Available online at ScienceDirect. Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 )

Transcription

1 Available online at ScienceDirect Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) Business Economics and Management 2015 Conference, BEM2015 New Trends in Process-Oriented Quality Management Eva Nedeliaková a *, Michal Panák b a Assoc. Prof. Ing. Eva Nedeliaková, PhD., University of Žilina, Faculty of Operation and Economics oftransport and Communications, Department of Railway Transport, Univerzitná 8215/1, Žilina , Slovak Republic b Ing. Michal Panák, University of Žilina, Faculty of Operation and Economics oftransport and Communications, Department of Railway Transport, Univerzitná 8215/1, Žilina , Slovak Republic Abstract This article is focused on process quality, which can be followed within the frame of the whole transportation chain or through division into its single constituent stages. It describes the newest approach to monitoring process quality applied to railway companies by using various types of appropriate software. It is currently a pressing problem to identify quality not only before the start of transportation and during it but also after the end of transportation. In the area of service provision in transport, it is important to take into account the fact that the requirements and claims of customers change over time Published The Authors. by Elsevier Published B.V. by This Elsevier is an open B.V. access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( Peer review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of BEM2015. Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of BEM2015 Keywords: quality; management; process; transport 1. Introduction The problem of identifying quality not only before the start of transportation and during it but also after the end of transportation has become very real. At that time, the customer often requires supplementary services; eventually, if the customer is not content with the transportation, he may resort to reclamation (Šatanová, Potkány 2004). In terms of the breakdown of transportation into single characteristics, several methods exist within the frame of world and domestic research. An interesting issue in this area is the use of facility management. This issue is devoted to more Vetráková, Potkány, Hitka (2013). The achievement of true success lies in the ability to predict future trends and embrace them successfully rather than letting them affect business adversely. This fact is also completely correct in the case of transport (Čamaj 2009). Adapting to change is particularly difficult for transport with its long historical basis, assets that last for * Eva Nedeliaková. Tel.: address: eva.nedeliakova@fpedas.uniza.sk Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of BEM2015 doi: /s (15)

2 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) decades and the dominance of various means of transport. Some kinds of transport tend to react slowly and consequently lose their good position in the transport market. Nowadays, the important approaches mainly focus on processing. In accordance with the above-mentioned facts, it is essential to provide services within transport with integrated planning and process organization, which is the activity of developing the products and processes required to meet customers needs (Gitlow et al. 1989). It involves a number of universal steps, as defined by Juran and DeFeo: define the customers, determine the customer needs, develop product and service features to meet the customer needs, develop processes to deliver the product and service features, transfer the resulting plans to operational personnel. (Pyzdek and Keller 2013) The paper emphasizes the need for efficient process management through various quality management tools with software support. These trends have been identified within the research at the University of Žilina. 2. Material and Methods Adapting to change is not an option but a requirement if a company is to survive and prosper. Worldwide, there are various famous quality management approaches, and, in accordance with the transport market s requirements, it is highly important to apply them to new methods (Poliak et al. 2015). Market influences have emerged to challenge the status quo, including various approaches by Juran, Deming and other famous members of the total quality control sphere. There are typical characteristics that are conspicuous for transport market development in connection with quality management: the growth of litigation over quality, the growth of government regulation of quality, the growth of consumerism, the Japanese quality revolution continuing with approaches in the USA and some European countries. (Pyzdek and Keller 2013) As Juran intended and experience has shown, the term universal implies that the activities can be applied across any organization at various levels, so they are applicable to the transportation chain. As Drucker said, strategic planning is the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial decisions systematically and with the greatest knowledge of their futurity, organizing systematically the efforts needed to carry out these decisions and measuring the results of these decisions against the expectations through organized, systematic feedback (Gitlow et al. 1989). For the needs within the frame of research carried out by the Department of Railway Transport, in collaboration with railway companies, a model was applied, which takes into account the characteristics of transportation by linking the perception of service quality in ordinary and extraordinary operations. It specifies the partial processes necessary during the valuation of the service quality offered, whereby two different dimensions of quality, namely the routine dimension and the dimension of special conditions, are distinguished. Both are also possible to observe after the realization of transportation (Dolinayová et al. 2008). The research was focused on the definition of characteristics for normal operation and for special conditions, and a new methodology for process-oriented quality management was found and applied to railway companies (Průša 2007). The routine dimension is typical of normal operation, when the service is provided in normal conditions. At that time, the expected process of transportation is followed, so this process is known. The process of service provision is a routine matter for employees and is standardized (Klapita and Majerčáková 2013). Customers expect the characteristics of the dimension of special conditions in special situations only. These may be caused by weaker performance, a mistake made by the transporter as the service provider, a mistake caused by the manager of infrastructure or exceptionalities arising in connection with the necessity of providing unusual access to a customer who requires this individuality (Majerčák and Čamaj 2010). These characteristics simultaneously also

