CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
What is continuous improvement means in the context of organisational success
Continuous improvement is a quality philosophy that assumes further improvements are always possible and that processes should be continuously re-evaluated and improvements implemented. It is also the seeking of small improvements in processes and products, with the objective of increasing quality and reducing waste. It is believed that an organization must constantly measure the effectiveness of its processes and strive to meet more difficult objectives to satisfy customers.
Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes. These efforts can seek “incremental” improvement over time or “breakthrough” improvement all at once
How it is possible to lead continuous improvement systems and processes
- Encouraging and supporting team members to participate in decision-making processes:
Quality management is a process in business that requires participation from everyone, from senior management to those on the shop floor. Quality management can only be effective if everyone participates and contributes ideas for the overall improvement of a business. Without active participation by everyone, you are not getting everything you could get from the process. You need to involve everyone; you need to ensure that you listen to everyone’s ideas. After all, often it is not just management who know how to make improvements. Those on the shop floor deal with problems on a daily basis, and this puts them in the best position to find ways of making improvements. In this section we will look at ways of working with your team to ensure that you are getting the active participation of all team members.
There are a range of tools that can be used to ensure that your team is encouraged to participate in the continuous improvement process.
o Brainstoming o Check sheets o Mind mapping o Cause and Effect diagram o Norminal Group technique o Consensus
o
Continuous improvement is a quality philosophy that assumes further improvements are always possible and that processes should be continuously re-evaluated and improvements implemented. It is also the seeking of small improvements in processes and products, with the objective of increasing quality and reducing waste. It is believed that an organization must constantly measure the effectiveness of its processes and strive to meet more difficult objectives to satisfy customers.
Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes. These efforts can seek “incremental” improvement over time or “breakthrough” improvement all at once
How it is possible to lead continuous improvement systems and processes
- Encouraging and supporting team members to participate in decision-making processes:
Quality management is a process in business that requires participation from everyone, from senior management to those on the shop floor. Quality management can only be effective if everyone participates and contributes ideas for the overall improvement of a business. Without active participation by everyone, you are not getting everything you could get from the process. You need to involve everyone; you need to ensure that you listen to everyone’s ideas. After all, often it is not just management who know how to make improvements. Those on the shop floor deal with problems on a daily basis, and this puts them in the best position to find ways of making improvements. In this section we will look at ways of working with your team to ensure that you are getting the active participation of all team members.
There are a range of tools that can be used to ensure that your team is encouraged to participate in the continuous improvement process.
o Brainstoming o Check sheets o Mind mapping o Cause and Effect diagram o Norminal Group technique o Consensus
o