Successfully building an internal program requires a department staffed with fulltime, dedicated resources whose primary focus should be in building the continuous improvement program. Almost all the companies that are recognized globally as leaders in continuous improvement have a quality or continuous improvement department that is responsible for driving the program and delivering to the […]
A Look Into The Most Commonly Adopted Continuous Improvement Methodologies
In order for any company to reach the ultimate frontier of efficiency and effectiveness, and in order to deliver according to customer expectations in the best possible manner (lower costs, high quality, high speed) it needs to have a continuous improvement program that will ultimately make processes highly optimized. Let us now take a look […]
Why Leadership Support Is Vital For Successful Continuous Improvement Programs
Leadership Support: If there is one factor that can make or break a successful continuous improvement program, it is top level leadership support. In an article titled “Lean Manufacturing’s Next Life” that was published in ChiefExecutive.Net, the CEO of a sixty-year-old family owned company, WIKA Alexander Wiegand SE that has significantly reduced manufacturing lead times […]
Establishing A Continuous Improvement Organization and Fundamentals
In a previous post we discussed when it makes more sense to build an internal capability versus hiring an external consultant. As we now know, a sustainable continuous improvement program requires the right corporate infrastructure in place that can support and build the continuous improvement program. Before we get to the details of how a […]
Seven Steps towards Building an Effective CI Initiative
The final set of steps that needs to be put in place in order to have a truly performing CI initiative in an organization 1. Selecting the right people to run your LSS program: This makes or breaks your LSS journey. As we all know, truly talented people suited for Lean Six Sigma are hard to find. […]
Changes that Make Continuous Improvement Difficult
Change in Leadership Direction: Businesses, at times need to change direction and continuous improvement initiatives in those times may take a back seat. This is commonly seen when a company is going through a crisis. A very common example is falling market share associated with decrease in revenue and net income. This gets exacerbated during […]
Being a good leader isn’t a DIFFERENT you…
I might not know you, but I bet you’re already a better leader than you think you are. Think of what you love being outside of work: musician, parent, artist, sibling, fisherman, volunteer, spouse, gardener, best friend, marathon runner… How do people describe you when you’re in that role? Passionate? Driven? A good listener? Thoughtful? […]
Have a Successful Continuous Improvement Program: Mistakes to Avoid
Poor Change Management: We have looked at the importance of change management to successful continuous improvement programs in previous posts. Any successful continuous improvement initiative needs significant change management. The reason Lean was so successful at Toyota was because of the commitment of the executive leadership to implement a company-wide quality initiative. Likewise, GE’s success […]
What is Six Sigma?
Continuous Improvement Strategy What is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a methodology for reducing variation in a given process. It helps improve process capability and greatly reduces the potential for possible defects. In essence Six Sigma is an approach to improve processes and reduce variation, so that customers get near perfect products or services with as […]
What is Lean?
Continuous Improvement Strategy What is Lean? Lean Methodology focuses on empowering team members to simplify processes and identify non-value added process steps. These steps are then either eliminated or reduced to improve overall lead time. The focus with Lean is to eliminate waste from the processes. There are 8 commonly accepted forms of waste: – […]