The voice of the customer--Part 2: Benchmarking battery chargers against the Consumer's Ideal Product

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Evaluation and Transfer is exploring how the end users of assistive technology devices define the ideal device. This work is called the Consumer Ideal Product program. In this work, end users identify and establish the importance of a broad range of product design features, along with the related product support and service provided by manufacturers and vendors. This paper describes a method for systematically transforming end-user defined requirements into a form that is useful and accessible to product designers, manufacturers, and vendors. In particular, product requirements, importance weightings, and metrics are developed from the Consumer Ideal Product battery charger outcomes. Six battery charges are benchmarked against these product requirements using the metrics developed. The results suggest improvements for each product's design, service, and support. Overall, the six chargers meet roughly 45-75% of the ideal product's requirements. Many of the suggested improvements are low-cost changes that, if adopted, could provide companies a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Assessing consumer profiles of 'ideal' assistive technologies in ten categories: an integration of quantitative and qualitative methods

This paper focuses on two trends in the field of disability and rehabilitation: (a) the desire to conserve resources and yet provide consumers with the highest quality assistive technologies that they find personally appealing and useful; and (b) the involvement of the consumers of rehabilitation services in key decisions regarding the products and services they receive. The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Evaluation and Transfer (Buffalo, NY, USA) has endeavoured to accomplish both by employing a mixed methods approach to consumer-identified needs and preferences regarding several categories of assistive technology. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methods used in sufficient detail for replication by other researchers.

The voice of the customer: consumers define the ideal battery charger

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Evaluation and Transfer is exploring how the users of assistive technology devices define the ideal device. This work is called the Consumer Ideal Product program. The results show what device characteristics are most and least important, indicating where to place the priority on product features and functions from the consumer's perspective. The "voice of the customer" can be used (1) to define the ideal characteristics of a product, (2) to make trade-offs in product design and function improvements based on their relative importance to the consumer, (3) to compare the characteristics of existing products against the characteristics of the ideal product, or (4) to generate a product checklist for consumers to use when making a purchase decision. This paper presents the results of consumers' defining the ideal battery charger. Four focus groups generated the survey's content, then 100 experienced users rated 159 characteristics organized under 11 general evaluation criteria. The consumers placed the highest importance on characteristics from the general evaluation criteria of product reliability, effectiveness, and physical security/safety. The findings should help manufacturers and vendors improve their products and services and help professionals and consumers make informed choices.

Meeting of the minds. Two Catholic organizations come together to strengthen the ministry and each other

As the result of a study, in 1982 St. Benedict's Hospital, Ogden, UT, reorganized as St. Benedict's Health System. The results of the reorganization were disappointing, however. Within three years, major financial difficulties, the lack of success in diversification on programs and facilities, continuing environmental pressures, and unrest within the organization led St. Benedict's to seek assistance. After contacting a number of Catholic systems, St. Benedict's chose the Holy Cross Health System, South Bend, IN, as the preferred partner. In mid-June 1986 the two systems began negotiations on a possible affiliation. Holy Cross sent an acquisition team to St. Benedict's to obtain a perspective on mission continuity, profitability, market share, and operations. Discussions continued through July, with neither system proposing an affiliation agreement. St. Benedict's was still considering other options, while Holy Cross was concerned about the financial ramifications. On Aug. 20, 1986, the two negotiating teams met face to face for the first time, with a Catholic Health Association representative acting as facilitator. The two teams met again on September 8, and St. Benedict's accepted Holy Cross's terms. While awaiting antitrust review of the affiliation, Holy Cross operated St. Benedict's under a management contract. The consolidation was formally completed on Dec. 1, 1986. Holy Cross took over ownership of St. Benedict's Health System, cosponsored by the Sister of the Holy Cross and the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict. Holy Cross established tactical objectives aimed at stabilizing and enhancing St. Benedict's Hospital. The new owners and managers report they have achieved the objective which has improved St. Benedict's operations.

Manual Determination of Minced Fish Flesh in Mixed Fillet-Minced Cod Blocks: Collaborative Study

A simple, rapid method for determining the amount of minced fish in mixed fillet-minced cod blocks was tested by 9 collaborators. Each collaborator first examined 2 practice blocks containing 20% mince, and then examined 6 blind duplicate samples of 5 lb cod blocks from each of 3 test lots containing, respectively, 26.25, 18.75, and 12.5% mince. The data from one of the 9 collaborators was not usable because of a malfunctioning scale. Standard deviations (SD) for the 3 lots (all 8 collaborators combined) were 1.77, 1.51, and 1.65, and coefficients of variation (CV) were 6.8, 8.9, and 16.2%, respectively. For comparison, the results of an informal collaborative study by 10 participants on 16.5 lb mixed cod blocks containing 20.1% mince were SD 2.72 and CV 0.136%. Collaborators reported no problems with the method, and statistical analysis shows the method to be sufficiently precise for this type of determination. The method has been adopted official first action for cod.

Manual determination of minced fish flesh in mixed fillet-minced cod blocks: collaborative study

A simple, rapid method for determining the amount of minced fish in mixed fillet-minced cod blocks was tested by 9 collaborators. Each collaborator first examined 2 practice blocks containing 20% mince, and then examined 6 blind duplicate samples of 5 lb cod blocks from each of 3 test lots containing, respectively, 26.25, 18.75, and 12.5% mince. The data from one of the 9 collaborators was not usable because of a malfunctioning scale. Standard deviations (SD) for the 3 lots (all 8 collaborators combined) were 1.77, 1.51, and 1.65, and coefficients of variation (CV) were 6.8, 8.9, and 16.2%, respectively. For comparison, the results of an informal collaborative study by 10 participants on 16.5 lb mixed cod blocks containing 20.1% mince were SD 2.72 and CV 0.136%. Collaborators reported no problems with the method, and statistical analysis shows the method to be sufficiently precise for this type of determination. The method has been adopted official first action for cod.