Marriott: MMS Radio News
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(Announcer 2)
Hello, and welcome to issue number three of MMS Radio
News...
(Rising Music)
(Announcer 1)
I'm Roger Newman...
(Announcer 2)
And I'm Veronica Flood. And you're tuned into the audio
newsletter produced exclusively for MMS managers across the U.S. and Canada...
(Announcer 1)
In this issue, we'll bring you a new crop of stories
describing how our colleagues are using TQM to improve operations at MMS
facilities of all kinds. And, how you can put these simple tools and ideas to
work to help boost your success as well.
(Announcer 2)
In this issue of MMS Radio News...
(Announcer 1)
An Education Services account director confesses what he did
on spring break...at a Pittsburgh-area hospital, TQM measurement techniques get
MMS in hot water... working more closely with clients keeps Corporate Services
in good company...and a new Radio News feature looks at a beginning TQM
effort--maybe one of yours.
(Announcer 2)
Our first stop is Waldorf College, where MMS Correspondent
Maura Lee Smith reports that Food Service Director Allen Indrelie had an
unusual Spring Break this year. Rather than packing up his biological family,
he packed up his MMS family and took all 12 on a little working vacation. Maura
Lee?
(Announcer 4)
Thank you, Veronica. Waldorf College is a small school in
northern Iowa, very rural, very traditional. So when Allen Indrelie wanted to
expand the horizons of his associates, he thought, what better way to do it
then get all 12 of them out on the open road...
(Indrelie--Tape 1A--Start 12)
"We went and visited five other Marriott
accounts...(42)We asked them if we could come and visit and they said sure, and
we ate at all the accounts and just to visually see the process out there that
there's other processes than what we have...(57)We had two vehicles, and we
just took off, and it was a great time."
(Announcer 4)
The Waldorf group logged hundreds of miles over the two day
trip, and they came back with a number of new insights.
(Indrelie--Tape 1A--Start 195)
"Different ways of doing garnishes, different ways of
doing wall decorations, different seasonal displays...(198)the way salad bars
are set up differently and serving lines."
(Announcer 4)
According to Indrelie, even more important than what they saw
was the feeling of associate empowerment fostered by the trip.
(Indrelie--Tape 1A--Start 202)
"All these people have been here five years plus and
they've seen the same thing every day. I go on these trips and I come back and
say 'look at these neat things I saw' and they say 'oh big deal, because we
didn't see them.' That's just an attitude everybody gets...(76)They saw
different ways of changing the dining hall appearance and just changing the way
we do our everyday job to benefit the students. And they took it upon
themselves to make a lot of the changes--the 'what if' and 'why can't we do
this' started to be a major part of their vocabulary."
(Announcer 4)
Indrelie says his customers have been impressed with the
changes his associates have made, and by their overall drive toward continuous
improvement. And, although no specific plans have been made, he does note that
there are still 8 or 9 schools in the region his staff has not visited. Yet.
(Indrelie--Tape 1A--Start 251)
"Marriott has so many great people working for them and
they have so many great ideas. But sometimes they're hesitant to use them
because they think 'how that may be a dumb idea.' But they're really not, I
mean, change is good, and I tell it to my staff all the time. And we've changed
a lot since that one trip, and we'll change again after the next trip."
(Announcer 4)
From northern Iowa, I'm Maura Lee Smith.
(Announcer 2)
Sounds like it could be another enjoyable "learning
vacation." Thank you, Maura Lee. We now join my colleague Roger Newman,
who filed this report from Sewickley Valley Hospital, near Pittsburgh. Take it,
Roger.
(Announcer 1)
Here at Sewickley Valley Hospital, TQM has become a strong
problem-solving tool, as well as a harbinger of change in the way associates
perceive themselves and their jobs. MMS Food Service Director Lil Garcia tells
me that soon after her Nutrition Services group participated in a hospital-wide
cascading quality training program, they began taking advantage of what they
call "opportunities for improvement."
(Lil Garcia--Tape 3B--Start 133)
"One of the very first opportunities that we
tackled...(134)the big problem that you have with contaminated items coming
down on trays from the patient bedside. By contaminated items, I mean gauze,
medical equipment and so forth--things dietary employees should not be exposed
to and are not trained to handle."
(Announcer 1)
As a result of the TQM training, Garcia realized that, in
order to initiate change, she needed to present the responsible parties with
some specific, real world
measurements. Her associates began keeping a careful record of inappropriate
items they saw and where they came from.
