Quality is the main focus in management of all laboratories. Accurate results of the analyses are not only determined by the analytical procedure but also by preanalytical factors. In the total analytical process of clinical specimens, there are many possible preanalytical sources of error. Monetoring of temperature on test samples of the transport boxes is one way to reduce the mistakes in the preanalytical phase.In this study, four laboratories from primary health care were invited to participate. The temperature has been measured on test samples of the transport boxes being delivered to the laboratory.In three cases the temperature remained within the limits, but in the fourth case the temperature varied more than the allowed interval.

Benchmarking is an established method of working which is often used in order to develop the quality of the organization. However, almost 70% of the organizations with benchmarking fail due to the lack of planning and structuring of the benchmarking exercise. Maintenance sections in the paper and pulp industry are one of those who have decided to conduct benchmarking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to gain knowledge of how the maintenance sections in the paper and pulp industry deliberately structure and plan to use benchmarking as a driving force for quality development in the maintenance sections.The study is a hermeneutic case study. Telephone interviews and document analysis have been used as data acquisition methods.The results show that there is a lack of both planning and structuring in the benchmarking process, and lack of management commitment for Quality improvements within industrial maintenance.

Benchmarking is an established method of working which is often used in order to develop the quality of the organization. However, almost 70% of the organizations with benchmarking fail due to the lack of planning and structuring of the benchmarking exercise. Maintenance sections in the paper and pulp industry are one of those who have decided to conduct benchmarking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to gain knowledge of how the maintenance sections in the paper and pulp industry deliberately structure and plan to use benchmarking as a driving force for quality development in the maintenance sections.The study is a hermeneutic case study. Telephone interviews and document analysis have been used as data acquisition methods.The results show that there is a lack of both planning and structuring in the benchmarking process, and lack of management commitment for Quality improvements within industrial maintenance.

AimThe aim of the present study was to study possible evidence for shock wave therapy on pain and function in patients with plantar fasciitis.Questions1. Does shock wave therapy reduce pain in patients with plantar fasciitis?2. Does shock wave therapy improve function in patients with plantar fasciitis?MethodA systematic review of the literature was performed in the databases PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Cinahl.

Sustainability issues have become increasingly high-profile and important in recent decades. In addition, quality issues have come to play a central role in corporate marketing, strategy and management. The word quality can be defined differently in different contexts. This paper focuses on the concept of quality, based on the Total Quality Management perspective, which in Swedish has come to be known as Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling has been described as a theoretical framework in which an organization continually strives to meet and preferably exceed customer needs and expectations at the lowest cost through continuous improvement, and in which all members of the organization are committed and focused on the organisation's processes. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, to clarify the applicability of the theoretical model Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling as a theoretical explanatory model. Second, to explore how Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB performs according to the values in Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. A multiple case study was conducted in order to explore these topics. The results showed that Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB is working in a dedicated and value-driven manner, aligned with the values ??that form the basis for Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. The results also showed that the model for Offensiv kvalitetsutveckling could serve well as a theoretical explanatory model, but that the model would benefit from being developed, enriched or integrated with other models.

Systematic quality work in preschool ? How preschool teachers thinking and working with systematic quality work The purpose of this study was to investigate how Swedish preschool teachers thinking and working with systematic quality work. All Swedish preschools are required to work systematically with quality. This involves several steps that follow each other in a specific order. It includes following up, documenting and evaluating preschool activities.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there were any differences in how first-line managers within   municipal care   rated their management leadership qualities, and structural empowerment before and after the course in "leadership, learning and improvement". The study had a quasi-experimental design and 64 managers participated. There was a significant improvement in the LaMI factor ?Achievement orientation?, after participation in the course "leadership, learning and improvement". In other factors, there was no significant difference before and after training.

The aim of this thesis was to analyse BARO WOOD AB:s timber measuring and quality sorting and to evaluate the analyse program Stockholmen. The purpose was to get a better understanding for the quality sorting made at BARO WOOD AB today, analyse differences in center board quality from logs with a good quality and logs with a bad quality, suggest new sorting criterias developed from analyses made with Stockholmen and to evaluate the program Stockholmen. All analyses are based on data gathered in a test sawing made at BARO WOOD AB in June and July 2002. The test sawing was made on four different diameter classes and every diameter class consisted out of A or M-grade logs, with a better quality, and B-grade logs with a lesser quality. The logs where sorted out with BARO WOOD AB:s existing quality criterias.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect that price has on quality expectations and customer satisfaction and how price fits into a customer satisfaction model. An experiment in which participants are subject to scenarios of a high or low quality flight are used to test the hypotheses. The analysis shows that perceived quality has a bigger impact on satisfaction than price. Furthermore, price and quality do not affect customer satisfaction independently of each other. The importance of value compared to quality changes whether the actor is a high or low price actor.

