Boštjan Gomišček

Quality management systems as a link between management and employees

This paper analyses interactions between two parties (management and employees) with regard to the question of how to successfully manage and implement a quality management system (QMS). It also introduces practical possibilities for improving the employees’ understanding of why a QMS must be applied and how management should behave to make it possible. The paper also introduces a role of a third party (a quality representative) who must carefully choose his actions and must, above all else, be aware of the importance of open communication channels among the first two parties. Data were obtained from a research study using a survey among employees of a Slovenian information and communication technology company over a 2-year period. We found that communication between employees and management has significant importance on employee satisfaction. Therefore, communication is the essential element of successful and continuous improvement of the quality management system, in which management must be the first to show the awareness of the real purpose of the QMS, and must attract their employees’ attention as well as acknowledge their expectations. However, it should be noted that this factor can be stronger in a high technology company with a higher level of employee education. Conclusions are offered to improve the relationship among all parties through an improved status of the quality representative position over employees, his formal direct access to the management and the right to exercise and manage internal auditing of the system. Nevertheless, informally his role is far greater and consists once again of the crucial element of successfully and continuously improving of the QMS: communication.

The relationship between continuous improvement and maintenance performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical study, which examines the relationship between continuous improvement (CI) and maintenance performance. By examining CI in relation to maintenance performance, this study seeks to increase the understanding of quality management practices in the field of maintenance.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data for this study were drawn from a survey of Slovenian organizations in order to address the research problem. Several statistical methods including correlation analysis, regression analysis as well as principal component analysis (PCA) are utilized to accomplish the objective of the study.Findings – The findings suggest that CI significantly and positively relates to maintenance performance. In addition, findings advocate the importance of incorporation of quality management practices into maintenance processes.Research limitations/implications – Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that future research could broaden the ...

The impact of quality management orientation on maintenance performance

This paper aims to examine the relationship between quality management orientation dimensions and maintenance performance. The concept of quality management orientation is proposed and defined as a set of norms and values regarding customer orientation, quality responsibility, prevention and process orientation. Empirical data were drawn from a sample of Slovenian organisations in order to address the research question. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The findings indicate that quality management orientation is important predictor of maintenance performance. Data analysis results also show that quality management orientation dimensions are positively related to maintenance performance. By testing the impact of quality management orientation on maintenance performance, this study shows that strong foundation on quality management orientation is an effective way of improving maintenance performance.

Functional form of connections between perceived service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the automotive servicing industry

Perceived quality of services and customer satisfaction is a concept that is increasingly important because of its impact on customer loyalty and other effects on the performance of a company. There is growing evidence that the links between quality of services, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty might be non-linear. However, there is no consensus about the actual functional form, since individual studies have discovered linear as well as concave, convex, S-shaped and inversed S-shaped relationships. Inconsistent results of previous studies suggest that different functional forms might be typical for different industries. The aim of this study was to examine the functional forms typical for the vehicle maintenance and repair industry, based on 34,421 computer-aided telephone interviews with customers of Slovenian automotive servicing companies performed between 2005 and 2011. For each of the connections between the constructs under consideration, we used linear and several non-linear regression models with the curve fit procedure in SPSS. The obtained results suggest that in describing the relationship between perceived quality of services and customer satisfaction, the non-linear functional model only slightly outperformed the linear one in terms of explained variance of data (R2). The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty on the other hand could clearly be best described using a non-linear model. Using the non-linear model that produced a concave functional form enabled us to achieve 41–47% better explanatory power compared to the linear model. On the basis of our research, we can make several recommendations to the management of automobile servicing companies; for example to concentrate the resources of their companies on improving the satisfaction of their least-satisfied customers, because by this approach, they can expect the highest yields in terms of improved customer loyalty.

The role of maintenance in improving company’s competitiveness and profitability : A case study in a textile company

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of maintenance in improving companys competitiveness and profitability. In the first part the paper aims to discuss the potential improvement areas from the company perspective. Second part of this paper examines maintenance impact on companys business. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical case study was utilized aiming to provide an understanding of the role of maintenance in improving companys business. The empirical data for this study were collected from a Slovenian textile company. A gap analysis was used in order to address the research problem and to identify potential improvement areas. Findings – Based on the gap analysis, the results suggest that from respondents’ points of view, maintenance practices related to condition-based maintenance approach represent the highest opportunity for improvement. The most notable empirical results of the case study showed that around 3 per cent of additional profit could be generated at weavin...

