Beata Starzyńska

Excellence toolbox: Decision support system for quality tools and techniques selection and application

The paper presents a decision support system for quality tools and techniques (QT&T) selection and application. While solving problems and improving enterprise processes and products, there is often a significant problem connected with fast, easy and flexible choice of appropriate tools for solution activities. The premise of the system elaboration was richness and variety of quality tools – ranging from technological solutions (e.g. statistical process control (SPC)) to organisational and behavioural techniques (e.g. nominal groups technique (NGT)), as well as the lack of applications, making fast and apt selection of QT&T, especially in the production conditions. The system includes knowledge about management tools and techniques and, in contrast to traditional handbooks, is written in structured form. It should be stressed that this knowledge not only describes the possibilities of tool usage (theoretical view), but also points out the constraints in their practical implication (knowledge captured from enterprise experts). The system contains also the so-called dynamic knowledge, resulting from learning processes, based on the history about previous users’ choices concerning QT&T and their effectiveness in practice (evaluated also within the system). Both of them allow support of the final decision about tool selection, taking multi-criteria (defined by the user) into consideration.

A Study of Raters Agreement in Quality Inspection with the Participation of Hearing Disabled Employees

This paper presents results of a study of the level of agreement of assessments and decisions made by quality controllers in a sensory inspection. The study subjects included persons with hearing disability. The study was conducted in an automotive manufacturing company. The employees with hearing loss perform product quality inspection which includes, among other things, visual inspection of the goods. The measurement system analysis (MSA) procedure for attributes, with the use of Gwet’s AC1 coefficient, was applied to estimate the level of agreement of decisions made by the raters. The study results show that the quality of work performed by employees with hearing disability is at least as good as that of able-bodied employees. Based on the knowledge possessed by the authors, this approach to the problem is characterized by novelty.

Virtual Reality System for Learning and Selection of Quality Management Tools

The paper presents an innovative system for teaching of quality tools, facilitating decision-making in scope of solving quality problems in production processes. The solution was created with use of immersive Virtual Reality technology. The system allows two groups of users – production workers and quality staff – to interactively gain knowledge about quality tools or obtain advice on which quality tool should be selected for a given problem. The paper presents the idea behind the system, its functions and basic stages of its creation, as well as course and results of testing of its first prototype. The test results confirm validity of taken assumptions and solutions and allow to perform guidelines for development of the solution.

Practical Applications of Quality Tools in Polish Manufacturing Companies

Abstract Background and Purpose: Modern companies have found themselves in a situation where the ability for the dynamic adaptation to the changing market conditions is a key competitive advantage. Therefore they are continually searching for intensive ways of improvement of their processes and products. The basis for the implementation of such strategy is the efficient use of information resources. In quality management, appropriate tools and techniques equip decision-makers with information, necessary to take: correction, corrective, preventive, and finally – improvement actions. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper presents the results of the survey, conducted on a representative sample of manufacturing companies in Great Poland (region of Poland). The main goal of the survey was to ascertain, from the quality assurance perspective, what kind of problems, at which stage of production process are the most frequent and what kind of quality tools and techniques are used by practitioners for their solutions. Furthermore, the respondents evaluated the importance of appearing problems as well as the effectiveness of used tools. Results: The results of the survey show that quality tools are most frequently implemented at the manufacturing phase of the production process, then at the production set-up stage and measurement phase. On the manufacturing phase example it was shown, which of the tools included in the survey, are effectively used for problem solutions, concerning the process inputs, process performance and management of the processes. Conclusion: The obtained results allow contradicting the thesis spreading quality tools universality. In the context of production process stages, some of them are oriented towards selected phases and, such as, may be effectively used by practitioners.

Virtual reality training of hard and soft skills in production

The paper1 presents development and test procedure of two Virtual Reality systems for training of skills necessary in a modern production company. The two systems allow teaching hard skills (example: forklift operation) and soft skills (example: quality management tools). Basic ideas, concepts of the virtual courses and their test procedure is presented, along with obtained results.

Systematic Improvement Of Customer Satisfaction For Passengers With Special Mobility Needs

Public transport operators have to focus on a public transport system, which is inclusive and fair to all groups of society. This requires a new holistic approach reflecting the user and the service provider perspectives. The overall objective is an unrestricted use of a fully integrated cross modal public transportation along the complete mobility chain. Unrestricted use of the public transport system can be facilitated with travel assistance applications for smartphones. In addition to this, every mobility-chain needs to be accompanied by an information chain. The information provided needs to be up to date, relevant to the specific context of the user, correct and understandable. This paper presents the innovative concept of the transnational project “accessible and inclusive mobility for all with individual travel assistance” (aim4it). The project aims towards a holistic travel companion design, which provides value-added services for passenger with special mobility needs. The assistance functions are accompanied by suitable evaluation algorithms for customer feedback. An innovative systematic evaluation of customer feedback allows for continuous improvement activities of the public transport operators. Results of the project will be practically demonstrated in close cooperation with the local public transport operators in the cities of Vienna (Austria) and Karlsruhe (Germany).