Under the Spotlight
Defining the cost of quality

Well-versed as she is in quality developments, had she actually learned something from her study of Managing Quality?

"Oh yes. A lot. I knew about most aspects of quality in practice but it was really helpful to me to put it all in a conceptual framework. I thought 'Managing Quality' contained an exceptional amount of good information and I see it as a resource for myself and other staff in the future. Even some of the most recent initiatives in quality, such as 6 Sigma, were all there when I looked them up. I especially want to follow up some of the suggested web site references when I get a chance."

"I found Financial Performance much harder, but then, who doesn't struggle with financial management when they don't actually get involved in it day-to-day?"

Lesley's work-based development project in financial management was to cost her own service - direct and indirect costs of time, equipment and resources and to analyse the strategic implications. As County Durham Care is still in the process of developing internal service level agreements, this was breaking new ground for Lesley and gave her a better understanding of how they work.

Julie Calvert, Team Manager for the Marketing and Quality Team and Lesley's line manager, comments: "Our field is becoming increasingly competitive. We have always been reasonably happy about being able to compete on quality of service but, without the output from this sort of project, it has been difficult to demonstrate that we were competitive on price as well."

"Now we can demonstrate to teams or to senior management potentially how much a project will cost. We hope it will have the effect of making them specify much more precisely what it is they want from the team. We have a policy of continuous improvement but there has to be a correlation of an improvement in service and the input of the team. Lesley's work has helped us to ensure we have the second half of the equation."

And what has Lesley got out of the development project? Julie Calvert can see a real difference. "Studying has made her think differently. She takes a broader view and doesn't hesitate to say 'can we afford to do this?'. If she is not comfortable with whatever l's proposed, she has the confidence and the grasp of the concepts to challenge what is said and to suggest alternatives."

"In an increasingly centrally directed environment, that kind of informed response from the sharp end of the business is very healthy.

Reproduced from Progress, Autumn 2001