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GLOBAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION BASED ON MULTIVARIABLE STATISTICAL CONTROL OF A PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANY

ABSTRACT

In this research article, the service provision in a public company was evaluated through multivariate statistical control to determine the performance of its dimensions. For this purpose, the methodology used was: 1) characterization of the information associated with the quality dimensions provided, through consolidated databases recognized for their high level of quality, such as: Elsevier, Inderscience, among others; 2) calculation of Six Sigma metrics (DPMO, Z-level and performance), which will allow from a monthly average, to evaluate the quality of the service provided by the company in a timely and periodic manner in the 12 periods of 2019; 3) Evaluation of the performance of the service dimensions in a global and comprehensive manner, through multivariate analysis. Finally, the quality of the company’s service is presented. Thus, allowing the control and continuous improvement of the processes, through its prompt replanting.

Keywords:
service; multivariate capability indicator; quality; six sigma

1 INTRODUCTION

The implementation and control of quality in processes have become one of the indispensable practices in the private business environment (Bloj, Moica & Veres, 2020BLOJ M, MOICA S & VERES C. 2020. Lean six sigma in the energy service sector: A case study. Procedia Manufacturing, 46: 352-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.03.051
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.03...
); as these reflect the level of commitment of companies to quality and good customer service (Kubińska, et al., 2022KUBIŃSKA E ET AL. 2022. Incorporating the status quo effect into the decision making process: The case of municipal companies merger. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 101391: 101391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2022.101391
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2022.1013...
). Likewise, performance measurement and management control in public companies are perceived as the key to increase the quality of life in the public sector (Avelé, 2021AVELÉ D. 2021. Between management accounting tools and analysis of the performance of municipal public services: a case study. African J of Economic and Sustainable Development, 8(4): 319. https://doi.org/10.1504/ajesd.2021.118514
https://doi.org/10.1504/ajesd.2021.11851...
). That is why many companies, independent of their nature, have decided to rely on various techniques and procedures dedicated to statistical quality control, to assess the capacity and performance of the dimensions of their processes (Deeb, et al., 2018DEEB S ET AL. 2018. A generic framework to support the implementation of six sigma approach in SMEs. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 51(11): 921-926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08.490
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08...
), in relation to a series of requirements of interest to customers. Such requirements, called specifications, which are frequently given in objective and limiting value for each of the analyzed characteristics (Costa, Lopes, & Brito, 2019COSTA J, LOPES I & BRITO J. 2019. Six Sigma application for quality improvement of the pin insertion process. Procedia Manufacturing, 38: 1592-1599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01.126
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01...
).

Within the techniques, there is the analysis of multivariate capability indicators, which has been used in production and similar environments, since they provide quantitative measurements of the potential and performance of processes characterized by several evaluable and related quality dimensions simultaneously (Fontalvo, Herrera, & De la hoz, 2020FONTALVO T, HERRERA R & DE LA HOZ E. 2020. Método de control estadístico multivariante para valorar las dimensiones de calidad en una empresa de lavado de tanques industriales. Información tecnológica, 31(5): 109-118. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07642020000500109
https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-0764202...
). Thus, allowing the control and continuous improvement of processes for their prompt replanning, being clear about the actions that lead to the optimization of jobs, and thus generate competitive advantages for the company, and at the same time, added value for customers to whom the service is provided (San-jose, Retolaza & Bernal, 2021SAN-JOSE L, RETOLAZA J & BERNAL R. 2021. Índice de valor social añadido: una propuesta para analizar la eficiencia hospitalaria. Gaceta sanitaria, 35(1): 21-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2019.08.011
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaceta.2019.08...
)

The added value is born from the cautious study of the reactions of customers to the services provided and the requirements not yet satisfied, hence it is evident the characteristics to be improved and/or implemented in an action plan by the company (Sakyi, 2020SAKYI D. 2020. A comparative analysis of service quality among ECOWAS seaports. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 6(100152): 100152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2020.100152
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2020.1001...
). This is why companies must have clearly and concisely defined the market segment to be addressed with their services (Costa, et al., 2021COSTA H ET AL. 2021. Importância do conservante transfixna avaliação DE amostras DE líquido cefalorraquidiano: Experiência DE um serviço DE citometria DE fluxo DE um hospital Universitário. Hematology, Transfusion and Cell Therapy, 43: S441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.htct.2021.10.758
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.htct.2021.10.7...
), as well as knowing the needs of their customers to create strategic plans that meet them and manage to turn it into a competitive advantage over its competition (Mancosu, et al., 2018MANCOSU P ET AL. 2018. EP-2154: Lean-six-sigma methodology for improving quality in RT: the breast daily repositioning case. Radiotherapy and oncology: journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, 127: S1189. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8140(18)32463-0
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8140(18)32...
).

