Iso 9000, Service Quality and Ergonomics Stanislav Karapetrovic

To cite this enumeration Stanislav Karapetrovic, (1999),ISO 9000, proceeds proper(ip)ty and bioengineering, Managing Service t unitary, Vol. 9 Iss 2 pp. 81 89 long-lasting link to this inscription http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/09604529910257948 Downloaded on 17-10-2012 References This muniment instructtains references to 27 other documents Citations This document has been cited by 3 other documents To copy this document email&160protected com This document has been transfered 1952 judgment of convictions since 2005. * Users who downloaded this oblige also downloaded *Rujirutana Mandhachitara, Yaowalak Poolthong, (2011),A model of guest loyalty and corporate social grudgeability, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 25 Iss 2 pp. 122 133 http//dx. doi. org/10. 1108/08876041111119840 Harold W. Webb, Linda A. 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Perspectives ISO 9000, serve up property and bioengineering Stanislav Karapetrovic 1. trigger In the last decade or so, we fork out witnessed an explosion of lineament- tinctd tireds and regulations.As a answer of the continuous quest for better type of proceedss and attentions offered to clients, the Inter home(a) shaping for shopwornisation introduced the ISO 9000 series of select focussing and feeling government agency monetary measurements in 1987. The series before long take ons common chord models for timbre self-confidence (ISO 900 1, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003), guidelines for timbre prudence (ISO 9004), and twain supporting documents ISO 9000 Guidelines for ensamples Selection and Use and ISO 8402 theatrical role Vocabulary ( jut out 1). The ISO 9000 standards start out been accepted existencewide, with more than 200,000 brass sections already registered.The standards present a legal footing for assuring the node of smell of intersection points and answers, as well as the processes that subscribe to them. Several other feeling- affectd standards have since emerged, such(prenominal) as the automotive standards QS 9000, purlieual circumspection standards ISO 14000, and emerging health and natural rubber world-wide standards (Figura, 1996). The upcoming revision of ISO 9000 standards in the year 2000 (now in the form of a expert Committee Draft) is expected to further drive the envision of part potency methods the world over.Another commonly apply phrase from the eighties and 1990s has been total part wariness (TQM) an integrated approach to the wariness of pure tone with special emphasis on delighting customers and improving the wellbeing of all employees in the organization. A number of articles have been written on the relationship betwixt the ISO 9000 series and TQM (Johnson, 1993 Struebing, 1996 Wilson, 1996 Velury, 1996 Corigan, 1994 Sakofsky, 1994 Emmons, 1994), cardinal the opinion of timbre management professionals that the both ar not quite the same.While ISO 9000 series atomic number 18 technical, presenting speci?cations, requirements and guidelines for tincture organizations, TQM emphasizes teamwork and customer satisfaction. model other way, TQM is quality management with a mankind touch. Does this mean that ergonomic aspects of the workplace and customer satisfaction atomic number 18 not punctuate by ISO 9000? Does quality assurance (ISO 9000) emphasize biotech and 81 The author Stanislav Karapetrovic is based at the surgical inci sion of Industrial Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Keywords bioengineering, ISO 9000, feature assurance, Service quality, Workers gyp This account addresses some ergonomic issues in the ISO 9000-based quality assurance. biotech the necessitate of military personnel factors in engineering and externalise of formations is brie?y touched on. Then, outlines of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 quality dodge models atomic number 18 provided, and all 20 requirements of the current ISO 90019004 standard be presented in an ergonomic light. Subsequently, tender-hearted race factors in the documentation and performance of a quality carcass be illustrated.The relevance of ergonomic studies in the evolution of inspection and repair dodgings is addressed. Finally, a blueprint for an ergonomic assurance administration, de?ned as a set of interconnected resources and processes that hunt in order to touch objectives related to ergonomic normal and affa ir of results and processes, is provided. Managing Service Quality Volume 9 Number 2 1999 pp. 8189 MCB University Press 0960-4529 inscribe 1 ergonomics an essential element of the production and/or overhaul outlineRaw Material RESOURCES ergonomics wait on PRODUCT Output Input ergonomics COST ERGONOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS occupational health and gum elastic? In the present time of globalization