(Lil Garcia--Tape 3B--Start 148)
"Now I have facts to go to the nurse managers meeting
with. I'm not going in there saying 'we have a big problem with this, it
happens all the time.' I can go in there and say 'in 30 days I had 37 instances
of contaminated items coming down on trays.' That's measurable and you can get
someone's attention when you do that..."
(Announcer 1)
Garcia reports that by presenting the problem in this way,
most of the nursing staff was cooperative in helping to reduce the instance of
contaminated items getting sent down on the trays.
(Lil Garcia--Tape 3B--Start 181)
"It was really a joint effort, because both departments
worked on it together until we agreed the problem was solved...(157) Now we
average about 2 instances a month. My employees are happy, they are involved in
the measurement, and they see an immediate result to their efforts."
(Announcer 1)
For their next project, Garcia's group began measuring the
temperatures of hot foods, which had become an issue at the hospital. They
first measured the temperature of the food as it left the kitchen, and found
that it was plenty hot at that point.
(Lil Garcia--Tape 3B--Start 210)
"So we decided what should we measure next? And we
measured when the steam tables were being turned on, and we found that that was
not a problem. And we measured the temperature of the hot water they were
putting in the steam tables. That was not a problem either. After about 2
months of constant monitoring what we identified was a problem in our steam
tables, that the wattage was not what it should have been."
(Announcer 1)
Garcia reports that her team has solved a number of problems
using these measurement techniques. Still, she admits that her team was not
always as enthusiastic about TQM as they are now, that there was a lot of
resistance at first. According to Barry Jordan, a chef at the Hospital,
positive response from customers had a lot to do with the associates getting
onboard.
(Jordan--Tape 3B--Start 492)
"I think initially, it was kind of 'oh well here's more
things to do,' and more of a headache, 'well you gotta worry about this now,
you gotta worry about that'... (509) Once we started seeing the feedback from
patients and stuff--cause they would do a survey with the patients--there's a
gradual increase in patient satisfaction. I think that really helped a great
deal--you know what we're doing here is beneficial and showing people are
appreciating what we're doing."
(Announcer 1)
Whatever the reasons, Garcia says that TQM has helped spark
a real culture change at Sewickley Valley Hospital.
(Lil Garcia--Tape 3B--Start 246)
"We come from the old world where you don't admit that
you can do things better...I think when you get into TQM you have to change
that. You have to be able to admit that there's opportunity for improvement here,
and I've got to measure to see how much opportunity for improvement I have.
(243) It's okay to say 'this job can be done better'..."
(Announcer 1)
From Sewickley Valley Hospital near Pittsburgh, I'm Roger
Newman.
(Announcer 2)
One dictate of TQM is that our actions demonstrate that we
are working with our clients rather than simply working for them. MMS is
striving to move away from the traditional, sometimes even adversarial
supplier-customer relationships, and establish and maintain win-win
partnerships at all client accounts. Ray Martinez recently visited two
different Corporate Services locations that seem to be meeting that goal. Ray?
(Announcer 3)
Veronica, my first stop was the headquarters of Mellon Bank.
According to MMS General Manager Gail Adams, when Mellon initiated their Total
Quality Process a few years back, MMS client Michael Zito wanted everybody
onboard.
(Gail Adams--Tape 2A--Start 20 )
"Mellon Bank is very involved with the Total Quality
Process, and our client who is the Total Quality Coordinator for the bank...he
wanted to form a partnership with Marriott ...(115)they wanted to bring the
food service into that loop to be sure they were covering all their
bases."
(Announcer 3)
MMS held focus groups with Mellon Bank associates. The
suggestions and ideas raised in these meetings spurred MMS to make a number of
changes in menus, in dining concepts and in operating hours, all in an effort
to better serve customer and client. One change in particular was an instant
success...
(Gail Adams--Tape 2A--Start 205)
"We do have quite a bit of competition here where
people constantly ordering from outside areas for pizzas and things like that,
so what we did was institute a Mr. Z's pizza program. We named it after the
client...(211) we've picked up additional revenues through pizza delivery
service...(214) and we also provide fresh homemade pizza daily in the
cafeterias...(220) We give them a delivery within 20 minutes...(222) our prices
are very competitive...(224) We did a take off on the "Wild Pizza"
program, but we improved our pizza dough a little bit. We added a couple
different ingredients to make it taste a little better, look a little nicer,
and it's just been unbelievable. We started off in the cafeteria serving about
10 pizzas a day and now we're up to 40 pizzas a day in the cafeteria. And our
deliveries--one week we had over 110 pizzas delivered."
(Announcer 3)
MMS also reevaluated all of their programs in an effort to
reduce food service deficits. In the past few years, they've slashed the
subsidy by nearly 85%.
