Hi peopleee I need help!!
My company wants to get its Medical department certified. The department has doctors who provide initial treatment to the employees of the company Employees are also referred to panel hospitals if required. In order to reduce cost of treatment at hospitals, the department keeps introducing new services like Dentist( hiring of resources, provision of infrastructure and purchasing of equipments are responsibilities of different departments. the Medical department just gives requirements and checks whether they are fulfilled or not) etc. I have made the initial flow of the design and developmet activity but i am confused as what will be the inputs and outputs in this case. This is a introduction of a service and not some tangible product. Please if any one can help me with this. And also the documents that I would be required to make apart from the flow chart.

1st, you do have a "tangible" product, it's the service you provide and you have a customer that is seeking satisfaction, now just marry the two up.

Start with the entire process as a whole and determine what it is that you need to achieve (output), then identify those things necessary for the process to occur (inputs) and the activities that are required to happen in order for the output to be achieved, lastly come up with ways to monitor and measure performance across the process.

Inputs will be people, facility, procedures, regulations, contracts, insurance agreements, material, facilities, training and so forth.

Your output is already defined. (Remember, you can have multiple outputs but the primary one is the service provided)

How it all comes together is up to you.

Break it all down with an Ishikawa diagram (fishbone) or some other measure. We've had discussion on this before. Look under "Turtle Diagrams" as well.

This is an internal service provided to company employees?

Thanks Randy I will do it as you described and will get back to you incase of further queries!!
Yeh Marc its an internal service provided only to the employees of the company.
i have few more questions :
1. how is the preservation of product part applicable here, because there is no storage, packaging in this case?
2. I cant think of any customer property that the department possess even the Medical data and records is the property of medical section. Any ideas!!

Hi!!!
I found this illustration of the turtle diagram on the Cove and liked it alot. What I have done for the design and development part is that I have developed sort of a from using that diagram. i have also formulated a committe responsible for reviewing each step who will be filling this turtle diagram in the start and will be evaluating it through out the process and writing their comments. I have attached form/ diagram please help me out and tell me if this is a nice idea to go about. I have documented detailed steps involved in the Design and Development activity along with decription using a flow chart separately.

Peopleee please tell me if my approach is right!!!

You're on the right track, now populate the turtle with the actual information (And get your other folks involved as well, solicit their feedback because this has to be a group effort)

But how is the preservation of product applicable here. the input is employees coming for treatment, product is medical consultancy provided to them and their treatment. hmmm is it something like the needles used should be sterilized, the blood taken for testing should be labeled and stored at a certain temperature etc

I don't think preservation of product is applicable in the traditional sense. You're defining your product as patient treatment, correct?

Needles and such are 'tools' used to produce your product. Probably someone else here can define the role of blood taken for testing.

Even the blood taken fro testing is not preserved. Result is given at the time of testing. Hmmmm so preservation of product is confusing

In that case, blood would definitely not be a preservation of product issue as it's not a product per se. The test results are your product.

Usually preservation of product is not applicable to service products because they are not physical products.

hmmmm so that means Preservation of Product is an exclusion!!!

Even the blood taken fro testing is not preserved. Result is given at the time of testing. Hmmmm so preservation of product is confusing

Blood specimens taken from patients are usually deposited into specific test-tubes, marked, packed, sealed to prevent contamination and then send/or collected by testing lab for further action. Upon receiving the blood samples, the lab will need to take necessary precautions to store or protect it before being tested.

All these actions constitute preservation of product. The other alternative is to treat it as Customer Property but the same care (preservation) has to be excercised.

Well, I wouldn't label it an exclusion. For example, the data (records) from the tests are one of your products. You wouldn't preserve them in the sense of a physically manufactured product such as a 'widget', but as a record there will be preservation (probably retention) requirements and such.

Let me ask you this: Can you make a list of what your products are?

Even the blood taken fro testing is not preserved. Result is given at the time of testing. Hmmmm so preservation of product is confusing
What do you do with the blood after testing? And how much time transpires between drawing the blood and testing of the blood?

