Problems Involving Pareto And Flowchart Development

Problems involving Pareto Chart and flowchart development

This activity consists of two problems. Problem One Gary Seitz is the director of procurement for the Forest Medical Center in Oak Park, Illinois. His medical center recently purchased more than 300 new side tables for the patient rooms from Quick-and-Cheap Furniture. His team, however, is not happy with the paint quality of these tables. They feel the firm providing the tables was rushed to get the order out and did not do a great job.

They have examined each of the 312 tables that they have received so far and found the following defects, listed in alphabetical order:

• Dirt in paint: 65
• Off-color: 17
• Orange peel: 12
• Other: 1
• Sad looking: 43
• Scratch: 11
• Sealer under: 8
• Thin paint: 31

Instructions Use Excel to: Create a Pareto Chart for this situation. Create and complete a table for this situation using the following headers: Problem, Frequency, Cumulate Frequency, Percentage, Cumulative Percentage. List the most frequently occurring problem first in the table, then the next more frequently occurring problem second, and so forth. In a Word document: Draw two conclusions about the quality of the patient tables that Quick Furniture has shipped to the Forest Medical Center. Submit both your Word and Excel files.

Problem Two Ted Short, the manager of procurement at the Lake Luna Medical Center (LLMC), is starting a process to examine the general process that is followed at his center for procurement of medical supplies at his facility.

His first step is to develop a flowchart for the current process that employees at his center follow. He has asked you to draw that flowchart for him and make any obvious changes to shorten the process. Here are the key steps that are followed: The LLMC employee fills out a paper requisition and sends that to his department head for approval. The department secretary first examines the requisition to see if all the needed information is present. If it is, then she sends it to the department head for approval. If not, she returns to the employee for any needed corrections. The employee then returns the requisition to the department secretary for review again. Requisitions with the correct information are sent to the department head. The department head reviews the item to determine if the material requested seems appropriate. He may contact his employee to discuss any questions he might have. If he feels it is inappropriate, then he rejects the request and sends it back to the employee. If he feels it is appropriate, then he checks the budget to see if there are sufficient monies in the budget to pay for this. If there are not, then he rejects the request and sends it back to the employee. If there are sufficient funds, then he approves them. If the requisition is approved, then the department secretary sends the requisition to a member of the LLMC Procurement Team. The LLMC procurement specialist checks to see if the suggested vendor on the requisition is on the approved vendor list (AVL). If not, he sends the request back to the department secretary and the process starts all over if the LLMC employee wants to continue to pursue it. If the employee does not, then the requisition is terminated. If the vendor is on the AVL, the LLMC procurement specialist checks to see if a quote is required, either based on the type of equipment and material required or on the amount of the purchase. If no quote is required, the procurement specialist transmits the PO to the vendor for execution. If a quote is required, then the specialist contacts the vendor and asks for a quote. If the quote is satisfactory based on past purchases of such items, the specialist approves the quote and places the order. If the quote is too high, the specialist contacts the LLMC employee and asks for another vendor to check. The procurement specialist then checks the second vendor. Usually, a procurement specialist will have to check only two vendors at most. If the specialist cannot find a vendor with it suitable price after two tries, then the PO is canceled. When the specialist finds a vendor who submits a suitable quote, she transmits the PO to the vendor for execution by US postal service or by telephone. The procurement specialist then logs the transaction into the financial system. The procurement specialist then forwards the request to the Accounts Payable Department for payment when the receipt of the materials and equipment ordered, is acknowledged.

Instructions Use Microsoft Word to complete the following: Develop a flowchart for this process. Suggest three improvements, based on total quality management, that Ted Short can use to make the current process more efficient. Submit your Word document(s).

Paper For Above instruction

Analysis of Quality Control and Process Improvement Strategies in Medical Supply Procurement

Introduction

Effective procurement processes are vital for ensuring the quality and efficiency of healthcare operations. The first problem underscores the importance of quality control analysis in procurement, specifically through Pareto analysis, which identifies the most common defects affecting product quality. The second problem emphasizes process mapping and continuous improvement, essential components of Total Quality Management (TQM), to streamline procurement workflows and reduce inefficiencies.

Problem 1: Pareto Analysis of Paint Defects in Medical Furniture

In the first scenario, Gary Seitz’s team at Forest Medical Center faced 312 side tables with various paint defects. Creating a Pareto chart facilitates the identification of the most significant issues contributing to quality problems. By tallying the frequency of each defect, compiling cumulative frequencies, and calculating percentages and cumulative percentages, the Pareto chart visually reveals that dirt in paint (65 occurrences) and sad looking (43 occurrences) constitute the most frequent problems. These issues likely have the most impact on overall product quality and customer satisfaction.

Developing the Pareto chart involves ranking defects from most to least frequent, calculating their percentages relative to total defects, and then plotting these data in a bar chart with a line representing the cumulative percentage. This analysis allows managers to prioritize quality improvement initiatives—focusing first on the most common defects such as dirt in paint and sad looking surfaces.

Conclusions from Pareto Analysis

Firstly, the dominant defect of dirt in paint indicates a potential lapse in surface preparation or painting procedures, suggesting a need for process control measures to improve cleanliness and application standards. Secondly, the high occurrence of "sad looking" surfaces, possibly indicative of finishing issues, further highlights inconsistencies in craftsmanship or material handling. Implementing targeted corrective actions based on these insights can significantly elevate product quality and reduce the defect rate.

Problem 2: Developing a Procurement Process Flowchart and Process Optimization

The second scenario involves constructing a flowchart for the existing procurement process at Lake Luna Medical Center. The process begins with requisition initiation and undergoes several validation layers, including departmental review, budget checking, vendor approval, and quotation management. The complex decision points—such as approval, rejection, vendor selection, and quotation analysis—underscore potential bottlenecks and redundancies.

Creating an efficient flowchart includes representing each step visually and identifying loops for re-evaluation, especially in cases of missing information or require multiple vendor checks. A streamlined flowchart minimizes unnecessary iterations, accelerates decision-making, and reduces delays. For example, integrating electronic requisitions and approval workflows could eliminate manual back-and-forth communications, thus shortening the process cycle.

Process Improvements Based on Total Quality Management

Three TQM-oriented recommendations for enhancing the procurement process include:

1. Implementing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): Transitioning from paper-based requisitions to electronic systems can reduce errors, improve documentation accuracy, and ensure faster communication across departments.
2. Standardizing Vendor Evaluation and Quotation Procedures: Establishing clear criteria for vendor selection and quotation assessment can minimize subjectivity, reduce the number of vendor checks, and improve cost efficiency.
3. Introducing Continuous Feedback and Training Mechanisms: Regular feedback sessions for staff and ongoing training ensure adherence to best practices, reduce mistakes, and foster a culture of continuous improvement aligned with TQM principles.

Conclusion

In sum, applying Pareto analysis to product defects enables targeted quality interventions, while developing detailed flowcharts and adopting TQM principles can significantly optimize procurement processes. These strategies cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, ultimately leading to enhanced service quality, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

References

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