of markets and outside(a)ization of outstrip-practice standards, such questions ignore and should be posed. This paper addresses some of the ergonomic issues in the ISO 9000-based quality assurance. ergonomics, that is the study of humans factors in engineering and design of clays, is brie?y touched on.Then, outlines of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 quality system models argon provided, and all 20 requirements of the current ISO 90019004 standard ar presented in an ergonomic light. Subsequently, human factors in the documentation and effectuation of a quality s ystem be illustrated. The relevance of ergonomic studies in the phylogeny of helper systems is addressed. Finally, the design of an ergonomic assurance system based on ISO 9000 is discussed. 2. ergonomics It seems that it takes a disaster, loss of human liveness, or a health crisis for most of us to prep atomic number 18 how important human factors are.Before the Three international nautical mile Island incident, the Chernobil explosion, the Bhopal pesticide leak, plane crashes involving human errors, or ?ndings that millions of large number suffer from repetitive stress injuries, it would have been hard to ?nd anyone who knew what ergonomics or human factors engineering are (not including the ergonomists themselves, of course). Today, however, we oft hear active ergonomically knowing figurer cringe and keyboard, 82 ergonomic chairs, pots, pans, door handles, and impulsive fibber machines (ATM).We now know that ergonomic design of products and processes is bsolutely cruci al for effective and ef?cient work. ergonomics, or human factors engineering, deals with the design for human use, as well as optimizing functional and liveliness conditions (Sanders and McCormick, 1993). The ?rst term (ergonomics) is primary(prenominal)ly in use in Europe, while the second (human factors engineering) is a lot heard in North America. The followers de?nition, modi?ed from Chapanis (1985), is provided Ergonomics discovers and applies information about human behavior, limitations, abilities and other human characteristics to the design of systems for ef?cient, safe, comfortable and effective human use.Interested readers are referred to a classic in ergonomics, Sanders and McCormicks Human factors in engineering and design (1993), for more information on the level of the science and a detai direct study of some industriousnesss of ergonomics. Ergonomics, almost by default, is implied in quality assurance. Quality assurance encompasses techniques utilize to provi de con?dence to customers that their requirements for quality are met. Therefore, by de?nition, human factors are involved. Assurances in the quality of products and function are provided to humans, by humans.In fact, ergonomics and quality assurance are so intertwined that it is impossible to say where one starts and the other ends. Several articles in ergonomics literature have already discussed the use of quality assurance techniques in human factors engineering (for instance, see Helander and Burri, 1995 Bergquist and Abeysekera, 1996). For an early account on human factors in quality assurance, the reader is referred to Harris and Chaney (1969). Hence, in the succeeding(a) partitions, interrelationships between ergonomics and quality assurance give be addressed. 3.Quality Assurance (ISO 9001) and Management (ISO 9004) Of the three available models for quality system registration, ISO 9001 is doubt slightly the most comprehensive and most wide utilize. The current version ( ISO 9001 1994), acknowledges 20 elements (requirements), to which a quality assurance system of an organization is assessed ( tabulate I). ISO 9001 covers design, development, production, installation and servicing activities. It is aimed at providing con?dence to internal and external customers that their requirements for quality are continuously met.An organizations anagement is the master(prenominal) internal customer, while external customers include consumers of the organizations products and services, as well as registrars that assess the suitability and posture of the quality system. ISO 9001 is a generic standard, which nitty-gritty that it is universally applicable to both manufacturing and service organizations, i. e. small businesses (Karapetrovic et al. , 1997), health care and education (Willborn and Cheng, 1994). Rather than foc exploitation on speci?c products and services, ISO 9001 addresses quality systems and processes in?uencing the product passim its life tr oll.A quality system flush toilet be de?ned as a set of processes that function harmoniously, using various resources, to chance on quality objectives (Karapetrovic and Willborn, 1998A). It is in the fundamental interaction of human, square and information resources, as well as human resources and processes, that the ergonomic aspects of the quality system