(Gail Adams--Tape 2A--Start 440)
"We're very proud of what we've done here. I think over
the past 8 years that I've been here we've made many changes, and we know that
we're going to be making many more. We're looking to the future to see what we
can do here to get...both cafeterias to a break even."
(Announcer 3)
Mellon seems to be proud of Marriott's performance as well.
They recently awarded MMS their Quality Service Award during the Bank's Vendor
Recognition Day.
(Gail Adams--Tape 2A--Start 162)
"We were willing to have a 'whatever it takes'
attitude. That we were willing to accept constructive criticism and work within
the guidelines that Mellon had set for us...(167)I think that in general they
just felt that we would do whatever it takes...to meet their needs, and I think
that's primarily why we won this award.
(284) "Our response has been just unbelievable. We get
some good feedback. I feel real positive about the things that we're doing
here...(293) I feel that we're doing everything we can possibly do to
provide...a quality food service to Mellon Bank..."
(Announcer 3)
After Mellon Bank, I spoke to associates in the San
Francisco Bay area, where MMS is also taking a partnership approach to Quality
in the more than a dozen Hewlett-Packard facilities they serve.
HP is a leading manufacturer of computers and electronics.
They are a quality-oriented company, and have a supplier certification program
in place. But over time, their program proved to be geared more toward
manufacturing-related suppliers, and less effective in assessing the
performance of service suppliers. Fortunately, HP's food service supplier
proved to be willing and able to assist, as Mary Beth Binkley, MMS Director of
Operations, explained to me.
(Mary Beth Binkley --Tape 2B--Start 290) (Note--this is tape
from last issue set)
"They're applying more and more of the TQM tools and
skills that they're getting from the manufacturing side to a service, but
they're not finding it so easy to transfer...(309)There's things like error
rates...(314)what does that mean to you? We're not talking about a
manufacturing part, a widget that when you stick it in a computer, .03 times
it's faulty, and they'll say 'oh yeah what do we mean by that?' And then we
have to help them to develop what it is that they're wanting us to improve on.
(219)"Mainly it's been a process of working together in
a partnership to transfer a tool that HP had that they used for manufacturing
suppliers to transfer this tool to be used for their service suppliers,
starting with food service. They chose Marriott because they felt we were a
little further ahead than our competitors in Total Quality Management."
(Announcer 3)
Since HP uses a number of service providers, including other
food services, Binkley believes that Marriott's assistance in creating service
quality guidelines will give a boost to HP's overall supplier certification
program. They will be able to better compare suppliers, and that, Binkley says,
will be good for MMS.
(Mary Beth Binkley --Tape 2B--Start 241)
"They'll look at that and see how they measure up to
Marriott...(274) They're constantly looking for ways that we can prove to them
that we're the best provider for their food service."
(300) And when they talk to your competitors or talk to
their fellow clients who work with your competitors very often you look a lot
better than your competitors do because you're already providing materials that
they haven't even thought about doing yet."
(Announcer 3)
This is Ray Martinez reporting.
(Announcer 2)
Interesting perspective, Ray. So they've found that the TQM
process itself can be a tool for competitive advantage, as well as a driver of
performance improvement?
(Announcer 3)
That's right, Veronica. Binkley tells me that the trust and
credibility they're building in this cooperative effort can't help but
strengthen the business at HP.
(Announcer 2)
Do you think clients and customers are really interested in
our quality improvement efforts themselves--or just in their results?
(Announcer 3)
Results are important, but our dedication to the Quality
process is also an important way to differentiate us from our competitors. So I
think it's vital to make customers aware of our efforts, and to share
information with them. Participate in each other's quality meetings, for
example. Or play them MMS Radio News, as I hear a lot of MMS managers are
doing.
(Announcer 2)
That's good advice, Ray. Thank you. Next up is a new segment
we call TQM Progress Report. Each issue, we'll focus on a particular MMS
facility that is just beginning its TQM efforts--literally in just the past few
months. They'll tell us a bit about what they're doing, and share any insights
they've developed as they move ahead. Then, in a future edition of MMS Radio
News, we'll catch up with them and see how they're progressing.
For this Progress Report, we go to Heritage Hospital in
Taylor, Michigan, where we spoke with Patient Services and Clinical Nutrition
Manager Ocene Naglik.
(Naglik--Tape 1B--Start 363)
"TQM here is not a formal program...I was pretty much
feeling my way through a situation that...appeared to have two different areas
butting heads. And all I could see short of me being the problemsolver was to
get these two people together and start having them listen to each other."