The previously studied perspective led to the generation of the following problem questions for this research: How to characterize the information associated with the quality dimensions of the service provided? How to articulate the six sigma metrics with the multivariable statistical control techniques to evaluate the performance of the service provided by the company in a timely and periodic manner in the 12 periods of 2019? What multivariable statistical control techniques allow to reliably assess the performance of the service provided by the company in a global and comprehensive manner?

Considering the above, the following objectives emerged for the study: 1) to characterize the information associated with the quality dimensions of the service provided; 2) to evaluate the performance of the service provided by the company in a timely and periodic manner in the 12 periods of 2019; 3) to assess the performance of the service provided by the company in a global and comprehensive manner, through a multivariate capacity indicator.

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Multivariate capability indicators

The analysis of the multivariate capacity of processes is an essential methodology in the study of service quality, with respect to the tolerance that customers have for the objective requirements that they themselves impose, based on their tastes and expectations (Fontalvo, Herrera, & De la hoz, 2020FONTALVO T, HERRERA R & DE LA HOZ E. 2020. Método de control estadístico multivariante para valorar las dimensiones de calidad en una empresa de lavado de tanques industriales. Información tecnológica, 31(5): 109-118. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07642020000500109
https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-0764202...
). This process capability allows estimating the level of quality and performance that the company presents, historically monitoring its performance to identify whether the characteristics of the good or service comply with its specification limits. K. S. Chen, et al. (2003CHEN K, PEARN W & LIN P. 2003. Capability measures for processes with multiple characteristics. Quality and Reliability Engineering International, 19(2): 101-110. https://doi.org/10.1002/qre.513
https://doi.org/10.1002/qre.513...
), presented by Fontalvo, Herrera & De la hoz (2020FONTALVO T, HERRERA R & DE LA HOZ E. 2020. Método de control estadístico multivariante para valorar las dimensiones de calidad en una empresa de lavado de tanques industriales. Información tecnológica, 31(5): 109-118. https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07642020000500109
https://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-0764202...
), proposes the monitoring of v characteristics, taking for normality and independence, as well as applying the multivariate capability index, CMT, the following formulation:

SM K T = 1 3 - 1 j v 1 = 1 P j 1 k + 1 2 (1)

This methodology evidences a geometric average of the conforming units in the v dimensions studied in the quality monitoring, and also allows to evaluate the nonconformities of the customers through the six sigma metrics.

P j = i = 1 k 1 Pk k J = 1 , 2 , v . (2)

Where, Pj is the average percentage of nonconformities in the dimension; jth and pk are the probability measures of each of the categories or modalities of the dimension evaluated, in other words Pk=1-NiUi×Oi with i=1,2,,k.. This proposal assumes an optimal process in its performance, when the values present values greater than unity. For the use of the proposed metrics, the operating conditions of the service or the evaluated process must have a sigma level higher than 3, which is evidence of a stable process.

2.2 Six sigma in service companies

With globalization and the high competitiveness it has brought with it; the ability to meet customer expectations, as well as the improvement of quality in service processes, has become an issue of great relevance for companies in this sector (Lizotte-Latendresse & Beauregard, 2018LIZOTTE S, & BEAUREGARD Y. 2018. Implementing self-service business analytics supporting lean manufacturing: A state-of-the-art review. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 51(11): 1143-1148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08.436
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08...
). That is why, companies have decided to adopt new business practices, which lead them to achieve efficiency and excellence in their processes (Ali, et al., 2019ALI F ET AL. 2019. Use of lean six sigma methodology to improve operating room efficiency for pediatric cardiac surgeries: A pilot study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73(9): 646. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0735-1097(19)31254-9
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0735-1097(19)31...
).

