Tue, 12/04/2018 - 12:03
I always enjoy my fellow columnist Arun Hariharan’s musings. He has worked in the field of quality for more than 30 years and, like me, has obtained reasonable results. But he has also made his share of the inevitable growing-pain mistakes—lessons…
Thu, 09/27/2018 - 12:01
During the early 1990s, I was president of the Twin Cities Deming Forum. I had a wonderful board whose members were full of great ideas. One member, Doug Augustine, was a 71-year-old retired Lutheran minister and our respected, self-appointed…
Tue, 04/24/2018 - 12:03
Customer satisfaction surveys are all the rage these days. Healthcare has a couple of “800 pound gorilla” surveyors whose services (and nontrivial expense) have been pretty much forced upon it. In many cases, targets are set that are used to drive…
Wed, 03/21/2018 - 12:03
Because of a growing movement in the health insurance industry toward not reimbursing hospitals for any expenses caused by a system-acquired infection, one health system made efforts to improve its infection rate starting in the last quarter of…
Mon, 02/26/2018 - 12:03
The Individuals chart is the “Swiss Army knife” of control charts. It usually approximates the supposedly “correct” chart under most conditions, and its use is much easier to understand and explain. It can also save you a major side trip into the…
Mon, 11/20/2017 - 12:03
During the early 1990s, I was president of the Twin Cities Deming Forum. I had a wonderful board to work with, one of whom was Doug Augustine, our self-appointed provocateur. Doug was a 71-year-old retired Lutheran minister, and we all loved him…
Wed, 10/18/2017 - 12:03
In my last column, I reflected back on my career to date and issued a challenge. Based on the relatively lukewarm response, let’s see whether I can engage a few more of you to join me on my quixotic journey.
“Trying to manage your career or your…
Wed, 09/13/2017 - 12:03
I have reached one of those life landmarks (receiving my Medicare card) and have been reflecting back... a lot. I will remain every bit as passionate about improvement and don’t think I will ever formally retire, but I also doubt I will have W.…
Mon, 08/14/2017 - 12:03
Many of you work in organizations that keep track of customer complaints. Have you ever thought of how they are recorded and tallied? What could possibly be wrong with this process: The customer brings a concern to your attention. Record it.
Let’s…
Mon, 07/17/2017 - 12:03
Recently I demonstrated a common incorrect technique for comparing percentage rate performances—based of course in the usual normal distribution nonsense. Let’s revisit those data with a superior alternative.
To quickly review the scenario: In an…
