He everybody

I often feel difficulty to establish the KPIs. Could you please explain if the KPIs really make difference in the QMS.
Thanks in advance
safi
Kuwait

Could you please explain if the KPIs really make difference in the QMS

Certainly. Borrowing from the signature of one of our user here - "Anything you cannot measure, you cannot control" and anything that you cannot measure and control you cannot make meaningful improvements.

Harry has rightly referred to the old saying. KPI are very useful for tracking on a routine basis and ensuring that the organization is walking on the right path.

well constructed and thoughtfully selected KPIs do make an enormous difference IF they are coupled with an
effective methodology, trained resources and adequate time to make improvements
a management team that establishes improvement goals by understanding the underlying causal systems and providing the resources needed to improve the measures (an integral component of ISO by the way)
a monitoring system that utilizes SPC to ensure that true improvements are made and the management team is not reacting to noise


too often, the management team slaps together some metrics that aren't integrated, sets arbitrary goals and then changes course willy-nilly jsut because some data point was a tad higher - or lower - than the previous data point. This then leads to measuremetn systems that are inaccurate. If people aren't given a real shot at improving the KPIs they will "make them look good" so as not to "fail"

In summary - a good system of KPIs is good; a bad system is terrible. it's the people and the system that makes the difference

In a word, Yes.

But as Bev points out, they need other things to make them useful.

Merely slapping together a set of KPIs isn't enough.

They have to be carefully selected, usefully applied, and the results actually used, analysed, considered and acted on. (eg, while SPC is obviously highly useful in manufacturing, it makes less sense in many service-based systems.)

But any good system needs things that are monitored and measured - some you monitor, some you measure - AND to be actually doing it.

Otherwise, it's stopping after Plan and Do... and then just keeping on going without ever closing the loop.

I agree with the previous contributors' comments but would add a word of warning. Don't let the organisation's focus be on meeting objectives rather than on achieving quality.

Sometimes organisations, knowing that they will be judged on how well they meet their objectives, massage the data to demonstrate that they achieve their targets, rather than ensuring that quality is achieved and using the objectives to measure how well they have done.

An example in our health service is that all people visiting A & E must be seen within 4 hours - so you get seen in 3 hours 50 mins and just moved to a different area but have had no treatment. When the figures are looked at they can demonstrate that they have achieved their objective but is the patient happy? No Way!

I agree with the previous contributors' comments but would add a word of warning. Don't let the organisation's focus be on meeting objectives rather than on achieving quality.

Sometimes organisations, knowing that they will be judged on how well they meet their objectives, massage the data to demonstrate that they achieve their targets, rather than ensuring that quality is achieved and using the objectives to measure how well they have done.

An example in our health service is that all people visiting A & E must be seen within 4 hours - so you get seen in 3 hours 50 mins and just moved to a different area but have had no treatment. When the figures are looked at they can demonstrate that they have achieved their objective but is the patient happy? No Way!

I agree with Colin. People are masters in making numbers work. Dr. Deming cautioned us about management by numbers. See "Out of the Crisis" pages 70-77.

Stijloor.

We had a KPI when it came to "felony theft" in our mandated reporting

When we needed to show a "crime wave" we included bicycles in the report which increased the total by a whole bunch. As a result we could get increased funding, more personnel and equipment to "fight" the "crime wave". We would then, after getting all the goodies, quit tracking bicycles as felony thefts to show that our efforts were successful and the city fathers could thump thier chests in pride:lol:

Numbers can be twisted to show anything you want

Safi, a lot of wisdom in the responses to your post. I would also add that when developing KPIs, they should be tested against the particular process output requirements, as a measure of their effectiveness.

I agree with the previous contributors' comments but would add a word of warning. Don't let the organisation's focus be on meeting objectives rather than on achieving quality.

True... but does this not put the emphasis back on ensuring that the KPIs are carefully chosen to actually provide results of real value and that really assess the results sought?

In your health example, I'd argue that patient being happy with the outcome was a really KEY performance indicator that should have been used, and that the 'seen within x hours' either wasn't, or wasn't in and of itself.