Service blueprint. The service blueprint is a technique used for service innovation.
The technique was first described by Lynn Shostack, a bank executive, in the Harvard Business Review in 1984. The blueprint shows processes within the company, divided into different components which are separated by lines. Contents[edit]
Future-Friendly Thinking. Quality assurance. Quality Assurance (QA) is a way of preventing mistakes or defects in manufactured products and avoiding problems when delivering solutions or services to customers.
QA is applied to physical products in pre-production to verify what will be made meets specifications and requirements, and during manufacturing production runs by validating lot samples meet specified quality controls. QA is also applied to software to verify that features and functionality meet business objectives, and that code is relatively bug free prior to shipping or releasing new software products and versions.
Suitable quality is determined by product users, clients or customers, not by society in general. It is not related to cost, and adjectives or descriptors such as "high" and "poor" are not applicable. For example, a low priced product may be viewed as having high quality because it is disposable, where another may be viewed as having poor quality because it is not disposable. History[edit] Postwar[edit] Kobayashi’s 20 keys. Quality Tools > Tools of the Trade > 58: Kobayashi’s 20 keys In manufacturing environments, there are many areas in which you can focus to create improvements, and systems such as the ‘%Ss’ and the ‘seven Mudas’ (wastes) can help you to find a focus for improvements.
Iwao Kobayashi has created a somewhat longer list that include these and more, and can be used in manufacturing audits. It reads very much like a ‘whos who’ of manufacturing innovations and hence makes a very useful checklist.These are: 1. Clean and tidy. 2. 3. What are the benefits of Kaizen? - Introduction to Kaizen. By Steve Stephenson Kaizen is a system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership.
We'll look at Kaizen by answering three questions: What is Kaizen? What are the benefits of Kaizen? What do you need to do to get started using Kaizen principles? Kaizen was created in Japan following World War II. Kaizen is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew.
In most cases these are not ideas for major changes. Suggestions are not limited to a specific area such as production or marketing. Kaizen in Japan is a system of improvement that includes both home and business life. In business Kaizen encompasses many of the components of Japanese businesses that have been seen as a part of their success. Kaizen involves setting standards and then continually improving those standards. More information about Kaizen: What is Hoshin Kanri?
Hoshin Planning: Breakthrough Improvement From Vision-Driven Leadership The image most often depicted in U.S. literature on Hoshin Planning (also commonly known as Hoshin Kanri, and Policy Deployment) is that of a ship’s compass distributed to many ships, properly calibrated such that all ships through independent action arrive at the same destination, individually or as a group, as the requirements of the “voyage” may require.
Hoshin Planning is more than a compass for steering the direction of your business processes. It is the strategic means of control that allows your organization to make quick turns, changes, and adjustments before you become trapped in a crisis. Success in a highly competitive world requires more than focus and direction. You must have innovation. Hoshin Planning is the means for keeping the actions and innovations of your people aligned with your organization’s strategic intent. What Is 5S? - Sort, Set In Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. By Steve Stephenson 5S is a basic, fundamental, systematic approach for productivity, quality and safety improvement in all types of business.
What is 5S? A 5S (Five S) program is usually a part of, and the key component of establishing a Visual Workplace and are both a part of Kaizen - a system of continual improvement - which is a component of lean manufacturing. The 5S program focuses on: having visual orderorganizationcleanliness standardization The results you can expect from a 5S program are: improved profitability, efficiency, service and safety. TQM.