Quality improvement project

However, such problem solving requires a carefully structured process to ensure that root causes are identified and proposed solutions are verified. Juran s project-by-project quality improvement process provides detailed guidelines that have been widely adopted and integrated into current team problem-solving methodology. The methodology outlines distinct steps for (1) carefully defining the problem,... 

For safety reasons, the main components of industrial installations must undergo NDT so as to guarantee the functional capacities of equipment by verifying the integrity of the materials. This paper presents the EDF project to improve the quality for detection, localization and characterization of incoming faults inside materials, and to increase the performance of X or y radiographic analysis. 

Quality systems can address one of the quality goals or all of them, they can be as small or as large as you want them to be. They can be project-specific, or they can be limited to quality control that is, maintaining standards rather than improving them. They can include Quality Improvement Programs (QIPs) or encompass what is called Total Quality Management (TQM). 

Teams such as quality improvement teams (QIT), may be used for implementation of all Quality Management projects. These teams are usually established for specific improvement projects and consist of staff involved in the management processes under review. For this project, PSM and ESH specialists, operations, maintenance, and engineering representatives would be members of the team. 

Abbott studied the corrosion of contacts, and proposed quality tests in dilute mixtures of hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide and chlorine in air at controlled temperature and humidity . These gave good results in a project seeking improved procedures for British and lEC standards . 

Treated wastewater salinity and the high cost of hydraulic facilities are other constraints in the development of the sector and limit project profitability. Improving quality of treated wastewater is still one important challenge for the government that could improve the reuse rate. While any quality of treated wastewater can be produced, the degree of treatment must be addressed what constituents have to be removed and what quality will be acceptable [14]. 

Gropen TI, Gagliano PJ, Blake CA, Sacco RL, Kwiatkowski T, Richmond NJ, Leifer D, Libman R, Azhar S, Daley MB. Quality improvement in acute stroke The New York State Stroke Center Designation Project. Neurology. 2006 67 88-93. 

The management shall motivate its members to undertake quality improvement projects or activities in a consistent and disciplined series of steps based on data collection and analysis. 

The quality improvement project or action starts with the identification of an improvement opportunity which is based on measures of quality losses and/or on comparisons against organizations recognized as leaders in a particular field. The opportunity for improvement is defined and the process involved is evaluated by analyzing data and facts. The objectives for improvement are introduced. 

Third, small changes should be implemented in quick cycles (Hume, 1999). The quality improvement team should be given the opportunity to learn about quality by attempting small changes at first. It may be too frustrating for them to take on a large project for the first cycle. Team members should be allowed to experience a success and see how much improvement can be made with a relatively small change then their enthusiasm will redouble. 

LaPointe DR, Arnold AD, Eichelberger WJ, 2002. Quality improvement projects to enhance safety and efficacy of gentamicin in a neonatal intensive care unit. ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, Adanta, GA. 

As pharmacists who implement value-added services evaluate all they have accomplished, it is wise to do a little continuous quality improvement. They should identify the mistakes that they made along the way and think about how they can avoid making them again. They can also identify how they could have streamlined the process and created a better workflow for the service. Lastly, they may have conducted the project as a pilot project. These pharmacists will need to think about how they will expand the project in a seamless manner. 

Notice, the objectives have not said anything yet about how the improvement in quality will be accomplished. The project goal is to improve profits through quality improvement. Making sure the integrated team understands this difference is critical. The goals should be stated in the most basic terms. 

Back to our quality improvement project. The project team, at this point led by the Technical Manager, finds three different methods to remove the offending impurities. Technically, all three will produce an acceptable product Q for the new customer. Now the fun begins. Which project do we select How do we make sure we do the right project ... 

Focused or targeted medication use evaluation follows a reasonably well-established cycle identification of a potential problem in the use of a specific drug or therapy, collection and comparison of data, determination of compliance with a pre-established guideline/expectation, and action as needed to improve discrepancies between expected and measured results. This type of medication use evaluation provides an excellent opportunity to apply the Shewhart cycle for continuous quality improvement (Figure 26.3). Focused medication use projects are typically selected for a specific reason. Table 26.4 lists reasons to consider drugs for focused evaluation projects. 