(Announcer 2)
The areas in question were the trayline associates--those
who portion the food and prepare the food trays, and the tray passers--the
associates that pick up the trays and bring them to the patients. Two groups,
obviously, that needed to coordinate their efforts in order to effectively
serve the patient.
(Naglik--Tape 1B--Start 200)
"It's often been a 'we and they' type of
thing...(104)They are blaming their problems on other areas without recognizing
that not only are their problems similar but they can help each other solve the
problem."
(Announcer 2)
Naglik's first action was to start meeting with each group
separately, and have them discuss their perceptions. Then, carefully, she began
making arrangements to bring the groups together in an appropriate forum.
(Naglik--Tape 1B--Start 230)
"I began to see that they had similar problems and I
suggested to both groups that we sit down and meet and set the groundrules,
being that you can't criticize someone's suggestion, you have to let a person
speak. You have to listen. And anyone can say anything constructive without
being embarrassed."
(Announcer 2)
Perhaps symbolic of the distance between the two groups,
they hit a snag almost immediately. And perhaps symbolic of the progress they
will make, they overcame the snag using TQM.
(Naglik--Tape 1B--Start 183)
"Between the traypassers and the trayline there didn't
seem to be a time when one or the other were free...(190) they were able to
compromise and set up a schedule whereby the meetings time flex each month in
order not to overburden one area or the other. It was a small TQM process. But
the problem was identified and they helped come up with a solution as a
team."
(Announcer 2)
Naglik reports that the first meeting was kind of
uncomfortable, with a lot of staring and not a lot of talking. But by the
second and third meetings, people began communicating, and from there, the
process began to accelerate quickly.
(Naglik--Tape 1B--Start 268)
"The number one thing I've seen is that they're opening
up more, identifying problems even before the meeting takes place. Number 2 is
that they are addressing problems amongst themselves as a group or between two
people and coming to me and saying we'd like to do this or this... (292)They're
talking to each more, and that in itself is improving the cooperation between
the two groups. They won't blame each other for a problem before saying how
come you didn't do this or how come this happened or yesterday I saw this,
rather than jumping to the conclusion that someone did something wrong and its
someone else's fault...(43) I think that what they're seeing is that they both
have the same goals in mind and that is how can they best help the patients.
(Announcer 2)
Naglik expects this teamwork approach, as encouraged by the
TQM process, to help make her group more effective than the sum of its parts.
But, she understands the time involved, and doesn't expect overnight miracles.
(Naglik--Tape 1B--Start 427)
"We're just getting started. And for us, it's just
learning the process, not only between the traypassers and the trayline people,
but for myself...(430) we're really in the early stages of learning...(434) and
we'll probably make mistakes."
(Announcer 2)
Mistakes...and successes. We'll keep you posted on both, as
the TQM effort at Heritage Hospital moves forward.
(Announcer 1)
You know, Veronica, as I listened to that story, I couldn't
help but see the parallels to Joyner's stages of team growth.
(Announcer 2)
Oh, you mean forming, storming, norming and performing.
(Announcer 1)
Right.
(Announcer 2)
I think it's applicable to most teams. In forming, you
benefit from some early enthusiasm, but trust has not yet been established.
Then, you hit storming, that period where enthusiasm wanes and trust has still
not been established. That's the dangerous point where people sometimes want to
give up. But the team will quickly move forward into norming, with team spirit
beginning to form and the team working together to resolve conflicts.Then you
move together into the fourth stage, performing, characterized by a high level of
trust, and the ability to work together to diagnose and resolve a wide range of
problems. I think Heritage Hospital is now solidly in the norming stage,
preparing to claim the big successes of the performing stage.
(Announcer 1)
Great. You lnow, I'd like to hear about similar team-building efforts at other MMS
facilities. See if they're having the same experiences.
(Announcer 2)
That's our goal with this new feature, Roger, but to reach
it, we need help from our listeners.
If you're just starting a TQM effort at your facility, why
not share your key learnings and experiences with colleagues throughout MMS.
Your group could be featured in the next installment of TQM Progress Report.
Just call the TQM Hotline at 1-800-638-8108, extension 85200, and leave all
appropriate information, including, of course, your name and phone number, so
that someone can get back to you. That's the same number, by the way, you use
to contact TQM Notes, our sister publication.
(Announcer 1)
You can also use that number to suggest stories to cover
here on MMS Radio News. And to give us your feedback on the audio newsletter.
We've received quite a few calls since establishing our voicemailbox after the
second issue. We appreciate them, and carefully consider each and every
suggestion. For example:
(Comments--Tape 5B--Start 141)
"Have an address or preferably a phone number after the
story so that we can contact the folks in the story to understand better how
they made the changes that they made."
