Division of Quality & Environmental Management ANNUAL REPORT 2005-2007 1 Background and Overview In January 1, 2003 the Division of Quality & Environmental Management (Avdelningen för kvalitets- & miljöledning) was created through a merger between the Quality Technology group and the Environmental Management group. The establishment of the division, the very first one of this kind in Sweden, was supported both from industry and the public sector in Sweden. Large efforts were spent on a successful merger, partly with financial support from the Development Council Government Sector (Utvecklingsrådet för den statliga sektorn). For instance, efforts have been put on our values and the culture; see Figure 2. In February 2006 the Division of Quality & Environmental Management was merged with several other divisions into a unit named Division of Business Administration and Manage- ment (Avdelningen för företagsekonomi & verksamhetsutveckling). Figure 1 Parts of the staff of our division at Kukkolaforsen, June 16, 2006. Photo: Rickard Garvare. Our four main processes illustrate central activities at Quality & Environmental Management: Undergraduate and Graduate Education, Postgraduate Education, Research, and Links to Society; see Figure 3. Activities are often performed in a close co-operation with business companies, public organizations and other parts of our society and we are convinced that collaboration is of benefit for all parties. This is also emphasized in our vision, which states that “we shall be internationally acknowledged for, to in a close co-operation with others, contribute to the future sustainable society”. 1 OUR VALUES – OUR CULTURE We have an open climate, which is built on fellowship and respect of each other We make certain that all members of the staff are informed and committed in decision making We work to create sustainable health We have a joint will to do a good job We want to be seen and heard in order to influence the development of society and our subjects We test new and better ways to work and are willing to adopt new challenges We listen to our students Figure 2 The seven values that constitute our culture. The list is signed by all the staff and can be found in our corridor. Postgraduate Research Education L in Societyk s to ty nks toie i c L o S Society Society Links to Undergraduate and Graduate Education Figure 3 Our four main processes: Undergraduate and Graduate Education, Postgraduate Education, Research, and Links to Society, and their relations. We are presently discussing strategies to further strengthen and expand our fruitful co-opera- tion with companies and other universities. Collaboration with Mid-Sweden University has been established in quality management containing, for instance, undergraduate education, post-graduate education, and research, and includes development of courses for distance studies, exchange of teachers and supervision of post-graduate students. The division is also closely co-operating in a joint research program with Karolinska institutet in Stockholm and Umeå University. Furthermore, a co-operation with Stockholm School of Business has started with a couple of projects and exchange of teacher resources. Co-operation has also been established with a number of companies active within the area of Six Sigma. 2 1.1 Undergraduate and Graduate Teaching Altogether, we now offer about 20 courses in Quality Technology & Management and Environmental Management to students at our university; see Chapter 5. A basic course on Quality Technology & Management was developed some years ago and is offered for distance studies in a close co-operation with other universities, in particular Mid-Sweden University. An advanced course for distance studies has also been developed with financial support from The Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen). Since a couple of years we offer a Quality Management specialization (avslutning), mainly to engineering students following the Industrial Engineering and Management Programme (Industriell ekonomi). Students, who complete a specific mix of courses and do a industry project with subtantial savings shown, are offered a Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate from the division. The require- ments include that the students conduct a master thesis with the typical DMAIC structure (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control), which is standard procedure for a Six Sigma project. The division is responsible for a Bachelor Programme called Environmental and Quality Management (Miljö- och kvalitetsmanagement) with financial support from the European Union. We have also had financial support from the European Union during 2003-2005 for the establishment of a new research profile connected to this BSc programme with a focus on integrating the areas of quality management, environmental management and work environ- ment management. Our efforts to teach for high quality learning seem to be greatly appreciated by our students, something which has been documented in several ways. In our regular course evaluations we get high values of our SSI (Student Satisfaction Index), which is a measure of the students’ over-all impression of our division after following a course. The five grade scale of the SSI has for many courses resulted in mean grades of above 4, see Section 5.2. 1.2 Postgraduate Education and Research A long-term aim is to establish research groups within certain profile areas, see Figure 4. Each group should be led by at least one senior researcher, who has both an economic and a scientific responsibility for the group. Sustainable Development -Measurements and evaluation Quality and Effects of environmental environmental Process management management Control in small systems organizations Leadership Process and learning Management organizations Figure 4 Our research is focused on a number of profile areas, with Sustainable Development as the overall profile. 3 Overall profile: Sustainable development – measurement and evaluation In the efforts towards an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable society, we shall focus on management and control of work with quality, work environment and environment in organizations. Our focus is on developing and facilitating implementation of values, metho- dologies and tools with concentration on measurement and evaluation. Quality and environmental management in small organizations The aim is to support development and implementation of values, methodologies and tools for quality and environmental management in small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and organizations in the private and public sectors. One of the focus areas is quality development within the tourism industry. Profile area leader: Rickard Garvare. Leadership and learning organizations The aim is to contribute to a leadership, which supports continuous improvements and contin- uous learning. A particular focus is on leadership methodologies, which lead to a sustainable health. Profile area leader: Bengt Klefsjö. Process Management The aim is to create and spread knowledge in the area of Process Management, i.e. develop- ment and implementation of values, methodologies and tools to manage and improve orga- nisational processes. Profile area leader: Rickard Garvare. Process Control The aim is to study how a process view and process orientation can support improvement work within quality and environmental management, and in that way contribute to a sustain- able society. The work aims as well at developing and implementing methodologies and tools to better measure, control and improve technical and administrative processes. Among these methodologies are Design of Experiment, Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma. Profile area leader: Bjarne Bergquist. Effects of environmental management systems The aim is to further increase the knowledge about the benefits and effects of environmental management systems. Particular fokus is on environmental effects in industrial organisations. This profile also includes studies of how different elements of environmental management systems can be further developed and improved. Profile area leader: Thomas Zobel. 1.3 Links to Society Small Business Academy (Småföretagsakademien) The Small Business Academy is based on close co-operation between several divisions at Luleå University of Technology. Among these are Quality & Environmental Management, Industrial Organization, Manufacturing Engineering, Construction Management, Industrial Work Environment, and Industrial Design. The aim is to create a basis for contacts with SME in the region and help them with advice and courses, but the academy has also a clear focus on research and development on issues related to SME. For instance, a program, called the PEN-program, for research and development, partly financed by European Union, based on a co-operation with Umeå University and different companies, has been initiated. Rickard Garvare has been the division’s representative in the Small Business Academy during the years in question. 4 Research Station Eastern Norrbotten (Forskarstation Östra Norrbotten) The four local communities, Kalix, Haparanda, Överkalix and Övertorneå, situated in the northeast part of Sweden, constitute Eastern Norrbotten. The region has about 37,000 inhabitants. A specific federation for cooperation on issues related to higher education was established in 1998/1999 between these four local communities. The four local communities decided in 1999 to start a project called Research Station Eastern Norrbotten (Forskarstation Östra Norrbotten).