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History of CQI at OPP

"CQI is not new." - 1997- Bill Anderson, Assistant Vice-President, Office of Physical Plant

"The Office of Physical Plant has always strongly supported the concept of participation by all employees in the development of their working conditions." - 1983, News and Views - Hank Yeagley, Assistant Vice President Emeritus, Office of Physical Plant.

Not a Destination but a Journey

Perhaps the employees of OPP were the pioneers in the University’s Quality movement! In 1981, the Office of Physical Plant began our journey with a new program (to us) called Quality Circles. This program was updated and renamed "Action Groups" in 1989. Its purpose was to encourage groups of employees (the job experts) to identify, analyze, and solve quality and other problems in their work.

 

Despite our successes, we were concerned that many employees were not involved in our Quality efforts, and some recommendations were not accepted or implemented. After several studies of OPP, we realized that we were not fully prepared to work in this participative style of management where employees were encouraged and supported to evaluate and recommend changes in their work.

 

So, we went back to the basics, and took a detour in our quality journey. We began an aggressive training program using the Zenger-Miller- Frontline Leadership. The purpose of this program was to help supervisory employees improve their leadership skills. It focused on the Basic Principles philosophy of leadership, interpersonal communications, developing team performance, fostering change and innovation, and improving problem-solving abilities. In 1995, we began holding similar training for the technical-service employees, and we are continuing to offer this training throughout our organization.

 

With this baseline philosophy of human relations in hand, our journey resumed with Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). CQI is not "another program", but rather an additional tool we will use to better serve our customers, improve the quality of our work life, and continue our standards of excellence.

 

An evaluation was made of the organization’s strengths and opportunities, and an updated strategic plan for continuous quality improvement was created. An Executive Steering Group (ESG) comprised of OPP’s top leaders, was formed to oversee all CQI initiatives. Quality Management Boards, each led by a member of the ESG, were established to address issues of leadership and accountability, diversity, training and safety, communications, janitorial effectiveness, and CQI.

 

Extensive team and leadership training in CQI has been held for all supervisors. In addition, all (1,000+) OPP employees attend courses on Diversity Awareness, Introduction to CQI, and Quality Service. The CQI session gives participants an overview of OPP’s CQI efforts, and allows them to begin using CQI tools and techniques while working in a team environment. Employees have an opportunity to work with individuals in other areas of OPP and to discuss their views with the ESG. Employees are encouraged to use the CQI tools and techniques such as brainstorming, effective listening, and time management in their everyday work.

 

As OPP has integrated CQI into everyday work, we have evolved to three versions of Action Teams – the types referring to how they were developed.

  • Process Action Teams (PATs) – original name given to the formal teams developed as a result of the CQI Master Plan

  • Process Action/Reengineering Teams (PARTs) – teams that were established during the procurement and implementation of our Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) - Maximo

  • MIS Process Action Teams (MISPATs) – teams that were established at our MIS Strategic Planning offsite sessions held during November 2003.

 

OPP has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with external consultants throughout our quality journey: