Whether carried out by the department or carried out by the EBME Manager, whenever a service is provided, either within the Trust or externally, details of the service should be reviewed to ensure the service provided is at a professional level.
1. CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS
- The customer's requirements are clearly stated and documented and any specifications/additional requirements are available for reference purposes.
- Any customer requirements which differ from those agreed at the initial enquiry and/or SLA (service level agreement) quotation stage are resolved. This usually involves contact with the customer in order to obtain agreement upon the variation to requirements. Any change to the value of resources required, e.g. materials, labour or test facilities, are agreed, wherever possible, before accepting the contract or commencing work.
- The Department is capable of meeting service/contractual requirements. Where this is impractical, the customer will be informed.
- The work content involved in meeting customer requirements is checked against the availability of physical resources, e.g. material/components, labour, equipment and work load. Agreements made are usually dependent upon existing work load. These will be recorded by the EBME Manager.
- Any amendments found to be necessary during the contract review procedure are agreed with the customer.
SLA Quotations may not always need to be provided (within the Trust). Where no quotation is given, the EBME Manager assesses what work is required and gives consideration to manpower availability, resources involved and quality requirements.
2. AWARD OF CONTRACT
If a contract is awarded this will be signed by an approved representative of both the Department and the Customer, and a formal letter of acceptance will be issued. A copy of the final contract will be held by the Facilities Manager.
It is the responsibility of the EBME Manager to ensure that all 'formalities' of final contracts are communicated to appropriate personnel and are adhered to.
3. POST CONTRACT REVIEW
Post contract review, in the form of regular meetings, is normally undertaken by the Facilities Manager and/or EBME Manager.
All Post Contract Reviews will address:
- A review of any complaints
- Review of service
- Any amendments/variations to contract which the customer requires
- Any improvements planned
- Any other issues which either the customer or the Department raise.
Post Contract Review meetings will be documented.
4. CUSTOMER FOCUS
The Facilities Manager or the EBME Manager will maintain regular communication with the customer Not only is this an important marketing tool, but it also ensures that the customer is aware of our commitment to customer service. Communication will be in the form of a visit, or in the form of brochures, letters or electronic mail.
Customer feedback is an important part of the EBME Department's objectives. Customer complaints and ways of improving the service should be constantly reviewed. Letters , brochures and minutes of meetings need to be held on customers or departments within the Trust.
EBME Departments do not always consider how the users perceive the services being provided.
Typically, these services would include:
- Equipment library response
- EBME Department response
- Maintenance quality
A typical form is available as a download here.
The emphasis of carrying out customer focus exercises will be to ensure that the elements of continual improvement are in the customer's interest, and aiding the EBME manager in identifying weaknesses. This can also identify inadequate resources and be used as evidence (where required).
Author: John Sandham IEng MIIE MIHEEM
