Overview of Continuous Process Improvement - … · continuous process improvement activities ... individually as they achieve their ... incapacity precludes innovation 28 Continuous

Overview of ContinuousProcess Improvement

Breakout Session # E01Henry F. Garcia, Adjunct Professor, Webster University

Date Tuesday, 5 December 2017Time 1400‒1515

1

2

Definition

Continuous Improvement — The management philosophy that involves the relentless pursuit of product and process improvement through a never- ending exercise of achieving small wins.

It is an integral part of a Total Quality Management system that seeks to eliminate waste and reduce variation.

3

Myths

• Continuous Improvement is too expensive

• Management does not understand/ support Continuous Improvement

• Processes do not need improvement in my area

• Continuous Improvement is only for large organizations

4

Key Concepts

• Total Quality Management

• Benchmarking

• Deming PDCA Cycle

• Deming Wheel

5

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management — A philosophy and system of management focused on internal or external customer (user) satisfaction

• Quality integrated throughout the organization’s activities

• Employee commitment to continuous process improvement

• Suppliers can participate in the improvement of the process

6

Total Quality Management (Cont’d)

Tools for Introducing Ideas• Check Sheet ‒ Organized method of

recoding data• Scatter Diagram ‒ Graph showing the

value of one variable versus another variable

• Cause-and-Effect Diagram ‒ Tool that identifies process elements (causes) that may effect (create) an outcome (Think Fishbone Diagram)

7

Total Quality Management (Cont’d)

Tools for Organizing Data• Pareto Chart ‒ Graph to identify and plot

problems or defects in descending order of frequency (Think Prioritization)

• Flowchart ‒ Chart that describes the steps in a process (Think Process Diagram in Project Management to identify Critical Path)

8

Total Quality Management (Cont’d)

Tools for Identifying Problems• Histogram ‒ Distribution showing the

frequency of occurrences of a variable (Think Gantt Chart as a bar chart that illustrates a project’s schedule)

• Statistical Process Control Chart ‒ Chart with time on the horizontal axis to plot values of a statistic (Consider Upper Control Limit, Target Value, Lower Control Limit)

9

Benchmarking

Benchmarking — Making improvements by selecting the current best practices of other organizations as a standard of performance

• Determine what to benchmark• Form a benchmark team • Collect and analyze benchmarking

information• Take action to match or exceed the

benchmark

10

Deming PDCA Cycle

• Plan ‒ Plan improvements to presentprocesses

• Do ‒ Implement the plan initially on asmall scale

• Check ‒ Test to see if desired results areachieved

• Act ‒ Implement corrective action on awider scale

11

Deming Wheel

Deming Wheel — Model for conductingcontinuous process improvement activities• Identify improvement area and

associated problem(s)• Implement and document change on a

small scale first• Evaluate implementation data for best

fit• Codify improvement as new standard for

replication

12

Continuous Improvement

• Customer (User) Focus

• Cooperation

• Leadership

• Decisions Based on Data

• People/Culture

• Measurement and Metrics

13

Winning Strategies

• Continuous Improvement or Total Quality Management strategies create opportunities for performance improvement through better definition of the systems and processes that enhance employee productivity by building a “culture of improvement” within the organization.

• These strategies represent “best practice”, but they must be carefully planned and implemented.

14

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Management Support/Methods:

• Recognizing management’s support as essential to success

• Understanding Continuous Improvement as a permanent change from business as usual or “we’ve always done it that way”

15

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Management Support/Methods: (Cont’d)

• Identifying key results• Signing “win-win” agreement with

support of executive management• Focusing on data and performance

issues rather than personalities• Using the direct approach

16

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Management Support/Methods: (Cont’d)

• Communicating openly and honestly• Delegating to subordinates• Conveying accurately expectations and

following up on performance to those expectations

17

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Front Line Leadership:

• Implementing basic principles to empower staff

• Gathering good information to make best decision

• Using positive reinforcement• Supporting “win-win” agreement

18

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Performance Management:

• Using job description• Defining performance expectations for

each key responsibility in job description

• Providing frequent feedback on performance results compared to expectations

19

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Continuous Improvement Measures:

• Applying a systematic approach to business operations

• Identifying key measurements and assigning functional or matrix leaders

• Focusing on important problem areas• Allowing leaders to select improvements for

Problem Solving teams

20

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Continuous Improvement Measures: (Cont’d)

• Establishing regular team meetings and scheduling Problem Solving team training (if needed)

• Selecting problem areas and identifying measurement and metrics trends

• Linking measurements to problem solving and employee involvement — part of the “win-win” agreement

21

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Continuous Improvement Measures: (Cont’d)

• Establishing key measurements/metrics

• Reviewing trends based on these key measurements/metrics

• Ensuring progress will be measured and reported

22

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Employee Involvement:

• Providing training as required• Understanding available quality tools

used for measurement• Attacking the problem, not the person• Identifying the problem and selecting the

team to mitigate or resolve the problem

23

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Rewards:

• Rewarding Problem Solving teams collectively and team members individually as they achieve their objectives

• Basing the type of reward on suggestions from the team (Think Quality Circles)

24

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Effective Meetings:

• Starting and ending on time• Keeping meetings focused and short• Distributing agenda before meeting• Prioritizing agenda items• Avoiding meeting interruptions when

considering difficult/divisive tasks• Publishing meeting minutes shortly after

the meeting

25

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Time Management:

• Restraining procrastination• Controlling events and taking action• Recognizing need to achieve objectives

on time, every time

26

Winning Strategies (Cont’d)

Project Management:

• Learning how to set realistic objectives and priorities

• Understanding the need for focus on value-added tasks only

• Organizing work for team building• Using both quantitative and qualitative

measurements to evaluate performance of Problem Solving teams

By learning to monitor, control, and constantly improve how employees work, managers can provide not only job satisfaction but also professional and personal enrichment

27

Continuous ImprovementAssessment

• Organizations compelled to accommodate present workload with legacy systems and processes

• More work, less staff, and greater task complexity suggest review of systems and processes

• Organizational culture, inertia, and/or incapacity precludes innovation

28

Continuous Improvement Concerns

Need to address the following:• Identification and assessment of desired systems

and processes

• Requirement for closing the gap between what is desired and what can be accomplished

• Absence of pragmatic problem solving and continuous improvement program

• Scarcity of time and resources committed to the development and execution of an effective program

• Lack of organizational culture and infrastructure to sustain continuous improvement initiatives

29

Continuous Improvement Concerns (Cont’d)

• Continuous Improvement is essential in today’s business environment, and it can make the difference between long-term stability and short-term disaster.

• Continuous Improvement benefits go far beyond the bottom line. It affects the employee culture by involving them in change management.

30

Conclusion

31

Questions?

Contact Information

Henry F. Garcia, MA, CPSM, C.P.M.Adjunct ProfessorWebster UniversityLackland AFB, TX Extended Campus1550 Wurtsmith St.Lackland AFB, TX 78236-5251Phone: 210-383-3558http://www.webster.edu/sanantonio/

32