(Announcer 1)
Excellent idea. We're looking into the feasibility of
printing and presenting detailed contact information on the cassette label or
box card. In the meantime, if you'd like information on a specific contact,
just call the TQM Hotline. Someone will get back to you quickly with the
information you need.
(Announcer 2)
We also received some ideas for new stories, such as...
(Comments--Tape 5B--Start 43)
"Something that I thought would be a good article or
story to talk about in the future would be some success stories on Covey--on
how people have actually changed themselves through the Covey leadership
training."
(Announcer 2)
Good suggestion--we are working on it. We invite our
listeners to share some good early examples of the impact of our Covey
training. Just call our voicemailbox through the TQM Hotline. That number again
is 1-800-638-8108, extension 85200.
(Announcer 1)
Please call us to share your story ideas. We need your help
now more than ever as we move to a regular production schedule of every other
month, as many of you suggested. We need your ideas to keep a steady flow of
fresh new stories here on MMS Radio News.
(Announcer 2)
That's right. Nobody knows what's going on out there better
than you. So please share your knowledge with us.
(Announcer 1)
Veronica, let's hear what some other callers had to say...
(Comments--Tape 5B--Start 17)
"I enjoyed it very much and enjoyed the opportunity to
use my drive time more effectively as I'm going from account to account in my
district...I noticed the improvement over the first tape."
(78) "It was great to hear about other units in other
divisions and to get ideas from their success stories. I may not be able to
duplicate exactly what they did but I was really brainstorming as to some
improvements for my own unit."
(160) "It seems very economical, that it's a very
inexpensive way to communicate with a lot of people quickly. So I like that
idea."
(Announcer 1)
The idea to present an audio cassette newsletter rather than
"another" printed
newsletter came as a result of focus groups held with unit managers, and we're
pleased that MMS Radio News is proving to be such an effective and
cost-effective medium.
(Announcer 2)
Roger, environmental issues are of special concern to our
listeners, as they are to us. Several people suggested "recycling"
the tapes, sending them back to us to rerecord and use again. A good thought,
but the fact is, the postage it would take to send the tape back to us is
actually more than the cost of the tape. So keep it. Play it for as many people
as possible, and, after you've gleaned all the information and ideas you can,
feel free to record over it.
(Announcer 1)
You may be aware that most prerecorded tapes, including
previous issues of MMS Radio News, have their recording tabs removed before
distribution to prevent accidental erasure. This also makes rerecording
inconvenient. Starting with this issue, we've left the recording tabs in place
so you can reuse the tapes easily.
(Announcer 2)
Let us know what you think of this idea. On the one hand, it
facilitates a major benefit of the cassette format--unlike paper, it can be
quickly and easily "recycled" by the users themselves. On the other
hand, accidental erasure becomes a possibility. What has your experience been?
(Announcer 1)
Of course, Veronica, some people may prefer to sidestep the
issue entirely by building their own MMS Radio News library and keeping all the
issues as reference. We salute that approach.
(Music)
(Announcer 1)
And now, in the second half of MMS Radio News...
(Announcer 2)
A self-directed TQM effort shows that expanded choice is the
key to student satisfaction in a southern California District...MMS helps a
client hospital in its drive to decrease expenses in the face of rising
admissions--while actually improving patient care...the customer driven process
is warming up our client partnership at Frostburg State University...and in
Washington, a school where the food choices are healthy--and so is the bottom
line.
(Announcer 1)
First up--One of the goals of MMS Radio News is to
demonstrate how basic TQM can be, and how simple efforts can lead to big
successes, even without formal training--just a little horsesense and a little
chutzpah. That seems to describe the people at Fontana Unified School District
in California, where Maura Lee Smith reports.
(Announcer 4)
Don Lander, the GM here at this school district in Southern
California, told me that his group's accelerating TQM efforts have their roots
in TQM Notes and other MMS Publications.
(Lander--Tape 4B--Start 24)
"Just reading the Notes that have been coming in and
the information that I have been receiving through Marriott throughout the past
year... (36)I kinda started talking about TQM, talking about the Notes, talking
to Administrators and what have you and found out that the District was
basically into pretty much the same thing that Marriott was into."
(Announcer 4)
Building on the basic ideas and success stories he read
about, and mixing in his own experience and intuition, Lander and his group
began conducting focus groups with principals and some of the 30,000 students
they serve.
