The paper presents a decision support system for quality tools and techniques (QT&T) selection and application. While solving problems and improving enterprise processes and products, there is often a significant problem connected with fast, easy and flexible choice of appropriate tools for solution activities. The premise of the system elaboration was richness and variety of quality tools – ranging from technological solutions (e.g. statistical process control (SPC)) to organisational and behavioural techniques (e.g. nominal groups technique (NGT)), as well as the lack of applications, making fast and apt selection of QT&T, especially in the production conditions. The system includes knowledge about management tools and techniques and, in contrast to traditional handbooks, is written in structured form. It should be stressed that this knowledge not only describes the possibilities of tool usage (theoretical view), but also points out the constraints in their practical implication (knowledge captured from enterprise experts). The system contains also the so-called dynamic knowledge, resulting from learning processes, based on the history about previous users’ choices concerning QT&T and their effectiveness in practice (evaluated also within the system). Both of them allow support of the final decision about tool selection, taking multi-criteria (defined by the user) into consideration.

Purpose: This research seeks to understand the purpose five whys is used for in industry as well as what quality tools are used together with five whys. Methodology/Approach: A survey was sent to organizations previously identified for an unrelated survey. The survey was sent to 98 organizations in Poland and 47 organizations responded. There were four respondents who reported being unfamiliar with five whys and their responses were discarded. The reported uses of five whys were assessed using a Chi-square goodness of fit test. The way in which five whys is used, either as a brainstorming tool or a method that requires investigation, and the purpose of five whys were compared to the intended use using a hypothesis test of two proportions. The quality tools used with five whys was then assessed using a Chi-square goodness of fit test. Findings: Although more respondents use five whys as a root cause analysis (RCA) tool, the difference was not statistically significant. Respondents who used five whys with investigation used five whys as both a method for quality improvement and RCA more often than those who used five whys as a brainstorming tool without investigation. There was no statistically significant difference in using five whys for RCA and those who used five whys as a brainstorming tool reported using five whys for quality improvement more often. Although many different quality tools were reported, the Ishikawa diagram is by far the quality tool used the most with five whys. Research Limitation/Implication: This paper used a survey that was limited to one region of Poland. Originality/Value of paper: This paper provides the first insights into the use of five whys in organizations; as a method for quality improvement, RCA, or both.

In this article the authors present the methodology adopted and the results obtained in the first stage of the research encompassing focus group interviews (FGI) about the needs of public transport users in a selected city (Poznań). The elicitation and assessment of the requirements were carried out for three groups of people with disabilities using public transport in the city of Poznań: blind and partially sighted people, deaf and hearing-impaired people, as well as people with locomotor dysfunctions. A study carried out on the basis of a scenario especially designed for the FGI purpose has made it possible to identify barriers for people with disabilities and, consequently, to formulate their pre-trip,on-trip and post-trip requirements when it comes to urban public transport services. The results will be used to construct a questionnaire to be used further on in the project.

The article presents the method of assessing the sustainable development of enterprises implemented in the form of an audit, dedicated to manufacturing and service companies. Modern organizations are heading towards the idea of sustainable development. Its essence lies in the belief that the chances of a specific economic entity for survival are possible by harmonizing economic, environmental and social aspects. Emphasizing the essential role of the human factor within the Lean Green concept and the growing popularity of the idea of CSR encouraged the authors to propose a Human Lean Green approach, on which the developed method of assessing the sustainable development of the company is based. The assessment of the company’s sustainable development is carried out by measuring the indicators obtained from the analysis of answers to questions concerning the use of good practices in manufacturing and/or service processes. The study is conducted in three areas: process improvement (Lean), environmental impact (Green) and quality and safety of the workplace (Human). The innovative elements of the method, compared to those proposed so far, are: singling out a Human module, laying emphasis on good practices that guarantee the effectiveness of operations and the possibility of assessing both manufacturing and service companies.