Question

A transport services company provides a whole range of services to railway operators. Its reputation for quality was a valuable asset in its increasingly competitive market. ‘We are continually looking for innovation in the way we deliver our services because the continuous improvement of our processes is the only way to make our company more efficient’, said the company’s CEO. ‘We use a defined set of criteria to identify critical processes, each of which is allocated a" process owner" by our quality steering committee. This is helped by the company’s" process excellence index" (EPI), which is an indicator of the way a process performs, particularly how it is designed, controlled and improved. The EPI score, which is expressed on a scale of 1 to 100, is calculated by the process owner and registered with the quality department. With this one figure we can measure the cost, reliability, and quality of each process so that we can compare performance. If you don’t measure, you can’t improve. And if you don’t measure in the correct way, how can you know where you are? Our suggestion scheme is designed to encourage staff to submit ideas that are evaluated and rated. No individual suggestion is finally evaluated until it has been fully implemented. Where a team of employees puts ideas forward, the score is divided between them, either equally or according to the wishes of the team itself. These employee policies are supported by the company’s training schemes, many of which are designed to ensure all employees are customer focused.

What seem to be the key elements in this company’s approach to improvement?

Answer 1

The company's approach to improvement is centered around innovation, the use of a process excellence index to measure and improve critical processes, process owner responsibility, robust employee suggestions, and training schemes with strong customer focus.

Step-by-step explanation:

The key elements in the company's approach to improvement include innovation, continuous process improvement, process owner accountability, and employee engagement. Innovation is at the core of their philosophy, with a focus on continuously seeking new ways to enhance service delivery. The concept of a process excellence index (EPI) signifies the commitment to measure and compare process performance on cost, reliability, and quality. Each critical process has an assigned process owner responsible for the process's performance and improvement. Furthermore, the company has implemented a suggestion scheme to incentivize staff to put forward ideas, which are evaluated only after full implementation. They also promote a customer-focused mindset through targeted training schemes.