CONTINUOUS

IMPROVEMENT

THE BASICS
APPROACHES, METHODOLOGIES AND TOOLS

Continuous improvement is a term in common use throughout most

industries and the public sector. It can become a meaningless term unless it
is linked to organizational strategy, has a defined structure, a chosen
approach, a methodology and an associated tool kit.
APPROACHES, METHODOLOGIES AND TOOLS
COMPANY VALUES
8. Sustained improvement
Continuation on a lifetime journey

5. Widely shared continual improvement culture

Shared commitment to constant improvements in performance

2. Supporting
1. Leadership and
infrastructure 4. Skilled improvers
top-down cascade
of objectives
Program People, trained, qualified
management and living in the
OQOTOC delivery
organization
performance
Effective
Customer
communication
confidence
and ‘branding’
Efficiency 7. Measurable
improvements improvements in the 6. Circulation of
Supporting systems
service/delivery areas talent

Figure 1.0
An overall approach structure
for continuous improvement
3. Pragmatic, fact-based methodology yielding rapid results
Using proven methodologies, fact and data-based, hands-on tools and techniques
THE DRIVER FRAMEWORK

D EFINE the scope and goals of the process to be improved, in terms of

The author and his colleagues the customer requirements and the processes that deliver them.
have developed a fully closed
loop improvement methodology
which brings together the best of R EVIEW understand the ‘as-is’ processes and measure the current process
Lean, Six Sigma and Cost of performance to appreciate the ‘value add’ and ‘waste’.
Quality approaches – DRIVER
with the stages of Define, Review,
Investigate, Verify, Execute and
I NVESTIGATE analyze the gap between the current and desired
Reinforce. This well-established performance, prioritize problems and identify root causes.
approach, which has been used in
literally hundreds of V ERIFY generate the improvement solutions, including the ‘to-be’ processes,
organizations, prevents people to fix the problems and prevent them from recurring.
jumping from the problem to the
solution without considering the
improvement options: E XECUTE implement the improved processes in the pathway in a way that
‘holds the gains’.

R EINFORCE capitalize on the improvement by ‘learning the and lessons’

establishing a re-assessment process for continuous improvement.
THE DRIVER FRAMEWORK
Project charter
Scoping
Is/Is not SIPOC
Data
VOC to CTQ collection/analysis
Figure 2 shows DRIVER, together with
S.M.A.R.T. Communication
recommended tools and techniques Knowledge planning
taken from a range of established capture/sharing
components of CI. Figures 13.4 to 13.9 Stakeholder
give the detail of how these are applied Reporting Define analysis
throughout the various stages of an
5S Process
improvement project using DRIVER as
Charting
Reinforce Review mapping
the methodology. The next section and
subsequent chapters provide further
detail on the specific tools and Data validation
techniques. Waste analysis
SOPs Execute Investigate
Visual Variation analysis
management
Verify
Root cause analysis
KPIs
Opportunity storing
Controls Solution
Figure 2 DRIVER – the Optimization FMEA
dynamic improvement
Implementation Piloting
methodology (together with planning
recommended tools &
techniques
BASIC TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

In the never-ending quest for improvement in the ways processes are operated,
numbers and information should form the basis for understanding, decisions and
actions; and a thorough data gathering, recording and presentation system is essential:

• Record data – all processes can and should be measured – all measurements should be recorded.
• Use data – if data are recorded and not used they will be abused.
• Analyse data – data analysis should be carried out by means of some basic systematic tools.
• Act on the results – recording and analysis of data without action leads to frustration.
SET OF METHODS THAT PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR
BASIC TOOLS
RECORDING AND TECHNIQUES

• Process mapping or flowcharting – what is done?

• Check sheets/tally charts – how often is it done?
• Histograms – what do overall variations look like?
• Scatter diagrams – what are the relationships between factors?
• Stratification – how is the data made up?
• Pareto analysis – which are the big problems?
• Root cause and effect analysis and brainstorming (including CEDAC, NGT, RCA and the five whys) – what
causes the problems?
• Force-field analysis – what will obstruct or help the change or solution?
• Emphasis curve – which are the most important factors?
• Control charts – which variations to control and how?
Process mapping/flowcharting

The use of these techniques, which are described in Chapter

10, ensures a full understanding of the inputs, outputs and
flow of the process. Without that understanding, it is not
possible to draw the correct map or flowchart of the process.
In flowcharting it is important to remember that in all but the
smallest tasks no single person is able to complete a chart
without help from others. This makes flowcharting a
powerful improvement team forming exercise.
 Check sheets or tally charts

A check sheet is a tool for data gathering, and a logical point to start
in most process control or problem solving efforts. It is particularly
useful for recording direct observations and helping to gather in
facts rather than opinions about the process. In the recording
process it is essential to understand the difference between data and
numbers.

