5.1 Quality in a service industry
The concept of quality can be viewed from two sides - the provider's and the receiver's. When the two views coincide and agree with each other, quality results: "the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs" (ISO Standard 8402). The relationship between the customer and the provider of service is dynamic, changing as the needs for each shipment change. In multimodal transport, one transport company defines a quality service as one that is:
- reliable,
- cost effective,
- dependable,
- innovative and
- flexible.
The definition of quality in a service framework can include management systems that establish feedback networks to control the level and extent of the service provided, the input into the system from external sources (suppliers/sub-contractors) and the marketing of services to customers. Taguchi's (1986) definition of (the lack of) quality addresses the "loss imparted to society". We will discuss the cost of quality later in this chapter.
In the transport sector, the output is concurrent with the use of the service. Hence the service can be planned beforehand but not produced (then studied, tried and amended), so, unlike the output of manufacturing or engineering industries, it does not stand up very well to the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle suggested by Deming and explained further by Ishikawa (1985, p. 17). That is not to disagree completely with the concept but to accept it with its limitations in application to the service industry. Transport service packages are often developed with specific customer requirements in mind and then put into practice, i.e. cargo is moved on the first service provided and any short-comings addressed (This is unlike the manufacturing sector, where the output is produced, tried, amended, tried again ... until actual and desired outcomes match.) The cost of both producing the service and the cost of short-comings can be large to the provider and the receiver.- The planning stage, therefore, takes on greater importance. The quality of the service has to meet the requirements of the customer, the level of care required by the cargo, and the expectations of the provider.
The effort and care taken in the planning of a service are of little importance to the customer. His criterion for satisfaction is the service actually received. If customer expectations are met, satisfaction can be expected. The aim of any quality system should be to use this level of service on the foundation on which to continuously improve in response to customer and organisational needs.
The provision of transport services is a matter of meeting a dynamic set of requirements. Competition leads to greater extent of services being developed constantly. Management have to balance the cost of the service provided against the benefits (revenue) earned from the service. While quality systems help in establishing a required level of service, management have to control the efficiency of the output to provide that service at optimum cost. Taguchi (1986) describes this in his "loss to society" model as "...a product with good quality will cause few ... losses to society...". Formalised quality practices focus on the correctness of aims, procedures and culture in the workplace to ensure that the output reflects the commercial aim of the organisation as well as the expectations of customers.
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