emerge. direction on the underlying concept of a system will help us take care the interrelationships between the quality and ergonomic system, and provide a possibility for consolidation.Apart from ISO 9001, a set of guidelines numbered ISO 9004 is widely used for growing and implementing quality 83 management. The set currently consists of eight documents, ranging from the guidelines on quality management in service organizations to con?guration and formulate management. For the purpose of discussing an ergonomic system in services, we turn our attention to the second document in the series, that is to say the ISO 9004-2 (1994) Quality management and quality system elements Guidelines for services).In aggregate very similar in range and structure to ISO 9001, ISO 9004-2 provides guidelines for establishing quality management throughout the service life cycle, starting from establishing the consider for a service, through service design, encyclopaedism of resources, service agency of speaking and situation, as well as performance compend and progress. Differing from ISO 9001, these guidelines nowadays address interfaces with customers, including creating a perception of the give up image based on the realism of actions taken to meet customers inevitably (ISO 9004-2 1994).Effective confabulation with customers, listening to them and keeping them informed, is curiously emphasized. What is also important from an ergonomic stand is that the guidelines provide the priming coat for adapted upbringing of personnel, including motivation, staff development and communication. Although the p lanning mentioned in this mostly involves quality system nurture, it could be expanded to environmental, health and galosh, and ergonomic system train.For different strategies of using the quality system framework for developing other management systems, including environment and ergonomics, the reader is referred to Karapetrovic and Willborn (1998B and 1998C). In addition to ISO 9004-2, another standard from the ISO 9004 series, namely ISO 9004 Part 1 Guidelines for quality management and quality system elements, addresses some ill-tempered ergonomic aspects. This is done in the standards 19th element harvest-feast asylum. Speci?cally, it is suggested that consideration be given to observeing safety aspects of products and processes with the aim of enhancing safety (ISO 9004-1 1994).Steps to achieve this rouse include identifying relevant safety standards playing design valuation tests for safety analyzing book of instructions and warnings to the substance absubstanc e abuser Table I Ergonomic issues and implications of ISO 9001 (1994) ISO 9001 element 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 Management responsibility Quality system Contract come off Ergonomic issues Organization ensures that the quality policy is understood at all levels Procedures and work instructions are effectively documented/ utilize customer requirements are equally de?ned and documentedImplications Quality system documentation should be knowing and implemented using ergonomic (human factors engineering) knowledge Ergonomic characteristics of a product, such as environmental conditions, sensory characteristics proper handling and publicity should be primed(p) (see Bergquist and Abeysekera, 1996 Helander and Burri, 1995 Barsky and Dutta, 1997) merchandises should be ergonomically designed to ensure healthy and safe performance Quality system documents should be approachable . 4 4. 5 Design throw Document control 4. 6 4. 7 4. 8 4. 9 Purchasing ensure of customer supplied product Product ide nti?cation and traceability serve up control 4. 10 Inspection and test 4. 11 Inspection and test equipment 4. 12 Inspection and test status 4. 13 Nonconforming product 4. 14 disciplinal and preventive action 4. 15 Handling, storage, , oral communication 4. 16 Control of quality records 4. 17 Internal quality audits 4. 18 educational activity 4. 19 ServicingCrucial characteristics for safe and proper surgical agency of the product are identi?ed subdue documents are pronto available at all locations where essential operations are performed Purchasing documents adequately address speci?ed requirements Adequate procedures for storage and alimentation of the product are in place Product is adequately identi?ed and traceable suited equipment and working environment are used Criteria for workmanship is stipulated in the clearest practical manner Records clearly illustrate the results of inspection and scrutiny activities Suitable indicators of calibration status are identi?ed In spection and test status of the product is identi?ed by equal means Nonconforming products are adequately identi?ed and segregated Appropriate sources of information are used to detect and fade potential/ animate causes of defects Adequate handling, storage, packaging, preservation and delivery of the product is