Prior to establishing any relationship with a contractor, the quality assurance staff of a potential client must audit the contractor s facilities. During this audit, the contractor should be willing to provide a comprehensive tour of the facilities. Following the tour, the auditors need to review all of the contractor s standard operating procedures that may apply to their company s proposed project. In addition, the auditors need to review the quality improvement process being used by the contractor and the results of that process. Any concerns that have been identified during the audit should be discussed with the contractor at that time. 

The link between quality planning and quality improvement is execution. The continuous improvement cycle (Fig. 5) starts with benchmarking and internal assessment to arrive at a gap analysis. From the gap analysis an action plan with assigned leadership, resources, timelines, and metrics is developed. From this quality plan, the plant s human resources must successfully execute the plan for improvement to occur. It is the leadership s responsibility to assure that the plan is do-able, appropriate and adequate resources are assigned, and that the culture of the plant supports change. This starts with the project leaders who must have not only the technical skills, but also the project... 

The quality improvement project team provides a new flexible organization unit. A project team is a group of employees appointed by management to solve a specific problem that has been identified by management or staff. The team comprises members from any department and from any level of the organization and includes anyone who... 

Develop medication use evaluation criteria and other quality improvement measures to assess the use of drug therapy by other providers. Design, conduct, and coordinate clinical research projects under FDA guidelines and procedures of the institutional review board. 

Critical care phannacists have also been active in the area of collaborative disease-state management and quality improvement projects, and have documented the impact of these on patient outcome. Pharmacists often take a leadership role in these efforts. Examples of the impact of these programs include reductions in the use of laboratory... 

From the Chapter Resources menu, choose Web Works. Locate the Chapter 16 section, and click on the link to the executive summary of the Lake Champlain Basin Agricultural Watersheds Project. The report summarizes a project to improve water quality in Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York. Based on your reading of the report, what appears to be the primary general cause of the eutrophication of Lake Champlain What types of industry are the sources of the pollution What measures have been taken to reduce the pollution Briefly describe the experimental design to determine whether these measures have been effective. Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TPCN) determinations were one of the quantities measured in this study name three others. Explain how TKN provides a measure of pollution in the lake. Based on the TKN measurements and other data in the report, have the pollution abatement measures been effective What are the final recommendations of the report ... 

The project to improve the quality control of lead speciation analysis was started in 1990 by a feasibility study on the stability of alkyllead species in solution [118], and was concluded in 1991. The first interlaboratory study was conducted in 1992 [119] and was followed by a second exercise carried out in 1993 [120]. The certification campaign of trimethyllead in artificial rainwater and urban dust was conducted in 1995-96. 

Team expertise assesses the team s ability to solve the assigned problem. A Ql team would possess the expertise required to complete a project successfully if it included members who had expert knowledge of the functional area under study as well as adequate training and experience in the methods of quality improvement. In particular, studies show that successful teams have adequate representation of all departments affected by the process under study. 

Quality-improvement training and experience of team members has also been shown to affect the outcome of QI projects significantly. Although it features as an aspect of overall team expertise, we consider it important enough in the context of QI project teams to discuss separately. Case studies of successful QI teams show that most of the members of the teams had either participated on other QI projects or at least received some form of prior QI trainmg, such as familiarity with the common QI tools and group processes (CHSRA 1995). 

Quality-improvement tools aid the team at various stages of the project. Effective use of tools has been shown to help teams keep track of their activities, clarify understanding of the system, help identify problems and solution, help maintain focus, and aid in decision making and data collection and analyses (Plsek 1995 Scholtes 1988 CHSRA 1995 Levin 1992). 

Juran, D. (1994), Achieving Sustained Quantifiable Results in an Interdepartmental Quality Improvement Project, Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 105-119. 

Misterek, S. D. A (1995), The Performance of Cross-Functional Quality Improvement Project Teams, Ph.D. dissertation. University of Minnesota. 

Figure 21 Distribution Curves for Viscosity Variance before and after Quality Circle Project. Reducing variance (noise) is an excellent quality-improvement technique because the effects of various changes are seen much more clearly for processes with little variability. (From R. Cole, Work, Mobility, and Participation A Comparative Study of American and Japanese Industry. Copyright 1979 The Regents of the University of California. By permission)...

Team Quality Improvement Project Team Executive Steering Committee Quality Management Board... 

---