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20th Annual QualPro Leadership Symposium Atlanta, GA Deploying MVT® to Improve Health and Reduce Hospitalizations UnitedHealth Group - Ovations Ovations provides a comprehensive and coordinated set of programs and services designed to improve the unique healthcare needs of its members. The goal of this project was to identify the telephonically delivered interventions that would reduce unnecessary and/or avoidable interventions while improving overall costs and quality. Initial results have indicated a set of interventions that would decrease utilization by up to 20%. With the current debate in Washington focused on increasing the access to healthcare for more Americans, the need for programs to increase both the effectiveness and financial viability of healthcare delivery is essential. It's a Small World After All When Spinning Yarn - Small Filaments Reduced 70% Unifi, Inc. In order to maintain world class quality, Unifi needed to reduce the occurrence of reduced diameter filaments in its polyester yarn. The presence of small filaments affects the performance of the yarn in downstream texturing operations and at the end customer. Using the MVT® process to test factors including process settings, personnel behavior, and supplier material characteristics, Unifi identified actions expected to reduce small filaments by 70%. This project required careful logistics management and strong discipline in execution. Unifi very efficiently executed a large, successful MVT® with many factors in a complex manufacturing operation. Improvement in Throughput at Hospital Outpatient Clinics Truman Medical Centers, Inc. Truman Medical Centers wanted to improve the average throughput in its General Internal Medicine and Eye Clinics. Lengthy throughput times are often noted as unacceptable by patients and can result in decreased satisfaction for patients as well as Truman staff. With the aid of MVT®, Truman has achieved significant improvement in outpatient throughput times. This improvement has the potential to increase revenue and productivity as well as patient and provider satisfaction. MVT® Applications in the Convenience Store Industry - 6.5% Positive Impact on Inside Sales While Industry Declined Pilot Travel Centers LLC With hundreds of travel centers across the U.S., Pilot was very interested in improving retail sales and margins by testing promotional offerings, signage, and planograms. They wanted to identify which factors are impactful to the customer in order to prioritize marketing dollars and efforts. Four MVT®s identified twelve helpful factors that had a 6.5% positive impact on overall inside store sales as the industry experienced a 5 - 10% sales decline. Several of these factors became "Everyday Value" products designed to drive impulse purchasing behavior. Elements of the monthly promotion plan were based on the MVT® findings. By identifying helpful and harmful test factors, Pilot is able to simplify the marketing message, make it more impactful, and streamline overall marketing costs. New Product Developed in Three Days Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC Due to the severe economic decline, the order book fell short, resulting in one of Lincoln Paper and Tissue's two paper machines being shut down. In order to restart the machine, Lincoln needed a new product to bring to market. A three-day MVT® enabled Lincoln to bring a new, fully developed product to market. All machines are now running at full capacity. Closing the Sale is About More Than Price- $750,000 in Sales Before the MVT® Was Complete Unifi, Inc. During an economic downturn, Unifi had a great need to take all the business that was available at reasonable margins from foreign competition. Using MVT® to test a number of ideas to improve its sales process, Unifi identified actions to improve its selling effectiveness and keep more manufacturing business in the United States. Even though price was unquestionably important in this very competitive yarn market, Unifi found other factors that could also have a significant impact in the customer decision. Best of all, Unifi closed over $750,000 in targeted sales during the MVT® before the results were even known. Reduction in Outpatient Clinics' No Show Rate Truman Medical Centers, Inc. Truman Medical Centers' General Internal Medicine and Eye Clinics were not meeting their established goals for no show rates (frequency of patients not showing up for appointments). High no show rates have the potential to impact Truman's productivity as well as the effective care for its patients. Improving no show rates with MVT® has the potential to increase revenue as well as patient, provider, and staff satisfaction. The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection ... and Multimillion Dollar Benefits Olin Chlor Alkali The current economic climate has put added pressure on the chemical process industry to aggressively manage costs. Competitive requirements call for improvements in product quality and simultaneous cost cuts. The Olin McIntosh plant has shown that multiple MVT® projects can address these issues by involving everyone in the process, from operators to engineers to senior management, and incorporating the underlying methods into everyday business decisions. Personnel at the McIntosh plant, which is on pace for multimillion dollar MVT® benefits, say that success breeds success, and MVT® is the fastest path to success Seventy-Five Successful Years of Retailing, But Still Learning Through MVT® Meijer Meijer wanted to increase overall sales and margin in its retail supercenters while developing and emphasizing a fact-based decision making culture. Through MVT® testing over the last two years, Meijer has identified and implemented ten new initiatives from sixty-eight viable alternatives and have positively impacted both sales and margin through informed targeted spending. This example demonstrates how a company with over seventy-five years of success and traditions can use MVT® to enhance its ability to learn about its industry and customers, and leverage that learning to implement cost effective changes. The result has been improved operating results even during a very difficult economy. Chemical Expense Reduced 38% Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC Beyond fiber and energy, the chemicals used to develop tissue strength represent the largest expense in tissue manufacturing. Lincoln Paper and Tissue used the MVT® process to meet tissue strength requirements while minimizing cost, and reduced chemical expense by 38%. This savings, along with other MVT®-based cost savings, is very important to this domestic manufacturer's ability to compete. World Class Manufacturing Process Achieves Thirty Percent Improvement Unifi, Inc. Unifi used MVT® to reduce polyester yarn breaks that occurred during the texturing process. Yarn breaks result in small packages and lost productivity as the machine position sits idle. If yarn breaks occur before the package achieves a minimum diameter, the yarn is considered fall-out or second quality. MVT® findings allowed Unifi to take its polyester texturing operation to another level ... a 30% reduction in breaks per machine hour! This project shows how even a healthy process can achieve dramatic improvement through the use of MVT®. Energy Costs Cut by 10% Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC With the high costs of oil, Lincoln Paper and Tissue turned to MVT® to lower the energy costs needed to operate its lime kiln, an integral part of the kraft pulping process. Previously burning 4,500 gallons of oil a day, Lincoln hoped for real improvement and got it with MVT® by lowering its oil usage by 10%. Reversing a Declining Collections Rate Trend Truman Medical Centers, Inc. Increasing the collection rate at Truman Medical Centers, Inc. is a critical objective that can provide increased cash for this safety net hospital serving patients throughout Kansas City, Missouri. Using the MVT® process, Truman has already arrested a trend that has been declining over years. Return to the QLS Overview |
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Since 1982, QualPro has used Multivariable Testing (MVT®) with 1000+ companies to test 200,000+ improvement ideas. MVT® tests between 20 and 40 ideas simultaneously, accurately predicting the bottom-line impact of potential process changes in weeks. Take existing process initiatives, like Six Sigma, to a whole new level. All process improvement tools and approaches (TQM, DOE, Six Sigma, Re-Engineering, SPC) can be enhanced through the use of Multivariable Testing by QualPro.
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