It is there, where the six sigma methodology becomes known as a tool of great importance for service companies, since it allows them to optimize their resources (De la hoz, Fontalvo, & Fontalvo, 2020DE LA HOZ E, FONTALVO T, & FONTALVO, O. 2020. Evaluación de la calidad del servicio por medio de seis sigma en un centro de atención documental en una universidad. Formación Universitaria, 13(2): 93-102. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-50062020000200093
https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-5006202000...
), as well as to achieve more efficient processes capable of meeting the customer’s requirements; the latter being very relevant when it comes to giving the acceptance of the service and its recommendation. This allows improving the profitability of the company by obtaining greater customer satisfaction (Abbes, et al., 2022ABBES N, SEJRI N, XU J & CHEIKHROUHOU M. 2022. New Lean Six Sigma readiness assessment model using fuzzy logic: Case study within clothing industry. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 61(11): 9079-9094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2022.02.047
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2022.02.04...
), which may possibly lead to customer loyalty with its services, thus increasing its income.

Knowing that six sigma is a customer-oriented strategy (Perramon, et al., 2022PERRAMON J, OLIVERAS M & LLACH J. 2022. Impact of service quality and environmental practices on hotel companies: An empirical approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 107(103307): 103307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103307
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.1033...
), which seeks to reduce the variability that exists in the various processes that occur in companies and that can damage the services and lose the reliability of the company. Within its applicability, it could be said that the model is based on the number of standard deviations or six sigma (process variability) that can correspond to the assumed process quality characteristics (Antosz, et al., 2022ANTOSZ K ET AL. 2022. Application of Lean Six Sigma for sustainable maintenance: case study. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 55(19): 181-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2022.09.204
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2022.09...
). The quality characteristics are determined by the maximum permissible error within the production process, thus determining whether it is capable of meeting customer requirements (Vincent, et al., 2021VINCENT A, POCIUS D & HUANG Y. 2021. Six Sigma performance of quality indicators in total testing process of point-of-care glucose measurement: A two-year review. Practical Laboratory Medicine, 25(e00215): e00215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plabm.2021.e00215
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plabm.2021.e00...
). The key to implementing a sigma index is not sigma results, but identifying the root cause of the errors and developing an improvement plan aimed at reducing or eliminating them and thus improving the process (Bennion, et al., 2018BENNION N ET AL. 2018. PO-1101: Six sigma optimizations for workflow and quality improvement in the radiation oncology clinic. Radiotherapy and oncology: journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, 127: S620. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8140(18)31411-7
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8140(18)31...
).

2.3 Public service

Public services can be considered as the response to the needs of society to have a decent life, regardless of their economic and physical condition. Likewise, all those activities carried out by the government with the purpose of satisfying the needs of the citizens. Hence, providing drinking water, electricity, security, subsidized health, among other services, are part of the primary functions of government, seeking to promote the welfare and human dignity of citizens, taking into consideration the human rights established in the Constitution of Colombia.

It should be emphasized that it is not enough to simply provide the service, but also to comply with the quality standards necessary to provide a good service to society (Longo, Zappatore & Bochicchio, 2019LONGO A, ZAPPATORE M & BOCHICCHIO M. 2019. A cloud-based approach to dynamically manage service contracts for local public transportation. International Journal of Grid and Utility Computing, 10(6): 694. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijguc.2019.102750
https://doi.org/10.1504/ijguc.2019.10275...
), and thus achieve social and economic development, in addition to effectively reducing the level of poverty by increasing the quality of life (Mamani & Vilca, 2022MAMANI K & VILCA G. 2022. Calidad de servicio y satisfacción de los usuarios en bibliotecas públicas municipales del sur del Perú. Revista de Ciencias Humanísticas y Sociales (ReHuSo), 7(3): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.33936/rehuso.v7i3.5136
https://doi.org/10.33936/rehuso.v7i3.513...
).

