'THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FIELD PERFORMANCE STUDIES-THE BUYER'S PERSPECTIVE'

摘要

Field Performance Studies, sometimes also called Field Quality and Reliability AppraisaLs, or Field Tracking Studies are used to determine the current state of performance of both hardware and software. Results from these studies are used to:1. Analyze the performance of a product or system.2. Compare the observed performance with predicted performance.3. Detect problems and report them to the organization responsible for correction.4. Identify problem causes.5. Measure the impact of design or manufacturing changes.The major goal of these studies is to improve the performance of the equipment and achieve customer satisfaction.There are several degrees of complexity for these studies ranging from detailed tracking studies, which closely monitor the movement of each piece of equipment, to mechanized studies which rely on reports generated by an inventory management system. As could be expected, the cost of these programs also varies greatly. A detailed tracking study is very labor intensive both for Bellcore and the Bell Operating Companies. This paper examines the economic impact of performing a Field Performance Study from the buyer's perspective. The results indicate that Field Performance Studies can have a significant impact on a company's bottom line.