The document provides guidance on how organizations can survive economic downturns through quality improvement. It recommends listening to customer needs, establishing strategic objectives, mapping key processes, measuring performance metrics, identifying issues and their causes, prioritizing the most important problems, involving employees, eliminating waste from processes, standardizing procedures, and demonstrating the business case for quality improvement. Quality improvement is presented as a way for organizations to adapt, change, improve performance and competitiveness, and ensure long-term survival during difficult economic times.

1. SURVIVE THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN THROUGH QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Michael Weekes & Whataboutquality LLC St Petersburg – Tampa May 2009 American Society for Quality Chapter 1508

8. Examples NOTE the cross-functional nature of the work flow and how different departments depend on one another as suppliers

15. Pareto - Prioritize the Critical Few Summary of Room Service Complaints (% of total) Food Quality Late (> 20 min.) Lack of Other Variety 40% 30% 20% 10% 27% 14 % 24% 35% NOTE one category represents more than a third of all problems two issues represent more than half of the problem

16. Cause / Effect for Food Quality Issue - Room Service Poor Food Quality PEOPLE EQUIPMENT POLICY PROCEDURE Don’t deliver until The Chef places the receipt with the order The emphasis on satisfying the customer was not understood by most of the personnel No policy in place for room service The broiler was not capable of meeting food prep. requirements NOTE: each cause is just an opportunity waiting to be acted on

24. Thank you! Questions & Answers Mike Weekes President, Whataboutquality LLC Osprey, FL (941) 356 9434 Email: [email_address] On the web at: http://www.whataboutquality.com Blogging at: http://www.whataboutquality.wordpress.com/ ISBN 9780615272443