According to, Avelé (2021AVELÉ D. 2021. Between management accounting tools and analysis of the performance of municipal public services: a case study. African J of Economic and Sustainable Development, 8(4): 319. https://doi.org/10.1504/ajesd.2021.118514
https://doi.org/10.1504/ajesd.2021.11851...
), Gaie (2021GAIE C. 2021. An API-intermediation system to facilitate data circulation for public services: the French case study. International Journal of Computational Systems Engineering, 6(4): 201. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijcsyse.2021.120292
https://doi.org/10.1504/ijcsyse.2021.120...
), Nguyen, et al. (2019NGUYEN H ET AL. 2019. Impacts of decentralization on quality and satisfaction: evidence from city bus service in Vietnam. International Journal of Services Economics and Management, 10(3): 229. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijsem.2019.10317
https://doi.org/10.1504/ijsem.2019.10317...
) and Malpartida, et al. (2022MALPARTIDA D, GRANADA A & SALAS H. 2022. Calidad de servicio y satisfacción del cliente en una empresa comercializadora de sistemas de climatización doméstica e industrial, distrito de Surquillo (Lima - Perú), 2021. Revista Científica de la UCSA, 9(3): 23-35. Epub December 00, 2022. https://doi.org/10.18004/ucsa/2409-8752/2022.009.03.023
https://doi.org/10.18004/ucsa/2409-8752/...
), the quality of public service, is seen as an opportunity for companies to obtain competitive and sustainable advantages in a globalized and changing economic environment.

All of the above, generates the need to study and promote quality in the dimensions of public services, and even more so in Colombia that, despite statistically managing the overall satisfaction of citizens with public services, through the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), there are few individual researchers who have decided to conduct studies focused on making a comprehensive assessment of the quality of the Colombian system.

The new demands of society for administration, combined with the development of industries and achievements in economic and social practice, demonstrate the deficiency of current quality (Gaie & Mueck, 2021GAIE C & MUECK M. 2021. Public services data analytics using artificial intelligence solutions derived from telecommunications systems. International Journal of Business Intelligence and Systems Engineering, 1(4): 283. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijbise.2021.122747
https://doi.org/10.1504/ijbise.2021.1227...
), which leads to the redefinition of public organizations, especially organizations that provide services.

The current situation regarding the quality of services is quite worrying (Avelé, 2022), which requires a general transformation of organizations (Laitinen, Kinder & Stenvall, 2018LAITINEN I, KINDER T & STENVALL J. 2018. Local public service productivity and performance measurement. International journal of knowledge-based development, 9(1): 49. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijkbd.2018.090501
https://doi.org/10.1504/ijkbd.2018.09050...
), starting from the study and control of errors, enabled by different statistical control methods that involve reliable and feasible systematic procedures for such studies.

3 METHODOLOGY

The method proposed for the study allowed the characterization of the information associated with the dimensions of quality provided in the public service, through the review of primary information of the company and the conceptual review associated with the object of study of this research.

In order to measure the metrics, primary information provided by the public entity was used to calculate the six sigma metrics (DPMO, Z level and performance), presented in section 3.1.1, was carried out, which allowed, based on a monthly average, to evaluate the quality of the service provided by the company in a timely and periodic manner in the 12 periods of 2019, followed by the use of a multivariate capacity indicator (see section 2.1.), with which the performance of the service dimensions was evaluated in a global and comprehensive manner, through multivariate analysis. Finally, the company’s service quality is presented below. In the proposed method, 12 periods were established as criteria to be able to perform an evaluation per year, which will allow longitudinally analyzing the punctual performance through the metrics, and globally and integrally through the Multivariable quality capacity indicator. This can be compared year after year for analysis and decision making.

In order to proceed with the evaluation of the dimensions of quality provided, a series of criteria, formulas and a scheme are presented below:

3.1 Definition of quality dimensions

Considering the nature of the service provided, it was established that the objective of this research would be to evaluate the overall performance from the multivariable statistical control of a public service company, through its dependencies, which are: availability of the reconnection service, bill collection, escalation of attention, call reception, service stability and operation of the attention page.