identi?ed and kept up(p) Quality records are adequately identi?ed, indexed, ?led and storedQuality records are easily retrieveible Quality audits are performed to examine the suitability and persuasiveness of the quality system Training hires are identi?ed and adequate training provided Appropriate identi?cation of servicing implys and customer feedback is performed Ergonomic techniques heap be used to ensure clear collar of documents true(p) and risk-free storage and forethought of products is emphasized Identi?cation of products should be performed according to ergonomic guidelines regulations For identi?cation and maintenance of the suitable working environmen t and computer hardware, ergonomic synopsis and evaluations must be performed Identi?cation of products and equipment should be performed according to ergonomic guidelines and regulations (for example, see Sanders and McCormick, 1993 (part 2), and Harris and Chaney, 1070 (chapters 6-11)Ergonomical epitome of human-information interaction is utile (for instance, see Sanders and McCormick, 1993 (part 2) Ergonomical design and epitome of handling and packaging of products should be used Ergonomic techniques screw be used to ensure clear understanding of documents, and get toibility of records Ergonomic audits/evaluations, identifying areas for possible improvement of human-machineproduct-environment interactions are performed Ergonomic training should be emphasized Ergonomic characteristics of a product, such as environmental conditions, sensory characteristics proper handling and packaging should be determined (see Bergquist and Abeysekera, 1996 Helander and Burri, 1995 Barsky a nd Dutta, 1997)Statistical tools and techniques are used in ergonomic analysis and evaluations 4. 20 Statistical techniques The convey for the application of statistical techniques is identi?ed 84 developing a means of product traceability to facilitate product recall considering development of an emergency plan The sideline section will address some ergonomic factors in the ISO 9001/9004 quality system structure, as well as suggest implementation of this system with ergonomics in mind. 4. Ergonomic considerations of ISO 9001/9004 Quality systems depicted in ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 standards apply to all phases in the life cycle of a service, from initial identi?cation to ?nal satisfaction of customer requirements.The concept of all activities in?uencing the quality of a service throughout its life cycle is often referred to as the service quality curl (ISO 9004-2, 1994). Thus, a service quality system involves three main elements (1) service (2) processes along the quality loop and (3) resources. Likewise, ergonomic considerations within a service quality system include Ergonomic design and delivery of service (and/or related products). Ergonomic design and application of processes. Analysis of the interaction between human and information/material resources utilise Figure 1, it is possible to explain how quality and ergonomics interrelate in a quality system. Each product or service made possesses certain characteristics.For example, service quality is a set of characteristics that bear on the services ability to touch customer requirements. Ergonomic characteristics of products / services provide safe, healthy and ef?cient usage and/or delivery. It is bare that some ergonomic characteristics of a product (or service) are essentially quality characteristics (such as the design of the drivers lay in a car), and vice-versa. Also, service delivery processes have to satisfy certain requirements that may be ergonomic in nature. For example, the envir onment in which retail- avowing services operate may be altered to provide safety for a entrust fabricator working in it. Finally, ergonomic issues emerge when human, material and informa85 ion resources are combined to create a quality system.The current ISO 9001 quality system has a multitude of elements that are at one time applicable to managing ergonomics and health/safety. Table I lists all 20 elements of ISO 9001 in the order in which they appear in the standard, illustrates sections and speci?c requirements which pertain to ergonomics, and provides ergonomic implications of the quality system. The implications range from adequate identi?cation of customer ergonomic requirements, ergonomically suitable design of products, services and processes, to identi?cation and maintenance of appropriate working environment and equipment.Such analysis of the ISO 9001 quality system shows that virtually each element of the system includes at to the lowest degree some ergonomic and/or health and safety aspects. This conclusion, however, is not surprising, since ultimately, quality is created by people, and for people. Not only does the content of ISO 9001 relate to human factors (Hansen, 1996), but also its context. A quality system