Vittorio Cesarotti and Bruna Di Silvio
Health care, one of the most dynamic sectors in Italy, is studied with a particular focus on outsourcing non‐core activities such as facility management (FM) services. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Health care, one of the most dynamic sectors in Italy, is studied with a particular focus on outsourcing non‐core activities such as facility management (FM) services. The project's goals are to define national standards to balance and control facility service evolution, and to drive FM services towards organisational excellence. The authors, in cooperation with a pool of facility service providers and hospitals managers, studied cleaning services – one of the most critical areas.
Design/methodology/approach
This article describes the research steps and findings following definition and publication of the Italian standard and its application to an international benchmarking process. The method chosen for developing the Italian standard was to merge technical, strategic and organisational aspects with the goal of standardising the contracting system, giving service providers the chance to improve efficiency and quality, while helping healthcare organisations gain from a better, more reliable and less expensive service.
Findings
The Italian standard not only improved services but also provided adequate control systems for outsourcing organisations. In this win‐win context, it is hoped to continually drive FM services towards organisational excellence.
Research limitations/implications
This study is specific to the Italian national healthcare system. However, the strategic dynamics described are common to many other contexts.
Practical implications
A systematic method for improving hospital FM services is presented.
Originality/value
The authors believe that lessons learned from their Italian case study can be used to better understand and drive similar services in other countries or in other FM service outsourcing sectors.
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Vittorio Cesarotti, Bruna Di Silvio and Vito Introna
The purpose of this paper is to provide a method for planning and controlling energy budgets for an industrial plant. The developed method aims to obtain a very high confidence of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a method for planning and controlling energy budgets for an industrial plant. The developed method aims to obtain a very high confidence of predicted electrical energy cost to include into the estimation of budget and a continuous control of energy consumption and cost.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a methodology that refines effectiveness and efficiency of budget estimation. The method relies on a three‐stage analysis: energy consumption characterization and forecasting, energy budget formulation and energy budget control. In particular, this paper deals deeply with the second and the third stages, i.e. energy budgeting and control. The methodology has been developed on the basis of a continuous improvement philosophy and project management techniques. A discussed case study shows the potential of the methodology in order to discover energy consumption inefficiencies.
Findings
Energy budgeting and control has been implemented within a set of first and second level metrics. The first level indicators allow identifying the effect of an increase of specific consumption beyond the predicted. The second level indicators allow identifying the effect of variations of price, volume, mix or loading bands from the predicted.
Research limitations/implications
In the paper climatic variations are not considered, limiting the energy drivers to those related to production volumes.
Practical implications
The method can be considered as a practical guide for energy budget planning and control of any industrial consumer.
Originality/value
A new approach to energy budgeting and control is proposed, allowing the impact of different specific consumption or production plans (volume, mix, and load bands) to be calculated.
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Vittorio Cesarotti and Caterina Spada
The purpose of the framework here proposed is to introduce an industrial culture within the service organizations. Concepts such as employees empowerment, ownership, continuous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the framework here proposed is to introduce an industrial culture within the service organizations. Concepts such as employees empowerment, ownership, continuous improvement, together with the systematic implementation of quantitative methods builds the organizational basis for achieving operational excellence in services, reducing costs and increasing service quality. This has been deployed in two phases: a “hard” phase to support the design of the service and the construction of tangible and intangible elements of the service, and a “soft” phase to support the management, maintenance and improvement of the service delivery. All this has been applied to the hotel service sector where the interaction between tangible and intangible elements of the service are particularly evident.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework uses and integrates several methodologies. Quality function deployment (QFD) is largely used in order to support the “hard” phase of the framework. Kano's model of customer requirements has been integrated in the QFD structure by means of an original method developed by the authors, introducing a so‐called non‐quality priority number (similar to the failure modes and effects analysis' risk priority number) that in combination with a so‐called quality priority number drives the decisions for improvement towards operational excellence. Moreover, the “soft” phase of the framework introduces methods such as failure mode and effect analysis and total productive maintenance in order to improve the service organization's operational competence and culture, increasing at the same time the sense of ownership and the commitment for improvement of front line workers.
Findings
Through this paper, it has been shown that industrial methods for operational excellence can be adapted and transferred to the service sector with a potential for significant improvements in particular for those services with a high degree of tangible factors. Allowing in this way to achieve outstanding results also without significant investments.
Research limitations/implications
This paper does not have the intention of describing the state‐of‐the‐art of service design and management, but rather it focuses on the transfer of industrial methods and techniques to the service sector.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is related to proposal of a global systemic approach to operational excellence in services, by means of which industrial methods for operational excellence are transferred to the service sector. Only few works in literature have tried to transfer industrial methods for operational excellence to services, however the main value of this paper is not – or not only – in the specific methods proposed, but in their integration in the systemic approach.
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Bruna Di Silvio, Vittorio Cesarotti and Vito Introna
Liberalisation of the European electricity sector has allowed the industrial consumers to freely choose their electricity suppliers. Proliferation of different contract proposals…
Abstract
Purpose
Liberalisation of the European electricity sector has allowed the industrial consumers to freely choose their electricity suppliers. Proliferation of different contract proposals for such supply means that all proposals need to be carefully evaluated for correct supplier renewal choice. The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for the evaluation of heterogeneous proposals of electricity supply that would help industrial consumers to be ready to face supply contractors.
Design/methodology/approach
The method relies on a three‐stage analysis: characterisation of electricity consumption in the industrial process; demand forecasts based on energy drivers and consumption characterisation; and finally a detailed tariff analysis. The method is illustrated through a case study of a renewal contract of an Italian industrial plant with a 20 percent incidence of electrical energy cost on the final product. The investigation also includes a sensitivity analysis on combustible basket price and the distribution of daily working load.
Findings
The evaluation of 14 proposals for the case study was carried out and the best offer for the case study company was selected. However, the overall price variation is 4 percent among different proposals and the electrical energy price shows an increase of 12 percent compared with the previous year. This suggests limited effectiveness of the competitive market in the Italian context.
Practical implications
The method can be considered as a practical guide for the electrical energy contract renewal process of any industrial consumer that would help minimize its cost.
Originality/value
The proposed method is based on an innovative investigation of the consumption characterisation of the industry based on energy drivers. This approach allows the industries to develop their own strategies for the contract renewal. The analysis presented here could be expanded to include more specific supply clauses for a more comprehensive analysis.