Slovenian national excellence award and total quality management deployment in Slovenian companies

This paper aims to study the deployment and use of total quality management (TQM) approaches and tools for the systematic implementation of TQM, especially within companies that have been applicants for the National Quality Award – Slovenian Business Excellence Prize (SBEP), and its relation to tools and approaches regarding people involvement, external recognition, benchmarking and financial results. The survey was based on the analysis of a sample of companies composed of the three subgroups: ‘top companies’ (based on their financial performance), a randomly chosen control group, and a group consisting of SBEP applicants. The questionnaire was distributed to 500 companies. The research was done on the basis of 110 respondents. Factor analysis was used to narrow the initial number of items, ANOVA to obtain statistically significant differences between the three group means and discriminant analysis to classify the sample according their use of TQM tools and approaches. The results showed that the main differences between the three groups of companies in favour of the SBEP group were related to the importance of benchmarking, peer assessment, collaborating in national quality awards (NQA) and partly in financial results. Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that the companies that took part in the NQA have higher mean scores of observed variables as compared to the other two groups of companies.

Exploratory study of quality and excellence approaches and continuous improvement from the perspective of new institutionalism

This paper is based on the findings of empirical research conducted in 110 Slovenian companies. Using statistical methods, we examine the effect of the EFQM Excellence Model on the institutionalization of total quality management (TQM) tools and approaches, as well as financial results to motivate TQM implementation. Within the whole group of companies, special attention was paid to the results of applicants for the Slovenian Business Excellence Prize (SBEP), which were compared with other companies. The SBEP group showed better results compared with the other companies with regards to benchmarking, peer assessment, participation in quality and excellence awards, knowledge sharing, self-assessments and financial results. Dieser Artikel basiert auf den Ergebnissen einer empirischen Untersuchung in 110 Slowenischen Unternehmen. Durch die Anwendung statistischer Methoden untersuchten wir die Wirkung des EFQM Excellence Modells auf die Institutionalisierung der Total Quality Management (TQM) – Werkzeuge und Ansatze sowie finanzielle Ergebnisse, um eine Umsetzung des TQM zu motivieren. Innerhalb der gesamten Gruppe von Unternehmen wurde besonderes Augenmerk auf die Ergebnisse der Bewerber fur den Slowenischen Business Exzellenz Preis (SBEP) gerichtet. Die SBEP Gruppe zeigte bessere Resultate bezuglich Benchmarking, Peer-Beurteilung, Teilnahme am Wettbewerb fur die Qualitat und Exzellenz Preise, Stimulation des Wissenstransfers, Selbstbewertung und finanziellen Ergebnissen.

An Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Sensitivity Analysis for Maintenance Policy Selection

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to apply an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for the evaluation/selection of maintenance policy. Methodology/Approach: The paper adopts a case study approach of selecting most appropriate maintenance policy in the case of Slovenian paper mill company. Several steps of the AHP method are used in order to structure the decision-making process. Five possible alternatives are considered: failure based maintenance, preventive maintenance, total productive maintenance, reliability centered maintenance and total quality maintenance. Findings: This paper proposes a framework for maintenance policy selection based on the AHP methodology. The framework was applied to select the most appropriate maintenance policy in a paper mill company. The results suggest that total quality maintenance is the most suitable concept for a paper machine. By performing a sensitivity analysis, it was revealed that the final outcome remained stable in all cases when the weights of the main criteria were increased for 25 percent. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the literature by providing a framework for decision-making process regarding the maintenance policy selection. In addition, this paper utilizes an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) chart for performing a consistency test. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis also presents an important implication of this study.

Asymmetric and Nonlinear Impact of Attribute-Level Performance on Overall Customer Satisfaction in the Context of Car Servicing of Four European Automotive Brands in Slovenia

Asymmetric and Nonlinear Impact of Attribute-Level Performance on Overall Customer Satisfaction in the Context of Car Servicing of Four European Automotive Brands in Slovenia The paper examines the nonlinearity and asymmetry between the satisfaction with individual attributes of the service and overall satisfaction in the context of passenger car servicing in Slovenia. The data set that was analysed was acquired from a regular survey on customer satisfaction with vehicle repair and maintenance services of four European automotive brands in Slovenia, carried out in 2005 and 2006 through 12,941 computer-assisted telephone interviews. Specifically, this study utilizes regression analysis in order to test the asymmetry and nonlinearity of the link between the attribute-level performance and overall satisfaction. The results show that the influence of dissatisfaction is different from the influence of satisfaction, and that the influence of satisfaction on overall satisfaction is greater than the influence of dissatisfaction. The results also show that nonlinearity is applicable to certain attributes of vehicle servicing, but not to all. We can sum up that precise knowledge of the correlation between the attribute-level performance of vehicle servicing and overall service satisfaction is important. Results show that caution must be employed in the evaluation of the importance of individual attributes on overall satisfaction, since the importance can change depending on the level of satisfaction. It appears that focusing on improving satisfaction is more important than focusing on lessening dissatisfaction. Results also show that the improvement of attribute-level performance offers diminishing returns; therefore, selective investment in activities for increasing customer satisfaction is sensible if satisfaction levels are already relatively high.

The role of maintenance regarding improving product quality and company’s profitability : a case study

This paper presents a study, which examines the role of maintenance regarding improving product quality and company’s profitability. The empirical data for this study was drawn from a Slovenian com ...