3 174 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) include supplementary performances in customer care, which the customer does not expect, for example after completion of the transportation itself. Generally, according to the research, the expectations of the customer that his special requirements will be met quickly are relatively low (Sekulová and Nedeliak 2013). In that case, an opportunity arises for the transporter to exceed the expectations and leave the impression of good quality and a high degree of competence in solving problems, even after the end of transportation Selection of quality characteristics The selection of characteristics for ordinary and extraordinary operation was within the frame of research realized considering the interconnection with their possibilities of assessment by means of objective and subjective methods, because the set of characteristics is varied and some of them are demanding in qualification (Majerčák and Nedeliak 2010). For assessment, the resulting level of quality is necessary to connect the results of the measuring and rating by both types of methods (eventually with the exploitation of a combination of several methods). All these principles were based on a correctly defined goal of quality in the transportation chain of railway freight transport, as well as the expectations and needs of customers resulting from the research conducted (Majerčák and Majerčáková 2014). The selection of characteristics was made in accordance with the algorithm shown in Fig. 1. The figure documents the activities that were within the frame of the research conducted and served for the identification of customers and the determination of the needs of customers and processes, which are necessary to be able to reach the required quality. After detailed findings and searching, this scheme was used as a so-called map of quality planning, because the quality planning underway follows these systematic steps. For the transportation chain six basic characteristics of quality were defined in the research, in six quality areas: information availability reality flexibility customer care understanding and knowledge of customers. (Nedeliaková et al. 2013)

4 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) Results and Discussion Fig. 1. New methodology for process-oriented quality management with selected areas of evaluation The selection of characteristics within the frame of the research comes from practical operation, experience with contact with customers with regard to their interest, requirements, needs and the factors that are attractive to them and observations of the decisions about the utilization of railway freight transport and the purpose-built unit structure in a formally organized railway company (Nedeliaková et al. 2013). Fig. 2 presents a sequence of steps that were made within the application of the methodology in the real conditions of the transport market.

5 176 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) Fig. 2. Algorithm of the applied methodology with respect to the process-oriented quality management approach Table 1 presents the partial outputs of the research; therefore, it provides an exemplary assessment of quality with the application of its selected characteristics, which served as support for the identification of the quality of transportation services in railway freight transport. The individual quality characteristics were monitored within the frame of ordinary and extraordinary operation (Nedeliaková et al. 2013). Table 1. Quality assessment with the application of selected quality characteristics Point rating of transportation quality 0 points = unsuitable 2 points = partially suitable 5 points = standard 8 points = over standard 10 points = fully suitable = loss of goods = external damage to the consignment, but intactness of the goods = intactness of the consignment and goods = intactness of the consignment and goods; informing the customer about the state = intactness of the consignment and goods; informing the customer about the state of the goods during the unloading and after the unloading = not placing in the wagon = incorrectly placing in the wagon; failure to inform about placing in the wagon = correctly placing in the wagon; inform about = correctly placing in the wagon; inform about placing in the wagon; = correctly placing in the wagon; inform about placing in the wagon;

6 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) placing in the wagon readiness on unloading readiness on unloading; realization of unloading in accordance with the requirements of the customer = without additional services = partially additional services, insufficient support for a flexible solution to the requirements, even in the case of a claim = partial support for solutions to problems for the customer after transportation and in his favour = partial support for solutions to problems for the customer after transportation and in his favour, settling of customs controls, periodic inspection of the consignment during the day = full support for solutions to problems for the customer after transportation and in his favour, settling of customs controls, periodic inspection of the consignment during the day The assessment was characterized by the way in which the ratings were monitored not only for the transportation services but also for the related equipment at railway stations and in accordance with the mentioned data for a period of one year, during which gaps were identified in the exact definitions of the characteristics of quality. This methodology allows the monitoring of the quality of the processes provided throughout the transportation chain, thus encompassing the quality before the realization of the transportation, during it and after the end of the transportation. In comparison with previously used methods, this methodology is unique, universal and applicable to various types of companies in the context of the introduction of new trends in process-oriented quality management. It was supported by software solutions using various quality areas defined within the research and software support through BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation), EPC (Event-driven Process Chain) and UML (Unified Modeling Language). Fig. 3 shows the fragment of the software support including the modelling of one of the processes using the BPMN application and Fig. 4 demonstrates the fragment of Unified Modeling Language application. Fig. 3. The fragment of process modelling using the BPMN application

