By Junaid Tahir: Well, This is my second episode on management consultancy . Ok, straight to the point, Continuous Improvement is...
By Junaid Tahir:
Well, This is my second episode on management consultancy.
Ok, straight to the point, Continuous Improvement is an on-going effort in order to improve products, services or procedures of any organization. The effectiveness or efficiency enhancement can be in terms of cost optimization, better quality, improved customer satisfaction index, quick response time, fast production rate, reduced fault rate, Six Sigma Compliance, electricity conservation and several other domains.
According to management consultants there are three kinds of improvements;
Continuous Improvement: Improvement at a linear rate.
Continual Improvement: Improvement at gradual rate.
Breakthrough: A giant leap with major changes in a domain or several domains, sometimes executed only once.
Below is the recommended strategy for the Execution of Improvement Process:
1- Define current performance of Product, Services of Procedure(s).2- Identify areas of improvements (suggestions available in first paragraph of this article)
3- Brainstorm the available ideas
a. Consider Fishbone diagram, Cause Effect diagram. Perform analysis by doing breakdown of bigger problem into smaller problems.
b. Seek feedback and recommendations from Management Consultants
c. Seek advice from Managers, Field Employees, Stake holders, Subject Matter Experts.
d. Consider customers' / End users' feedback about quality of products and services.
4- Make final list of options to execute. Consider associated risks with each execution. Consider Mitigation strategies for these risks.5- Execute the options one by one on a small scale in a controlled environment based on risk mitigation strategies.
6- Prepare the observation register and list down the lessons learnt.
7- Review the observations with managers, senior management, SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) and stake holders.
8- Implement the change on large scale and set new standard.
9- Celebrate and reward.
10- Go back to Step one for Continuous/Continual Improvement
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About Author: Junaid Tahir is a passionate blogger. He writes articles on Leadership, Stress Management and Life Enhancement subjects at his personal blog
