirements. We upgraded in the existing management system performing of management review as manager\u27s tool, which came directly from the requirements of standard ISO/TS, on to the level of the fundamental principles of excellence by EFQM model and mark it as one of the more effective managers tools with which you can still effectively introduces the leadership of the continuous improvements and strategically manages the company

The successful start of implementation of live working and the possible effects on maintenance of distribution network

It has been a successful period of introduction and implementation of live working (LW) for the Slovenian distribution network. On the basis of the acquired abroad proven technologies of the implementation of the LW at low voltage (LV) and medium voltage (MV) levels the system manuals and work instructions were made, basic training in a specialized ground are carried out and personal protective equipment (PPE) and gear are provided. Experts in the distribution, outworkers, and operators of technology, training, and instructors are united in the assessment to respect the principles of safe work in implementing LW in practice. LW needs encouragement of company managements, as this new method of maintenance has not yet been fully developed. Abroad LW at LV and MV became practically the only acceptable standard implementation or maintenance of the distribution network, overhead lines and transformer stations respectively. High quality standards for power quality (PQ) from the standpoint of the length of the specified duration and frequency of interruptions of supply to customers, is forcing distributions managements to consistent implementation of LW at LV and MV. National energy regulators are ensuring transparency, impartiality and equal rights to all participants in the energy markets and adopting PQ standards that are stricter over years. They also pursue various measures and compensation schemes or incentive scheme for system operators. Analysis of the European region confirms that those distributions that carry out LW are efficient and effective

The Business Excellence Journey in UAE Organizations

Purpose: The business excellence awards have now evolved from a narrow focus of quality management to a broad focus on organizational performance. The UAE has given significant focus to performance excellence through its various programs such as the Dubai Government Excellence Programs, Dubai Quality Award and Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award. However, there is limited research on the experiences of award-winning organizations. In the UAE, we believe that the implementation steps for the business excellence could show some specific activities & practices due to a different power distance leadership culture, context culture - where UAE should belong to the high power distance leadership culture and high context culture - and the multinational mix of the employees. Thus the objectives of this study were to explore the activities that award-winning organizations adopted on embarking upon the journey of excellence. Methodology: A questionnaire survey was used to gather the data. A total of 110 participants from 36 organizations participated in this survey. Survey used open questions to extract the experiences of the award winning organizations. The questionnaire analysis mainly included qualitative and qualitative methods. In the qualitative non-formal method, through the reading of the answers, repeating actions were noted. In the qualitative analysis the practices that were most important for organizations to observe were analysed. Findings: This research extracted the activities that the organizations can follow on their journey towards business excellence. It is notable that organizations opting for the business excellence model have previously introduced other improvement programs and systems such as ISO standards. Further, the business excellence model has proven to be an effective tool for comparison and benchmarking purposes between the organizations. Leadership indeed is an important driving force of quality improvement and for the effective implementation of a business excellence model. However, there is no evidence of different practices & steps which would strongly differ from the activities spread across other countries. An in-depth qualitative study is needed to explore the context further to propose context specific actions. Originality: This research makes an original contribution by adopting an empirical method to study the actions and practices that the UAE organizations have taken on their journey of excellence. It proposes a model that can be used by the organizations to embark upon their excellence journey. They represent a solid starting point for aspiring organizations

A tool to measure maturity of an employee suggestion scheme

Employee Suggestion Schemes have been used in organizations for a long time due to the fact that they enable fostering of creative ability of employees. However, they must be used effectively and in a sustainable manner to better the creativity and innovation capacity of organizations in order to improve competitive advantage. Therefore there is a need to understand the maturity of Employee Suggestion Schemes. This paper proposes a new, structured evaluation tool for assessing an organizational Employee Suggestion Scheme maturity. It suggests five building blocks: Leadership and Work Environment, System Capability, System Effectiveness, Organizational Encouragement and System Barriers, each of them characterized by several relevant indicators and an assessment/grading scale in order for an organization to be able to determine the maturity level of their Employee Suggestion Scheme as: Initial stage, Development stage or Advanced stage. Organizations should apply this tool to assess the maturity level of their Employee Suggestion Scheme and draw a roadmap for its improvements

An analysis of UAE Quality Award Winners : A case study

Purpose: Nations have been globally engaged in developing national quality frameworks or awards during the last three decades. Today more than 80 countries have their own award criteria, although they are mostly based on international renowned quality and excellence awards. Indeed such quality and business excellence frameworks reportedly assure link to organization\u27s economic performance as well many other tangible and intangible benefits. The purpose of this paper is to present the analysis of quality award winners in the UAE. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research is based on information gathered by means of document analysis extracted from the Dubai Quality Award office in the form. The data were further analyzed based on DQA criteria Findings: The enablers that drive the organizations towards performance excellence in the case of the ten winning UAE organizations are discussed. The common enablers across the organizations that have emerged are discussed as well. Originality/Value: This paper is based on direct results obtained by the Dubai Quality Award Office.. It is the first study in this respect to analyze the results. The results of this research should be useful for many organizations planning to embark on the excellence journey