(Lander--Tape 4B--Start 130)
"We invited principals to invite x number of students
to participate in our meetings and focus groups...(133) we just started asking
questions and we started getting information from students in terms of their
likes and dislikes, and we just kind of rolled it all together...and start
giving them really what they wanted and once we did that not only our
participation but also our sales, there's just been a tremendous
growth..."
(Announcer 4)
Lander reports that the major messages they received related
to food choice and variety. In
response, they increased the number of selections offered each day, and
provided foods specifically requested by customers. Almost immediately, a
number of existing problems began to almost solve themselves...
(Lander--Tape 4B--Start 315)
"Since we've gone to the five selections we really
don't get complaints anymore from parents or students...(323) saying that, you
know, the kid didn't like the food or they didn't get enough to eat or
something like that...(327) also it's helped participation grow
tremendously...(334)it also has eliminated, pretty much eliminated our waste so
if they chose a pizza or if they chose a burrito its because they want that
burrito and usually they will eat pretty much 100%, where prior if we had one
entree or two entrees they might take it and might eat half of it and throw it
away."
(Announcer 4)
As part of their drive to provide student favorites, they
negotiated with popular nearby restaurants to provide their foods right on
campus. For example, a local pizza parlor now delivers several pizzas a few
minutes before each meal, and MMS serves slices on the hot lines right
alongside the other choices. In addition to boosting revenues and keeping more
students on campus during meals, this process has also created part-time
delivery jobs for several students.
But students aren't Lander's only constituency--he heard
some ideas from principals as well. One of their main concerns: keeping the
parents satisfied. So Lander arranged a "tasting" in which parents
were offered hors d' oeuvres-sized selections of a dozen or more food items.
(Lander--Tape 4B--Start 293)
"What this did for us is all of a sudden the parents
would say you know the kids might come home and complain and they're tasting
the pizza and tasting the particular item, and they're seeing that we're giving
them a good quality product."
(Announcer 4)
The net result of all this, as Lander told me--
(Lander--Tape 4B--Start 108)
"We've been able to grow anywhere from 12 to 15% per
year in participation, and even though the growth in the school district has
only gone from 28,000 to 30,000 we've been able to grow the program that
much."
(Announcer 4)
From Southern California, this is Maura Lee Smith reporting.
(Announcer 2)
Thank you Maura Lee. With the universal concern over the
cost of healthcare, it's no surprise that TQM processes are being used at
hospitals across the country to help improve the efficiency of patient care.
Ray Martinez reports from one hospital that is doing more with less, because
they're doing it together.
(Announcer 3)
TQM came to Northwest Hospital in Seattle about two years
ago, when everyone, including the MMS Clinical Nutrition Services Department,
was trained in the Quality process. Almost immediately, Department Manager Donna
Ojiri told me, hospital associates formed a cross-functional Super Quality
Action Team, and set their sights on increasing their level of teamwork.
(Ojiri--Tape 5A--Start 220)
"People were doing things in their departments within
their barriers, within their parameters... (227)This is nursing's
responsibility. This is dietary's responsibilities and no one crossed
over...(235) with TQM, it's gotten people thinking more patient-focused and
breaking down the department barriers."
(Announcer 3)
This new willingness to expand job roles and cooperate with
each other has been a boon to problem-solving efforts at the hospital. For
example, if they are trying to determine why food trays are late, everyone is
approachable and cooperative in a search for a solution.
(Ojiri--Tape 5A--Start 243)
"In the past the food and nutrition department would
just work on late trays by themselves. But now we involve nursing, we involve
the unit secretary, we may involve the physician. We involve everyone who may
play a part in late trays...(252) it gives you a better understanding of what's
going on throughout the hospital."
(Announcer 3)
More dramatically, this new spirit has allowed the hospital
staff to change the way they evaluate patients, reducing labor while improving
patient care.
Before TQM, incoming patients would be evaluated in turn by
the physician, the nurse and the dietician, who were often looking at a lot of
the same data--such as height, weight, weight loss and food concerns. This
process demanded that Dietary visit every patient--a workload that meant
patients could not receive a dietary evaluation until a day or more into their
stay.
(Ojiri--Tape 5A--Start 302)
"I would say about 35% of patients need some sort of
nutrition intervention. So in the past what we were doing was screening all the
patients and trying to find out the 35%. So that was very labor intensive and
also not very timely...(67)we found that...we could increase the efficiency by
eliminating that screening step done by the dietician and have the nursing
person do it because she really does it first...
(Announcer 3)
Nutrition Services educated Nursing on screening patients
for special nutrition needs, and they began doing so during their regular evaluation, calling in Nutrition
Services only when necessary.
