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J P Norback

Publications and source records attributed to J P Norback.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Model for selecting quality standards for a salad bar through identifying elements of customer satisfaction.

Continuous quality improvement is the new requirement of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. This means that meeting quality standards will not be enough. Dietitians will need to improve those standards and the way they are selected. Because quality is defined in terms of the customers, all quality improvement projects must start by defining what customers want. Using a salad bar as an example, this article presents and illustrates a technique developed in Japan to identify which elements in a product or service will satisfy or dissatisfy consumers. Using a model and a questionnaire format developed by Kano and coworkers, 273 students were surveyed to classify six quality elements of a salad bar. Four elements showed a dominant "must-be" characteristic: food freshness, labeling of the dressings, no spills in the food, and no spills on the salad bar. The two other elements (food easy to reach and food variety) showed a dominant one-dimensional characteristic. By better understanding consumer perceptions of quality elements, foodservice managers can select quality standards that focus on what really matters to their consumers.

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMed1988

Activities of and time spent by the project dietitian in implementing a custom-designed decision support system for a computer.

Part 1 of this study involved development and implementation of a prototype of Interactive Foodservice Decision Assist Methods (IFDAM) software. A 1-day menu from the Health Center of Methodist Health Services, Inc., which included 161 menu items and 181 ingredients, composed the data base. The prototype was used to test transfer procedures from the mainframe computer at the university to the one at the hospital and to test the program and train users. Three supporting documents were written. The Procedure Manual described methodology for data collection and use of IFDAM at the Health Center. The Data-Entry Manual explained the use of the microcomputer for entering information into IFDAM. The User Manual illustrated the command structure of IFDAM. Part 2 of the study included the addition of data from five cost centers, which were serviced from the central production facility of the Health Center. Six-week-cycle menus and all ingredient files in the foodservice were incorporated into the data base. The data totaled 998 menu items and 660 ingredients. Time spent by the project dietitian on development of data bases and support manuals, completion of data forms, data entry and transfer, conferences, and training totaled 362.10 hours and 898.75 hours in Parts 1 and 2, respectively. The project required 30 months to complete. Problems, classified as equipment, program, or personnel, delayed implementation.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1986

A computer-based decision support system aids distribution in planning and control of foodservices.

Three scenarios, developed from typical situations in the foodservice, were stimulated on the Sperry 1100/80 computer to illustrate how the decision support system assisted dietitians. The scenarios included an analysis of price changes and discounts from a potential vendor; menu planning and pricing for a holiday dinner for 800 to 900 employees; and a comparison of costs between 1 day of meals for a patient on a general and a diabetic diet. In the analysis of price discounts, 1.5 hours were required for finding an acceptable solution using the decision support system. Prices were changed on 349 ingredients; then matrix multiplication within the decision support system resulted in recosting all menu items with those ingredients and provided new prices for cost per meals. Eight new ingredients, 13 menu items, and 2 menu plans for two different holiday meals were entered into the computer; precise amounts and prices for menu items and meals were obtained in 1 hour. Twelve hours was the minimum time estimated for finding a solution by hand calculations. Time to calculate costs of 27 different menu items for one patient day was estimated to be 9 hours manually. With the decision support system, cost comparisons were available in 1 hour. Both the usefulness and the potential of the decision support system were demonstrated.

Computers↗
PubMed1984

A new approach to the design of information systems for foodservice management in health care facilities.

An organizational framework for integrating foodservice data into an information system for management decision making is presented. The framework involves the application to foodservice of principles developed by the disciplines of managerial economics and accounting, mathematics, computer science, and information systems. The first step is to conceptualize a foodservice system from an input-output perspective, in which inputs are units of resources available to managers and outputs are servings of menu items. Next, methods of full cost accounting, from the management accounting literature, are suggested as a mechanism for developing and assigning costs of using resources within a foodservice operation. Then matrix multiplication is used to illustrate types of information that matrix data structures could make available for management planning and control when combined with a conversational mode of computer programming.

Accounting↗
PubMed1981

Improving the flow of customers in a hospital cafeteria.

Customer flow through a hospital cafeteria was modeled as a queuing system for the purpose of analyzing the problems of long lines and excessive waiting by customers during lunch hours. Different policies of the hospital affecting the arrival times of customers to the cafeteria were simulated on a computer. The key factor was found to be group arrivals because of the pattern in which the hospital departments released their employees for lunch. Alternative policies were simulated, and performance with those policies in effect was measured and reported.

Computers↗