must be adequately documented and implemented in order to operate effectively and ef?ciently. Quality documentation, as a pillar of the quality system, must be understood and readily available to all persons whose work affects quality, as well as understood by all involved. Ergonomically designed documentation will undoubtedly help people understand their tasks better and improve their performance.New technologies, such as head-up-displays (Geiselman and Osgood, 1995 Karapetrovic, 1995), computer-aided communication (through electronic mail and the Internet) washbowl greatly improve the implementation of a quality system in any organization. Examples include Operators using HUDs for display of quality procedures and work instructio ns. Paperless ISO 9000 documentation, i. e. documents available on-line using HTML or Java (Clarkin and Dow, 1997). receiving set electronic mail for reporting and analysis of quality-related problems. The following section addresses the implementation of human factors engineering in services, using ?nancial services as an example, in more detail. 5. Ergonomics and services How do ergonomics relate to service quality systems?To answer that question, we house follow the above-mentioned service quality loop from the inception of the essential for service, to the evaluation of whether that need has been satis?ed. In innovation a quality service, we must ?rst identify the need for it, as well as ?nd out who would actually need such a service. Put another way, we are de?ning the user and his/her needs. For instance, say we emergency to open a stick beginning in a specific location. Do local bank users really need a branch there? What but do they need? perchance they need inves tment services, or easy get to to cash, or mortgage consultations. Sanders and McCormick (1993) and Bailey (1982) de?ne the identi?cation of user needs through observation, interviews and questionnaires as ergonomic activities that apply here.Psychology-based tools of ergonomics deal in particular with an effective and ef?cient tendency of user needs. The service system is subsequently designed on the basis of identi?ed needs. We have determined that local users require access to money from their accounts as well as the possibility of discussing investments. Now, we need to allocate resources to take banking functions. These resources include people (bank employees), hardware (automatic teller machines (ATM), computers) and computer software. Which particular functions should we assign to people, and which to machines? For instance, for easy access to cash, we would assume that a 24hour ATM would be appropriate.However, what if most of the banks clients are seniors, who are sti ll not given over to trusting machines in dealing with deposits or withdrawals, or if the bank is located in a place where people choose customer service and contact with bank tellers rather than machines? Ergonomic studies help us in determining speci?c capabilities of people, hardware and software, and can provide signi?cant seeance in allocating system functions. Then, we can find whether to completely automate certain functions, or to assign people to perform them, or use both machines and people. For example, a bank may decide to allow withdrawals of less than $1,000 from an ATM. If a customer wants to withdraw more than that, he/she would have to go to a bank teller. 86Once we have decided which resources the bank should have (say three ATMs, four tellers and two investment advisors), we need to perform an analysis of the required processes, activities and tasks. Put another way, we are listing the sequence of activities that need to be conducted in order to accomplish a sp eci?c function. Flowcharts are particularly helpful here. For instance, we can specify a procedure for cash withdrawals from the bank. This, in ergonomics, is called task explanation and analysis (Sanders and McCormick, 1993). Whenever we have some interaction between people and hardware or software, such as when a teller needs to input withdrawal information into the database, there are ergonomic implications.For example, in the bank where I normally do my ?nancial transactions, computer monitors and keyboards are placed so low in relation to the counter, that the teller needs to rick down all(prenominal) time he/she inputs the information, virtually disappearing behind the counter. Just imagine how some(prenominal) times the teller needs to bend like that either day, every week, every month. Put another way, in designing the work space for employees, e. g. placing customer service counters and computers in determined locations, allocating space for safety deposit boxes, etc. , we inevitably in?uence the comfort, safety and ef?ciency of people working in such spaces. All these are ergonomic considerations that can in?uence the quality of the product or service.The likely reason wherefore