Now, Nutrition Services could get malnourished or allergic
patients on their special diets within hours of checking into the hospital. In
addition, Ojiri reports, this sharing of hospital responsibilities goes both
ways.
(Ojiri--Tape 5A--Start 204)
"We're not just looking at nutrition, we're looking at the total patient
care. And so we can make recommendations as far as now the patient needs a
speech evaluation or a swallowing evaluation from another discipline and not
just looking at it from strictly a nutrition background."
(Announcer 3)
Efforts such as these have allowed MMS Nutrition Services to
reduce labor hours by 2 FTEs while actually improving quality of care. It's a
trend underway throughout Northwest Hospital. As a matter of fact, a Seattle
business newspaper recently praised the hospital for actually decreasing
expenses in the face of rising admissions. And suggested that Northwest may in
many ways become a model for the hospital of the near future.
(Ojiri--Tape 5A--Start 408)
"I think
for us to survive in the future with healthcare reform I think you have to work
together with other departments and you can't work alone...(411)with everybody
trying to decrease expenses and one of the biggest expenses is labor you really
just need to coordinate efforts a lot better."
(Announcer 3)
Ojiri also has some advice for her MMS colleagues at other
accounts, healthcare or otherwise...
(Ojiri--Tape 5A--Start 414)
"If we are not aggressive in this, I think that other
people will then decide how it should be done and perhaps may not understand
what we do as much and might not do it the way we would prefer to do. So I
think taking an active role helps us there...(419)it's better to be part of the
change rather than be consumed by it."
(Announcer 3)
From Seattle, this is Ray Martinez, MMS Radio News.
(Announcer 1)
We've reported before about the Customer Driven Process, the
TQM effort being introduced account by account in Marriott Education Services.
In this issue, MMS Radio News goes to Frostburg State University in
northwestern Maryland, where CDP was initiated about 2 years ago. Correspondent
Maura Lee Smith reports that, well, there's a lot to report. Maura Lee?
(Announcer 4)
Director of Dining Services Pete Delany is very enthusiastic
about the Customer Driven Process introduced at Frostburg State University, one
of the first half dozen Education Services accounts to begin the process.
(Delany--Tape 4A--Start 40)
"The neat thing about the process is we actually talk
to customers, we actually talk to staff, we actually talk to the other
clientele on campus. And the decisions are made in a partnership..."
(Announcer 4)
In initiating CDP, Delaney and his group first organized
several focus groups to brainstorm areas to be covered in a comprehensive
survey. Then, with the assistance of several Frostburg Administrators, they
wrote and released the survey. It was a bit unusual. For one thing, it was
nearly 10 pages long. And, in order to get maximum student involvement, it
included a $1 credit coupon good at any campus location. But perhaps the most
unique feature was that the survey didn't only solicit feedback on food
service, it also asked for student input on every area of Frostburg campus
life, from parking to residence hall living.
(Delany--Tape 4A --Start 325)
"We are a partnership. We are not here providing
service in a vacuum...We realize we are an integral part of residential
life."
(Announcer 4)
MMS's partner--the Frostburg Administration--received a lot
of valuable information. Students wanted more parking, more accessible
computers, tighter security and renovations to the residence halls. It was real
data the Administration could use to get things done.
(Delany--Tape 4A --Start 304)
"...It's a state institution, there's lots of rules and
regulations and policy they need to go by but ...(302)That kinda gave, it was
so loud so clear, the Administrative Services VP said 'I finally have concrete
information that lets me begin to do something.'"
(Announcer 4)
And, of course, the survey also gave MMS information that
would help them fine tune the success of the food service in meeting the needs
of the students. This included a slight change in meal hours, more flexibility
in meal plan structure, and, most importantly, feedback on the most desired
meal choices. Students wanted pizza, more healthy choices, an expanded grill
area and wider deli selections. But they didn't want to break completely with the
cafeteria-style food of the past.
(Delany--Tape 4A --Start 240)
"And then they wanted, they told us very clearly that
they wanted traditional meals, and we were probably the first school the
students were clear in saying that. There are always some kids that want the
meatloaf or the roast beef, but they were very clear here in indicating that no
matter what we did with the facilities we needed to be able to provide some of
the old familiar standbys."
(Announcer 4)
MMS took immediate steps to answer the needs that the
students communicated. And measurable results soon followed.
(Delany--Tape 4A--Start 348)
"Year to year I am up at least 5-6% over last
year...(360)we have more than doubled the numbers of participants on our
commuter meal plan."
(Announcer 4)
These numbers Delany attributes to the power of fact-based
decision-making, and to the Customer Driven Process.