7 178 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) Various software solutions were used to gain a better understanding of the processes and to make managers work easier. These software tools have never been used in railway companies before. This research allowed the use of a new approach to obtain clearer management attitudes. The numerical abbreviations, for example RP 03.05, used in the pictures mean the code names of the processes. 4. Conclusion Fig. 4. The fragment of process modelling using UML application A suitably chosen methodology for identifying the level of quality of transportation services must meet the requirements in the environment transportation market in the Slovak Republic and, in specific examples, those of the selected stations and track sections, to provide relevant results. The benefit to research is a newly created methodology, with exact definitions and detailed characteristics of quality, which are designed for the management of railway companies. The benefits of the methodology consist of the clarity and the selection of the new characteristics for rating the quality of processes and services. It was created universally and therefore with the possibility of application to the whole transportation chain and in accordance with the specific conditions in different companies. The research revealed that the biggest problems occur in technical securing within the evaluated services, but they are also related to insufficient equipment or insufficient conditions and the number of certain types of wagons. These problems interfere with the phase of the transportation chain after the end of the transportation and play an important role in normal and extraordinary operation.

8 Eva Nedeliaková and Michal Panák / Procedia Economics and Finance 34 ( 2015 ) Acknowledgements The contribution is made in terms of grant project KEGA 026ŽU-4/2015 on innovative approaches in the system of teaching management in the railway transport study programme with a focus on the application of dynamic quality models in railway transport and grant project VEGA 1/0188/13 Quality factors of integrated transport system in the effective provision of public transport services in the context of globalisation, which are being conducted at the Department of Railway Transport, University of Žilina. References Čamaj, J., Rating of railway stations as an important element of marshalling, in Horizons of Railway Transport. University of Žilina, Strečno, pp Dolinayová, A. et al., Economic effects of realization logistics centres, in Logistic Centres. Institut Jana Pernera, Pardubice, pp Gitlow, H. et al., Tools and Methods for Improvement of Quality. Richard D. Irwin, Inc., USA, p Klapita, V., Majerčáková, E., Application of RFID technology in rail freight transport in Slovak Republic, in Transport Means 2013: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, pp Majerčák, J., Čamaj, J., Importance of creating freight trains as a tool to improve service quality of rail freight services, in Horizons of Railway Transport. University of Žilina, Strečno, pp Majerčák, J., Nedeliak, I., Practical experiences with modeling of IT systems and business processes, in 6th Forum of Rail Transport, pp Majerčák, P., Majerčáková, E., The aim of distribution logistics in the supply chain, in SCIECONF 2014, Proceedings in Scientific Conference, University of Žilina, pp Nedeliaková, E. et al., Methods of Evaluation of the Transportation Services Quality. EDIS, University of Žilina. Poliak, M. et al., Impact of road infrastructure pricing on transport planning, in Communications: Scientific Letters of the University of Žilina, pp Průša, P., External costs of transport as one of the parameters of sustainable development, in The Development of Passenger Transport Systems in Terms of Respecting User Requirements. University of Pardubice, p Pyzdek, T., Keller, P., The Handbook for Quality Management. A Complete Guide to Operational Excellence. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., USA, p Sekulová, J., Nedeliak, I., Utilization of GAP model in providing of services in the railway freight transport. Perner s Contacts, vol. 4, pp Šatanová, A., Potkány, M Controlling - Modern tool of company control. Ekonomický časopis, Bratislava: Slovak Academic Press s.r.o., Vol. 52. No , pp ISSN Vetráková M., Potkány, M., Hitka, M Outsourcing of facility management. In: E&M Economics and Management, Vol. 16, No.1/2013, Liberec: TU Liberec, 2013, p ISSN