In order to evaluate the performance of the different departments, a review of the historical PQRS of the year 2019 was carried out, generated in monthly periods, which contain the amount of services rendered (U), number of conformities and non-conformities (n), and an opportunity for error (O) was contemplated, in order to be able to make a study with the six sigma metrics and finally an analysis of the results. In the six sigma methodology, the defects per million opportunities (DPMO) are related to the actual number of defects observed, equation 3, and the sigma level Z, through equation 4.

DPMO = n t x 1 . 000 . 000 = n UxO x 1 . 000 . 000 (3)

Z = 0 . 8406 + 29 . 37 - 2 . 221 x ln D P M O (4)

The following is the type of service to be evaluated with its respective quality dimensions and the metrics to be used for the study:

Figure 1
Operational units to be evaluated in the home Internet server company and their study metrics.

Process performance is calculated by Y in equation 5.

Y = 1 - n U x O (5)

In the evaluation carried out by means of the six sigma metrics, it is expected that the performance (Y) is equal to or greater than 95% and the sigma level (Z) achieved is equal to or greater than 3, for a good performance. And Excellent if the Z sigma level performance is greater than 4.5. This is to prove that the evaluated processes achieved a good performance in the evaluated dimensions.

4 RESULTS

To evaluate the performance associated with the dimensions of public service quality, the primary information provided by the entity under investigation was tabulated, associated with the performance of the entity’s departments, in relation to citizen service, which contained the highest number of complaints and/or claims, in the months from January to December 2019, as can be seen in Table 1.

Table 1
Consolidated data related to the provision of services to citizens by the ministry’s departments.

As previously observed, the number of non-conformities is quite low for the level of service provided, which indicates that the process is efficient.

The quantitative estimation of the quality of the service provided to the customer by the departments is achieved through the appropriation of the six sigma metrics. As can be seen in Table 2.

Table 2
Six Sigma metrics for the citizen service provided by the areas of the Ministry of Housing.

In order to evaluate the performance of the dimensions of public service quality, the sigma level and the performance of the units were used, and the average of these variables per month of 2019 was calculated, in order to perform an analysis as a whole, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3
Sigma level assessment and average performance by quality dimension.

From Table 2 and Table 3 it can be observed that the sigma Z levels, both point and average all range between 3>Z<5, which shows an acceptable performance, and is consistent with what is expected in a process where six sigma metrics are used, where the ideal performance should range between 3>Z<6.

From the results obtained, it could be said that there is a good monthly performance, which was above 95% in the units as a whole, despite the fact that their sigma level is not very high (3.7; 4).

Continuing with the study of the dimensions of public service quality, we proceed with the presentation of the result obtained from the multivariate indicator, based on the formula below:

CM K T = 1 3 - 1 j = 1 v 0 , 9945 + . . + 0 . 9898 6 × × 0 . 9873 + . . + 0 . 9916 6 j 1 6 + 1 2

CM K T = 1 3 - 1 0 , 9913 * 0 , 9887 * 0 , 9892 * 0 , 9925 * 0 , 9879 * 0 , 9853 * 0 , 9894 * 0 , 9901 * 0 , 9898 * 0 , 9921 * 0 , 9938 * 0 , 9918 1 6 + 1 2

CM K T = 1 3 - 1 0 , 980411322 + 1 2

CM K T = 1 3 - 1 0 , 990205661

CM K T = 0 , 778044847

Even without comparing the results achieved by the company with the criteria established in the study, the good performance of the quality provided by the public servant is remarkable.

The criteria to be taken into consideration when evaluating the multivariable indicator of the study will also be presented (Table 4).

Table 4
Multivariate Analysis Performance Criteria.

Taking by consideration the performance criteria, expressed in Table 4, it can be found that the global, periodic and multidimensional performance of the quality dimensions of the public service provided is excellent, due to the fact that the multidimensional geometric quality capacity indicator exceeds CMKT0,750,778044847.

5 DISCUSSION

From the results found, it can be noted that as a finding of this research, Table 2 and Table 3 show that the months in which there was the highest performance by the dimensions of quality of public service were November and April consecutively and it is also notorious its relationship with the sigma level, which are the highest in the whole year 2019.