The investigation was initiated because of the high workload of the sellers and, additionally, because the Tunadal sawmill has received low ratings in customer surveys. Thus,  two main approaches are adopted here,  the first being to investigate which of the three methods  of working, namely, market divided flow organization, function organizationand flow organization with collaboration, proves to be the most beneficial. The second is to investigate whether there is an available method to ease the daily work. A literature review has been made in order to determine more efficient ways for the sellers to work in the Tunadal sawmill. During the investigation, an in-depth investigation into the total quality management using a balanced scorecard as a management tool was conducted.

ABSTRACTBackground: Children and adolescents growing up in families where parents have serious problems are exposed to an increased risk of developing poor mental or physical health themselves. In a support group work they can meet other children in the same situation, receive help and support to process their emotions and manage their everyday life.Aim: To investigate if support group work at Trappan can reduce the psychological problems load and increase the experience of life quality, hopefulness and optimism in children and adolescents growing up in families where either addiction or mental illness occur in one of the parents. The purpose was also to investigate if there was any difference between these both child groups regarding psychological problems load, experience of life quality, hopefulness and optimism before and after support group participation.Method: Questionnaire study on children and adolescents of parents with addiction or mental illness. The children participated in support group work at Trappan. The measuring?s were conducted before and after support group participation.Results: In both groups an increased life quality in connection to finished support group participation was observed.

Bakgrund: Kvalitetsutveckling inom vården pågår i hela världen. Internationell forskning indikerar att förbättringscoacher kan vara en framgångsfaktor i förbättringsarbetet. Det är i dag oklart hur man kan utveckla interna coacher till att stödja kontinuerliga förbättringar. Studien utvärderar ett lokalt, tvärprofessionellt coachprogam inom vård och omsorg i ett geografiskt område i Sverige med en etablerad samverkanskultur. För att främja ökad kundcentrering ingick en pensionär i programmets planeringsgrupp.

The print- and mailroom at Gefle Dagblad (GD-tyck) is handling an increasing amount of commercial jobsalong with the newspaper production. Investments have above all been done in the mailroom to be able tooffer commercial costumers a higher degree of finishing and there are plans to expand further in the commercialmarket. GD-tryck is of the opinion that they need to secure the quality of their production to be ableto do such expansion, which is the reason why a quality system of some kind may be appropriate. Howeverthere are no plans to certify such a quality system according to ISO 9001:2000.In this exam report the present methods of working have been analysed from a quality perspective.Suggestions on how GD-tryck should be working with quality development is presented in the fields whereshortage of quality has been discovered. The suggestions taken together do not form a quality system butcan be looked at as ideas of approach to quality fields that have to be developed if a working quality systemshall be accomplished.Many of the quality fields that have been discussed do not have anything to do with technical qualitydirectly but are in some degree requirements for a working quality system.

The importance of good information security and safety grows larger and larger for each day in the information society of today. This concerns citizens, companies and public authorities. At the Swedish Transport Administration, the operation of an information security and safety process has evolved over the years to guarantee that the public authority can be trusted by its citizens, cooperating companies and other public authorities. This responsibility has been assigned to the Information Security and Safety Department (Informationssa?kerhetsavdelningen, ITsa?).In this thesis the aim is to review to what extent ITsa? achieves any business benefits for the Swedish Transport Administration, and to analyze, streamline and come up with solutions to improve their workflow.

Quality Assurance in Service Procurement --- Total Quality and Total Quality Management refer to popular management philosophies in organizations these days. The purchasing department has an important part in the strive for organizational quality as several studies show corporate spend is significant and increasing. In this master thesis I study the actions companies take to ensure quality in service procurement. I argue that managing quality when sourcing services is particularly tricky, because of the special characteristics that belong to services. The purpose of the study is to examine whether different actions are taken to ensure the quality of different kinds of services.