The steps of Slovenian organisations on the way to business excellence

This research was carried out among the winners of the Slovenian business excellence prize (PRSPO), finalists and those who received special diplomas as a recognition level reached by applicants in implementing the business excellence model. Based on the findings of the research, we defined eight steps that organizations can consider as a guide on the path towards excellence. The purpose of the study was to examine how the previous winners of the PRSPO began their journey towards excellence, which were the key factors, what problems they encountered and how they managed to win the diploma or award. The analysis of the survey showed that the ISO 9001 standard is considered a first step towards the Slovenian business excellence award - in fact, it is a prerequisite for further improvements in the organization. The second step involves top management commitment and support for the introduction of excellence into business processes. The top management, in cooperation with all the employees, defines the areas for improvement and also confirms the method of implementation, both conceptually and financially. It is also necessary to take environmental aspects into consideration, which is provided by a third step along with the introduction of the ISO 14001. Once an organization defines the processes, it begins to introduce the business excellence model in the fourth step and carries out the self-assessment process. The key opportunities for improvement identified by the self-assessment process are further introduced in the business. In doing so, the organization can use various quality management approaches (the fifth step) and the first application for the PRSPO. In the sixth step, the organization encourages its employees to follow continuous education and innovation and, in the seventh step, participates again in the competition for the Slovenian business excellence award. As the required business excellence level is achieved, the organization receives the award for business excellence (PRSPO)

Asymmetric and nonlinear impact of attribute-level performance on overall customer satisfaction in the context of car servicing of four European automotive brands in Slovenia

The paper examines the nonlinearity and asymmetry between the satisfaction with individual attributes of the service and overall satisfaction in the context of passenger car servicing in Slovenia. The data set that was analysed was acquired from a regular survey on customer satisfaction with vehicle repair and maintenance services of four European automotive brands in Slovenia, carried out in 2005 and 2006 through 12,941 computer-assisted telephone interviews. Specifically, this study utilizes regression analysis in order to test the asymmetry and nonlinearity of the link between the attribute-level performance and overall satisfaction. The results show that the influence of dissatisfaction is different from the influence of satisfaction, and that the influence of satisfaction on overall satisfaction is greater than the influence of dissatisfaction. The results also show that nonlinearity is applicable to certain attributes of vehicle servicing, but not to all. We can sum up that precise knowledge of the correlation between the attribute-level performance of vehicle servicing and overall service satisfaction is important. Results show that caution must be employed in the evaluation of the importance of individual attributes on overall satisfaction, since the importance can change depending on the level of satisfaction. It appears that focusing on improving satisfaction is more important than focusing on lessening dissatisfaction. Results also show that the improvement of attribute-level performance offers diminishing returns; therefore, selective investment in activities for increasing customer satisfaction is sensible if satisfaction levels are already relatively high

Ecodesign in the context of customers and producers point of view

The present study reviews the attitudes and behaviours of the customers toward products which are respectful for the environment. To address the issue in a wider perspective, this paper also encompasses various aspects of ecodesign from producer\u27s point of view. Two surveys were conducted. The purpose of the first survey was to investigate the awareness and intention of the Slovenian customers to purchase green products, their perceptions and attitudes towards green products. The second survey was directed to organizations to examine their attitudes toward green products and environmental issues. The study revealed that the green products have substantial awareness among Slovenian customers. The results received from the study were illuminating, and encourage the possibility for integration of environmental aspects into products, since 94 percent of respondents expressed a desire for more green products available on the market. For the customers the most important quality characteristics of the product are: quality, usability and practicality followed by environmental ones. Survey results indicate that environmental concern plays a fundamental role in organizations. According to the results, concern for the environment is the most important criteria that encourage organizations to introduce environmental management system (EMS) standard (mean=4,2 on a scale of 5)

The role of quality management activities in achieving high performance of maintenance processes

In today\u27s highly competitive environment, maintenance, quality, and productivity are essentially related components and very important operational issues for a modern, successful, economic, and profitable production system. The focal point in this paper emerges from the lack of understanding how various quality management approaches and practices can contribute to the overall maintenance performance. The aim of this study is therefore, to define the impact of quality management practices on maintenance performance. The questionnaire survey was carried out among Slovenian organisations in order to address the research problem. Several statistical analysis methods including correlation analysis as well as regression analysis are utilised to accomplish the objective of this study. Results of the study indicate that quality management practices incorporated into maintenance processes have positive impact on maintenance performance. We conclude that these results can benefit to organisations seeking for an approach how to improve maintenance performance. This study also contributes to the literature by providing an insight into deployment of quality management practices into maintenance processes

The relationship between continuous improvement and maintenance performance

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical study, which examines the relationship between continuous improvement (CI) and maintenance performance. By examining CI in relation to maintenance performance, this study seeks to increase the understanding of quality management practices in the field of maintenance. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical data for this study were drawn from a survey of Slovenian organizations in order to address the research problem. Several statistical methods including correlation analysis, regression analysis as well as principal component analysis (PCA) are utilized to accomplish the objective of the study. Findings - The findings suggest that CI significantly and positively relates to maintenance performance. In addition, findings advocate the importance of incorporation of quality management practices into maintenance processes. Research limitations/implications - Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that future research could broaden the investigation to identify more complex measures of CI. Moreover, sample size should be expanded to a larger group in order to increase the generalizability of the results. Practical implications - The study contributes to a better understanding of CI activities in the field of maintenance and therefore provides insights for managers to recognize the role of CI activities and understand their effect in enhancing the maintenance performance. Originality/value - The findings provide empirical evidence that CI is shown to be an effective way of improving maintenance performance