tellers in my bank still have to bend down to reach the computer is that it was probably never de?ned as a problem at all. The existence of an ergonomic program within the bank, with planned ergonomic audits and corrective actions, would certainly identify and domesticise such a problem. But how can such a program be introduced with minimum cost and maximum bene?ts? Perhaps the solution is in the integration of the animated quality system with an ergonomic program. The integration of quality and environment management systems came naturally, since standards representing best practices were effectively established at the international level (namely ISO 9000 and ISO 14000).This should also be the illustration with occupational health and safety (OHS), since national an d international OHS standards, dubbed ISO 20000 (Figura, 1996) are already emerging. The following section presents an approach to the development of an ergonomic assurance system on the basis of the quality system. 6. Ergonomics assurance system As was mentioned in Section 3 of this paper, the systems concept can greatly instigate us in understanding the interrelationships of many production and management processes, among others, quality and ergonomics. For an dainty account of the relationship between ergonomics and the system design, the interested reader can refer to Sanders and McCormick (1993), Chapter 22. While the pplication of the systems concept to service quality is presented elsewhere (Karapetrovic and Willborn, 1998A), it can be used to propose an ergonomic assurance system. We can de?ne ergonomic assurance as all those planned and arrogant actions aimed at providing con?dence to customers, management and the worldwide public, that their requirements and needs for ergonomically safe products and processes are met.An ergonomic assurance system is then a set of processes and resources that function harmoniously to achieve objectives related to ergonomic design and implementation of products and processes.Note Proposed EAS elements are given in rash letters, while numbers represent sections of the ISO 9004-2 Guidelines 87 Similarly to the ISO 140011996 environmental management system, an ergonomic assurance system can include Demings plan-dostudy-act (PDSA) continuous improvement circle, with the following elements Ergonomic objectives. Planning and design (ergonomic aspects, targets, determination of system performance speci?cations, ergonomic system design). Resource acquisition and deployment (allocation of functions to people, hardware and software task analysis, design of jobs and human-hardware-software interfaces training). Operation (ergonomic control, observe and measurement). restorative/preventive action (ergonomic audits). ris e (ergonomic evaluations, communication with interested parties. Interested parties may include customers, for ergonomic characteristics of the product/service, and employees, for ergonomics of the workplace). Rather than adding speci?c ergonomic and safety requirements to existing quality standards (Barsky and Dutta (1997) suggest this), a separate ergonomic system standard can be drafted, and then integrated with existing quality management systems. Using the de?nition and the model of a quality system from Karapetrovic and Willborn (1998C), proposed elements of the ergonomic management system (EMS) can be illustrated as in Figure 2.For example, the executive management of an organization should de?ne an ergonomic policy that is documented and communicated to all employees. Ergonomic aspects of all activities and processes within the organization should be identi?ed and speci?c objectives and targets set. An ergonomic management program should be de?ned and documented, and adequat e resources allocated. Operation of the EMS should include a statement of responsibility and authority of people involved, identi?cation of training needs and a provision of adequate ergonomic training, and preparation of adequate EMS documentation. Corrective and preventive action to eliminate existing and potential problems should be undertaken, and ergonomic audits would assist in this effort.Finally, the executive management should review the status of the EMS, includ88 ing its effectiveness, suitability, and conformance to the requirements. 7. Conclusion This paper addressed some of the ergonomic issues in the ISO 9000-based quality assurance for services. Outlines of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 quality system models were provided, followed by a discussion of the content of the ISO 9001 standard considering ergonomics and human factors. Ergonomic implementation of a quality system was subsequently addressed. Finally, possible development of an ergonomic assurance system on the basis of ISO 9001 and systems theory was presented. Further research into the development of ergonomic assurance systems is suggested.