In relation to this research, other authors such as Attia, et al (2021ATTIA K ET AL. 2021. ’Second derivative synchronous fluorescence determination of avanafil in the presence of its acid-induced degradation product aided by powerful Lean Six Sigma tools augmented with D-optimal design’, RSC Advances, 11(7): 3834-3842. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ra08216c
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), as well as, Fontalvo, De La Hoz, and Fontalvo, (2022bFONTALVO T, DE LA HOZ E & FONTALVO O. 2022B. ‘Six Sigma method to assess the quality of the service in a gas utility company’, International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, 12(2): 220. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPMB.2022.121628
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), assure that the six sigma methodology is a powerful tool in the measurement of services, which guarantee the quality with a high level of statistical confidence and specific performance, in addition to a high level of accuracy and precision, which serves to perform an analysis of capacity and performance, so it is considered valid in several quality control laboratories. Likewise, Costa, A., Et al. (2019COSTA J, LOPES I & BRITO J. 2019. Six Sigma application for quality improvement of the pin insertion process. Procedia Manufacturing, 38: 1592-1599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01.126
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01...
), Hariyani, et al., (2022HARIYANI D & MISHRA S. 2022. Drivers for the adoption of integrated sustainable green lean six sigma agile manufacturing system (ISGLSAMS) and research directions. Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 7(100449): 100449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100449
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), Cançado, et al., (2019CANÇADO T, CANÇADO F & TORRES M. 2019. Lean six sigma and anesthesia. Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology (Elsevier), 69(5): 502-509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjane.2019.09.004
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) and Zhu, et al., (2019ZHU J ET AL. 2019. Six sigma robust design optimization for thermal protection system of hypersonic vehicles based on successive response surface method. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 32(9): 2095-2108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2019.04.009
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), consider six sigma as a very complete study methodology and that includes multiple tools and quality techniques for handling real or simulated data analysis projects, which allows researchers to quickly analyze any process.

Similarly, the authors Fontalvo, Herrera and Zambrano (2022cFONTALVO T, HERRERA R & ZAMBRANO J. 2022C. ‘Three-phase method to assess the logistics service using Six Sigma metrics, Hotelling’s T-square control chart and a principal component capacity indicator’, International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 35(1): 17. 10.1504/IJPQM.2020.10042140
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), as well as Kam, A., Et al. (2021KAM A ET AL. 2021. ’Using Lean Six Sigma techniques to improve efficiency in outpatient ophthalmology clinics’, BMC Health Services Research, 21(1): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-06034-3
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), state that the six sigma methodology recognizes that there is a direct correlation between the number of defects and customer satisfaction, so its focus is on finding the most efficient combination between both aspects, which implies that the process must be between 3>Z<6, as can be effectively observed in the analyzed performances of Z in Table 2 and Table 3. For their part, Madhani (2022MADHANI P. 2022. ‘Lean Six Sigma deployment in HR: enhancing business performance’, International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 22(1/2): 75. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJHRDM.2022.121314
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), Lamine (2022LAMINE K. 2022. ‘The challenge of Six Sigma DMAIC project integration in a Tunisian manufacturing company: case study’, International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 36(4): 478. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPQM.2022.124902
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), as well as Fontalvo, Herrera and Zambrano (2022aFONTALVO O, FONTALVO T & HERRERA R. 2021a. ‘Evaluation method of the sigma level multidimensional capacity of the service dimensions in a call centre of a telephone company’, International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 34(3): 319. 10.1504/IJPQM.2020.10042453
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), add that the sigma value indicates how often defects or malfunctions occur in the process. The higher the sigma level, the fewer defects or errors occur in the process. Thus, increasing sigma reduces the need for testing and inspection, increases process reliability, reduces quality costs and significantly reduces rework.

