Selecting the Pilot Project

The assessment of existing systems should provide all the information needed to select a candidate for the pilot study. Many of the competing criteria for choosing a pilot study location are discussed in the following paragraphs. 

The barriers to integration identified earlier in Sections 2.5 and 3.2 will influence the selection of the pilot location. Resistance is often very high for pilot studies—most managers would rather have someone else debug a new program before they have to work with it. This resistance is even more 

A common concern expressed by managers is that PSM and ESH are costs to their operations that adds little or nothing to customer satisfaction. The use of quality management approaches should ensure that the new systems will be more efficient and so costs will actually fall. It may also be possible to demonstrate that facilities with excellent PSM and ESH records have good performance in other areas. You should look for such examples within your own organization. 

There would be little point in conducting a pilot without being able to measure the improvement achieved. The team should try to find a department where there are good records of PSM and ESH performance, and ideally records that enable the efficiency of the existing management systems to be measured. 

These data on improvement will be critical for justifying the full project. If the results are insufficient, there is a possibility that the full project will not be authorized. However, it is unreasonable to expect that the full benefits of integration will be achieved during the life of the pilot project. Some benefits are gained only as the staff become familiar with the new systems. You may be able to use experience of other quality management projects to forecast the full impact of integration. 

---