Data are pieces of information, including numerical, that are useful in solving problems or provide knowledge about the state of a
process. Numbers alone often represent meaningless measurements or counts, which tend to confuse rather than to enlighten. Numerical
data on quality will arise either from counting or measurement.
 Histograms

Histograms show, in a very clear pictorial way, the

frequency with which a certain value or group of
values occurs. They can be used to display both
attribute and variable data, and are an effective means
of letting the people who operate the process know the
results of their efforts.
 Scatter diagrams

Depending on the technology, it is frequently useful to

establish the association, if any, between two parameters or
factors. A technique to begin such an analysis is a simple X-
Y plot of the two sets of data. The resulting grouping of
points on scatter diagrams (e.g. Figure 13.11) will reveal
whether or not a strong or weak, positive or negative,
correlation exists between the parameters. The diagrams are
simple to construct and easy to interpret, and the absence of
correlation can be as revealing as finding that a relationship
exists.
 Stratification

Stratification is simply dividing a set of data into meaningful

groups. It can be used to great effect in combination with
other techniques, including histograms and scatter diagrams.
If, for example, three shift teams are responsible for a certain
product output, ‘stratifying’ the data into the shift groups
might produce histograms that indicate ‘process
adjustments’ were taking place at shift changeovers.
 Pareto analysis

If the symptoms or causes of defective output or some other

‘effect’ are identified and recorded, it will be possible to
determine what percentage can be attributed to any cause,
and the probable results will be that the bulk (typically 80
per cent) of the errors, waste or ‘effects’, derive from a few
of the causes (typically 20 per cent).
 Root cause and effect analysis and brainstorming

A useful way of mapping the inputs that affect quality is the

cause and effect diagram, also known as the Ishikawa
diagram (after its originator) or the fishbone diagram. The
effect or incident being investigated is shown at the end of a
horizontal arrow. Potential causes are then shown as labelled
arrows entering the main cause arrow. Each arrow may have
other arrows entering it as the principal factors or causes are
reduced to their sub-causes and sub-sub-causes by
brainstorming.
 Force field analysis

Force field analysis is a technique used to identify the forces

that either obstruct or help a change that needs to be made. It
is similar to negative brainstorming cause/ effect analysis
and helps to plan how to overcome the barriers to change or
improvement. It may also provide a measure of the difficulty
in achieving the change.
 The emphasis curve

This is a technique for ranking a number of factors, each of which

cannot be readily quantified in terms of cost, frequency of
occurrence, etc., in priority order. It is almost impossible for the
human brain to make a judgement of the relative importance of
more than three or four non-quantifiable factors. It is, however,
relatively easy to judge which is the more important of two factors,
using some predetermined criteria. The emphasis curve technique
uses this fact by comparing only two factors at any one time.
 Control charts

This is a technique for ranking a number of factors, each of which cannot be readily quantified in terms of cost, frequency of
occurrence, etc., in priority order. It is almost impossible for the human brain to make a judgement of the relative importance of
more than three or four non-quantifiable factors. It is, however, relatively easy to judge which is the more important of two factors,
using some predetermined criteria. The emphasis curve technique uses this fact by comparing only two factors at any one time.
 SPC techniques
helps.
People operating a process
must know whether it is
capable of meeting the
requirements, know
whether it is actually doing
so at any time and make
correct adjustments when
it is not

S TAT I S T I C A L
PROCESS CONTROL
(SPC)
 Statistical Process Control

The responsibility for quality in any transformation process must lie with the operators of that process. To fulfil this
responsibility, however, people must be provided with the tools necessary to:

• Know whether the process is capable of meeting the requirements.

• Know whether the process is meeting the requirements at any point in time.
• Make correct adjustment to the process or its inputs when it is not meeting the requirements.
 Statistical Process Control

SPC is not only a tool kit, it is a strategy for reducing variability, the cause of most quality
problems: variation in products, in times of deliveries, in ways of doing things, in materials, in
people’s attitudes, in equipment and its use, in maintenance practices, in everything.
 The SPC system

A systematic study of any process through answering the questions:

• Are we capable of doing the job correctly?
• Do we continue to do the job correctly?
• Have we done the job correctly?
• Could we do the job more consistently and on target?
 The SPC system

The SPC system provides knowledge of the process capability and the sources of non-
conforming outputs. This information can then be fed back quickly to marketing, design and the
‘technology’ functions. Knowledge of the current state of a process also enables a more
balanced judgement of equipment, both with regard to the tasks within its capability and its
rational utilization.
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!