English Housing Survey: Does it Mean Anything for Seniors in Ontario?

A report titled, Home solutions to our care crisis, was published in the United Kingdom by the Papworth Trust in November, 2012. The report is the distillation of 640 responses from their English Housing Survey conducted to see how unsuitable housing can affect people's lives. A secondary aim of the survey was to help increase awareness of home adaptations as a solution to the care crisis for the disabled being experienced in the UK.

Home adaptations would include such things as: bathroom conversions, grab rails, kitchen alterations, ramps and level access, widening doorways.

You can read the full report here: Home solutions to our care crisis
http://www.papworthtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/homesolutionstoourcarecrisis_121113100850.pdf

Noteworthy statistics

One in 4 respondents reported that they could not get around their home safely.
Two in 5 people said that a lack of facilities for the disabled in their home meant they needed help to do everyday things like cooking.
Two thirds of people who had not received a government Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) had never heard of it.

Here in Ontario, or Canada generally, do we have any reason to think that we would not get responses similar to those in the UK?

Financial benefits of home adaptations

Analysis by the London School of Economics suggests that the annual spend on governmental Disabled Facilities Grants of around £270 million is worth up to £567 million in health and social care savings and quality of life gains. Put differently, every £1 spent on Disabled Facilities Grants is worth over £2 in care savings and quality of life gains.

A study by Bristol University, on behalf of the Office of Disability Issues, found that home adaptations can help prevent or defer entry into residential care. Just 1 year’s delay means a saving up to £26,000 per person, less the cost of the adaptation (which averages £6,000). (Can somebody tell me the cost per person per year for long-term care in Ontario?)

Falls by older people in the UK cost over £1 billion a year. A fractured hip can cost the state an estimated £28,665. Compare this with the cost of installing grab rails, one effective way of reducing risk of falls.

In Wales, the Government has estimated that a programme to help older people remain living independently in their own homes has saved the NHS and social care budgets over £101 million since it was set up 10 years previously.

Home Adaptations: A Cost or an Investment with a Return?

There is a common mindset that presumes any initiative requiring money is a money-grabbing cost to the tax payer that should be fought tooth and nail. It should be evident from the above that judicious implementation of home adaptations is actually an investment that should produce a return in both financial savings and quality of life.

(This report titled, Home solutions to our care crisis, was published in the United Kingdom by the Papworth Trust in November, 2012. Does anyone know of any similar studies conducted anywhere in Canada, especially Ontario?)

Process Diagrams - Turtle, Process Maps, Flowcharts

A process approach is key to good quality management. Taking a process approach is tough if you are not familiar with key concepts and tools associated with processes.

This fun and easy to follow presentation illustrates the key concepts surrounding processes using process maps, workflow flowcharts and turtle diagrams.

Corrections, Corrective Actions and Preventive Actions: What is the difference?

Corrections, corrective actions and preventive actions: What is the difference between them? When should you do which?

In under 10 minutes this light-hearted presentation addresses these questions with examples from the auto industry and a long-term care nursing home.

What is a Quality Management System (QMS)?

What is a QMS and why would you want one for your organization or business?

Which is more profitable, to improve Quality or to cut Costs?

Look after the quality and the profit will take care of itself. A practical illustration of the management philosophy of Dr. W. Edwards Deming.

Look after the quality and the profit will take care of itself

Why is it more profitable to improve Quality than cut Costs?

Let me begin by saying that I am no more against looking for a reduction in costs than looking for "peace of mind".  But just as peace of mind cannot be pursued as an end in itself but is rather the by-product of a certain way of living with others in the world, so reduction in costs is the result of increased efficiency and effectiveness in the processes of production, i.e. a by-product. If you aim for an efficient and effective process for producing a quality product or service then you should get a certain reduction in cost as a by-product. If you simply look to cut costs in whatever way seems quickest and easiest then your aim will be off, and so will your focus. You thereby run the risk of a lot of "collateral damage", shooting whatever gets between you and your target.

In 1990 Rafael Aguayo wrote a book laying out the management philosophy and principles of Dr. W. Edwards Deming (Dr. Deming. The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality). That was twenty-four years ago. Reading it today I am amazed at how relevant and apposite those principles still are. In that book (p. 33) Aguayo uses a simple example to illustrate one way that quality increases profit. In this example it is because of less rework.

If you run a plant with a defect rate of 5 per 100, your revenue is limited to 95 saleable items per hundred but your costs are still for 100 items. Let's say selling price is $1.00 per item; production cost is $90.00 per batch of 100 items.

Revenue: $1 x 95		$ 95
Less cost of production: $90 per 100		$ 90
Profit		$  5

If you improve production quality by about 5% such that there are zero defects, then…

Revenue: $1 x 100		$100
Less cost of production: $90 per 100		$ 90
Profit		$ 10

So, a quality improvement of 5% in the production process has resulted in a 100% increase in profits. Not too shabby. Ah, but you say that there is an additional cost for improving the quality and reliability of production. Even if we increase the cost of production by 5% to $94.50, that would still give us a 10% increase in profits:

Revenue: $1 x 100		$100.00
Less cost of production: $94.50 per 100		$  94.50
Profit		$    5.50

The other side of this coin is that a quality improvement in production can be expected to translate into an improvement in the reliability and other quality attributes of the finished product. That should have a knock-on effect on enhanced customer satisfaction which, in turn, creates returning customers out of once-off customers.

The moral of the story?

"Look after the quality and the profit will take care of itself" - W. E. Deming. These are not Deming's actual words but the philosophy is his. This is similar to…

“Look after the customer and the business will take care of itself” – attributed to Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s