Supporting Statement

NIST

Calibration Services

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Contact: Dr. James K. Olthoff, NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory,
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8400, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8400
Tel: 301 975 4200 E-mail: [email protected]

1. Explain who will be surveyed and why the group is appropriate to survey.

As part of the NIST Balanced Scorecard effort, the Physical Measurement Laboratory, working with the NIST Laboratories, will survey purchasers of Calibration Services. A NIST Customer Satisfaction Survey is available to the customer via the NIST Calibrations webpage after a calibration is performed by NIST. By surveying the purchasers of NIST Calibrations Services, NIST Laboratories obtain feedback on how to improve the product and its delivery as well as how to better meet the customer’s needs with regard to Calibrations Services in the future.

2. Explain how the survey was developed including consultation with interested parties, pretesting and responses to suggestions for improvement.

Questions for this survey were developed based upon previous customer satisfaction surveys by the NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory management, administrative staff, and NIST Quality Manager. Use of a survey template improved the quality, completeness, consistency and reduction of burden to the customer. The customer survey data collected ensures that NIST satisfaction surveys include standard questions that can be used to monitor performance at the Group, Division, OU, and Office of the Director levels. All feedback is forwarded to the pertinent Group Leader, Quality Managers (NIST and Division), and Technical Contact. This survey is an integral part of the NIST Quality System and is used in numerous Division Quarterly Quality Reports. Questions on Calibrations have been harmonized so it is easier to see a cross-cutting of data and improvement needs.

3. Explain how the survey will be conducted, how customers will be sampled if fewer than all customers will be surveyed, expected response rate, and actions your agency plans to take to improve the response rate.

 A letter explaining on how to access the survey will be sent with each device after a calibration service is performed by NIST. NIST PML Administrative Staff will follow up with the customer to increase customer awareness and encourage participation. The web-based survey will be available from the NIST Calibrations website (www.nist.gov/calibrations).

 The survey should take about five minutes to complete, even with written comments.

 PML Administrative Staff will forward received surveys to the appropriate Group Leader, Quality Managers (NIST and Division), and Technical Contact. All data is included in Division Quarterly Quality Reports. This system is integral in all Quarterly Quality Reports throughout NIST.

Expected Response Rate:

We are expecting an 80% response rate (online).

Proposed Actions to Improve Response Rate:

Online surveys are also extremely easy and quick to fill out since the user often returns to the Calibrations website for various reasons. NIST PML Administrative Staff will follow up with the customer to increase customer awareness and encourage participation.

4. Describe how the results of the survey will be analyzed and used to generalize the results to the entire customer population.

 The NIST Group Leaders and Quality Managers (NIST and Division) will collect, tabulate, and analyze the survey results returned from Calibration services customers.

 Summary reports, along with copies of all returned surveys, will be included in the NIST Quarterly Quality Management Reports.

 Surveys requiring follow up by NIST management will be copied immediately to the pertinent Group Leader and Quality Manager.

 Summaries appropriate to completing the NIST Balanced Score Card will be prepared as needed by NIST OUs and the NIST Quality Manager.