Basically the blood is taken on a strip, tested immediately in the presence of the patient. The machine gives back the results instantly. The normal cycle of taking blood and keeping it is not done. Thats why I have not included blood in customer property as well.
Now I am thinking of excluding this preservation of product part. Ideasss. :(

List of Product interesting!!!
ummmm the one that I can think of is the OPD treatment being provided.
Aaaan the department arranges seminars to create awareness among employees and free medical camps. Sooooo hmmm so 2nd product: can be the information provided for awareness in the sminars. They have Ambulance service as well so 3rd. brining patienits on time.
So three products as a whole:
1. Treatment
2. Awareness
3. Ambulance Service

But how is the preservation of product applicable here. the input is employees coming for treatment, product is medical consultancy provided to them and their treatment. hmmm is it something like the needles used should be sterilized, the blood taken for testing should be labeled and stored at a certain temperature etc

Medicines, Medical Instuments, Gauges, Bandages....etc. used in the dispensory have shelf lifes. So these items need proper preservation. Secondly the medical journals..guidelines...which are updated on regular interval needs to be preserved against theft, natural calamity , insect bites. Thirdly the case history files of the patients either in hard or soft media should also be preserved adequately.

Cheers:cool:

arindam

So three products as a whole:
1. Treatment
2. Awareness
3. Ambulance Service

Oops!!!! One more entity I have missed out. Is the ambulance having a Trauma Unit??? Are blood gas analyzers, Na+ - K+ anlyzers fitted into it? Does the ambulance have an Operation Theatre ??? Is it fitted with Oxygen Cylinders?

If yes is the answer for any of the cases..Then 7.5.5 is applicable in my opinion.

Cheers:cool:

Arindam

Thankyou all specially Arindam fro your comments. Arindam after your though provoking post I have added this in the preservation section:
Medical booklet, journals etc are placed in cabinets and are revised/ updated. Oxygen mask, Stethoscope, BP Apparatus and Emergency Kit (containing bandages, medicines, etc) in the ambulance is checked regularly and Emergency Kit is frequently replenished.

Thankyou all specially Arindam fro your comments. Arindam after your though provoking post I have added this in the preservation section:
Medical booklet, journals etc are placed in cabinets and are revised/ updated. Oxygen mask, Stethoscope, BP Apparatus and Emergency Kit (containing bandages, medicines, etc) in the ambulance is checked regularly and Emergency Kit is frequently replenished.
Dear Mary,

You are most welcome. I would also request you to include the disinfection mechanism and pest control mechanism practiced in the clinic at periodic mechanism as that will strengthen the preservation of product clause even more. Please also include an work instruction for not only preservation of the clinical items but for their adequate handling too. As mishandling can cause serious problems.

Please also have provision for maintaining the MSDS ( material safety data sheet) for reactive chemicals and reagents used in the clinic and ambulance.



Cheers

Arindam

List of Product interesting!!!
ummmm the one that I can think of is the OPD treatment being provided.
Aaaan the department arranges seminars to create awareness among employees and free medical camps. Sooooo hmmm so 2nd product: can be the information provided for awareness in the sminars. They have Ambulance service as well so 3rd. brining patienits on time.
So three products as a whole:
1. Treatment
2. Awareness
3. Ambulance Service

Bit late but hope this will help other people.

Preservation of product should focus on how an organization will prevent deterioration, damage, loss, or discrepancy of the characteristics inherent or assigned to the product.

Controls for preservation of tangible products are usually obvious. However, for service providers controls will be different. Controls to preserve characteristics of services can be:

Methods for ensuring target dates are met - for Consultancy firms;
Methods for keeping rooms, dining area, staff clean - for Hotels and restaurants;
Methods for ensuring safety of transporting people - for Transport services;
Methods for ensuring confidentiality of accounts - for Bank and trust companies;
Methods for ensuring compliance to aviation standards - for Airlines;
Methods for ensuring compliance to ISO 17021 - for Certifying bodies;
Methods to ensure continuity of services - applicable to all
Etc.


The point is, product/service characteristics which are expected to be present when delivered or during delivery to the customers must be maintained.

tony s