Meanwhile, authors Swain, et al (2018SWAIN A, CAO Q & GARDNER W. 2018. Six Sigma success: Looking through authentic leadership and behavioral integrity theoretical lenses. Operations Research Perspectives, 5: 120-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orp.2018.04.001
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), Gupta, et al (2021GUPTA N ET AL. 2021. Six Sigma based modeling of the hydraulic oil heating under low load operation. Engineering Science and Technology an International Journal, 24(1): 11-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jestch.2020.12.002
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), Steere, et al (2018STEERE L, ROUSSEAU M & DURLAND L. 2018. Lean Six Sigma for intravenous therapy optimization: A hospital use of Lean Thinking to improve occlusion management. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access, 23(1): 42-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.java.2018.01.002
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.java.2018.01.0...
), Johnson, et al (2019JOHNSON S ET AL. 2019. Using Lean Six Sigma to develop a patient Centered Medical Home for adults with sickle cell disease. Blood, 134(Supplement 1), 3408: 3408. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2019-131117
https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2019-13111...
) and Randell, et al (2018RANDELL E ET AL. 2018. Strategy for 90% auto verification of clinical chemistry and immunoassay test results using six sigma process improvement. Data in Brief, 18, 1740-1749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.04.080
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.04.08...
), argue that six sigma is a tool that provides competitive opportunities, in today’s dynamic, competitive and uncertain business environment, where continuous improvement of process and service quality can create sustainable competitive advantages.

From a multivariate approach to statistical quality control, other authors such as Casacci and Pareto (2022CASACCI S & PARETO A. 2022. ‘A nonlinear multivariate method for constructing profiles of country performance’, International Journal of Multicriteria Decision Making, 8(4): 295. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMCDM.2021.120746
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMCDM.2021.1207...
), Fontalvo, et al (2021aFONTALVO O, FONTALVO T & HERRERA R. 2021a. ‘Evaluation method of the sigma level multidimensional capacity of the service dimensions in a call centre of a telephone company’, International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 34(3): 319. 10.1504/IJPQM.2020.10042453
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPQM.2020.10042...
), and Khadse, et al (2021KHADSE K & SHINDE R. 2021. ‘A new probability-based multivariate process capability index’, International Journal of Quality Engineering and Technology, 8(3): 249. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJQET.2021.116757
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJQET.2021.11675...
), in their studies have used multivariate capability indicators as an integral part in the evaluation of the quality dimensions of goods and services. Thus, showing the relationship between the actual performance of the process and the tolerance limits of customer specifications. In this sense, the author Morelos (2021MORELOS J. 2021. ’Method to appraise financial and productivity indicators in small and medium enterprises in the tourist lodging sector of Cartagena-Colombia applying discriminant multivariate analysis’, International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 33(3): 367. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijpqm.2021.116954
https://doi.org/10.1504/ijpqm.2021.11695...
) shows that the advantage of this multivariate method over the classical methods is that in many cases it reduces the complexity of the problem. Therefore, these latter investigations allow to evaluate the punctual, longitudinal and multidimensional performance of the object of study. This provides an additional measure of application similar to the one used in this research.

6 CONCLUSION

As a scientific contribution, this research work articulates the conception of the theoretical elements associated with the provision of service, as well as the conceptualization of the dimensions of quality and of the different departments of the public sector company, integrated with the six sigma metrics and the capacity indicators of multivariable statistical control.

Similarly, this research presents a structured and reliable methodology in the study of the quality of a public service company, through the analysis of the multivariate capacity indicators, supported by the six sigma metrics that allow evaluating the quality dimensions of the services in a more efficient way; these contributions will be useful to the business and academic environment in their future research. This is a topic that has not been worked on very much, even though it is of great relevance for the competitiveness and efficiency of the processes of the companies.

As a differentiating point, this research provides a novel and little worked method by the scientific community, which is indispensable in the creation of new ideas and the acquisition of new knowledge in the business, scientific and social fields.

On the other hand, the theoretical formulation of the six sigma metrics and the multivariate statistical control capacity indicators provide practical tools for evaluation, analysis and decision- making in-service companies, thus making it possible to meet the requirements of customers, while ensuring a better quality of life. The above is replicable at local, regional, national or international level in any public or private company.

As future research, the scientific community is invited to replicate the proposed method, considering other departments and other dimensions of quality, associated to a service provision, to measure performance in a periodic, punctual, global, longitudinal and integral way in the processes of public and private companies.

Finally, the use of the six sigma metrics, as well as the analysis of the multivariate capacity indicators, were a key point for the achievement of the objectives set out in the research, since they effectively allowed the evaluation of the stipulated quality dimensions.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    21 Aug 2023
  • Date of issue
    2023

History

  • Received
    02 Dec 2022
  • Accepted
    02 Mar 2023
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