(Delany--Tape 4A--Start 459)
"We are finally putting the customer in the middle of
the circle and taking management out of the middle of the circle. We're finally
making decisions based on real solid information we can point to and not just
grasping at things out of the air...(464) we haven't gone wrong. We maybe skip
a little bit once in a while because things are different but at least we're
starting 40 steps ahead of where we would have without going through
this."
(Announcer 4)
From Frostburg State University, I'm Maura Lee Smith.
(Announcer 2)
Thank you Maura Lee. On the other side of the country, MMS
School Services had an unusual opportunity recently--the chance to help build a
new food service from the ground up. And, working with a visionary principal,
they are building in features that should keep things healthy for both students
and our bottom line. Ray Martinez reports.
(Announcer 3)
Veronica, MMS provides food service for the 40 schools in
this Lake Washington district. Well before the ground breaking began for the
district's new Inglewood Junior High, MMS started making plans with
principal-select Tim Stonish. Stonish was intrigued by the "healthy
schools" concept which has been gaining attention in academic circles. In
a "healthy school," every aspect of the environment, from classroom
lessons to food offerings is designed to help point students toward healthier
lifestyles. Stonish spoke with MMS personnel about his vision, and about MMS's
role as a partner in bringing the concept to life, as Food Service Director
Mark Beattie explained to me.
(Beattie--Tape 3A--Start 37)
"We had an opportunity to truly custom design a
program. There weren't any inherited good points or bad points. It was a brand
new facility so we wanted to be able to take a fresh look at our approach to
food services."
(Announcer 3)
MMS gleaned from a number of sources to put together a
program that would meet the progressive demands of the healthy schools concept.
They relied heavily on Marriott's existing "Wellness & You"
program and the American School Food Services Association "Healthy Choice"program,
as well as information from the National Dairy Council and published industry
studies and research. They also sought input from parents, teachers and
administrators.
The program had three basic goals: offer healthy food
choices, present the choices in an exciting and interesting manner, and,
especially, provide students with the information they needed to make informed
nutritional choices.
MMS set up attractive displays around fresh fruits, salads,
low-fat yogurt and other healthy choices. But, Beattie points out, reality demanded that they always remain
cognizant of the demands of the teenage palate. They couldn't stop offering student favorites like
burgers and fries. But they could modify them somewhat.
(Beattie--Tape 3A--Start 251)
"We have a group of students here that are in the 13 to
15 year old range and they're influenced very much by the fast food world.
We've made some structure to the overall meal to where we can guide them to
what we feel is appropriate as far as an overall meal combination... (261)
We've modified our beef patties to be a low fat product, the American cheese
that we use on the cheeseburger for instance is a reduced fat cheese, and the
fries we fry in soy bean oil so we aren't using any additional cholesterol with
the animal fat." (note--tighten up uhs and ahs here)
(Announcer 3)
In addition, extensive nutritional information is offered,
and menu options are color coded--green for low fat choices, yellow for medium
fat and red for the higher fat choices. This gives students the facts they need
to help them build healthier meals.
In keeping with the overall healthy school concept,
representatives from MMS frequently visit classrooms to present nutritional
information and discuss ideas with their customers.
How have students reacted to their "healthy
school?" The proof is in the participation. According to Beattie, student
participation runs as high as 90% or more many weeks, about 11 points higher
than comparable schools in the area.
(Beattie--Tape 3A--Start 100)
"Many of the things we have done at Inglewood have been
expanded into the other schools--it's become somewhat of a test market for
products, for modification of recipes, and for different techniques of
communicating the nutritional education information to students."
(Announcer 3)
The success of the Inglewood program recently captured the
attention of the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
Service, Western Region, which recognized Inglewood in its "Best
Practices" competition in the "nutrition education and
awareness" category. Inglewood was also recognized for their progressive
efforts in the category of "environmentally friendly cafeteria
practices," but that's another story. From Redmond, Washington, I'm Ray
Martinez.
(Announcer 1)
And, Ray, that's the last story for this issue of MMS Radio
News.
(Music)
(Announcer 2)
But join us again in two months for another collection of
idea-packed TQM stories starring your colleagues throughout MMS.
(Announcer 1)
Or hopefully, starring you. Call the TQM Hotline at
1-800-638-8108, extension 85200, and give us your story ideas.
(Announcer 2)
MMS Radio News is a production of Marriott Management
Services, a Division of Marriott International. I'm Veronica Flood...
(Announcer 1)
And I'm Roger Newman. From all of us at MMS Radio News, our
best wishes for a healthy and successful new year.
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