PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Topics Overview:
- Definition of Process Improvement
- Causation
- Factors of Process Improvement
- Ideas for Process Improvement
- Process Improvement Tips

Introduction:

No matter how smoothly your business is operating, every business has the potential to do a
little better. Or, in some cases, a lot better. We set up processes in business to keep things
running, but inertia and old habits can keep us following those processes even when they’re not
the most effective. Continual process improvement is a way to formalize efforts within your
organization to root out inefficiencies and always strive to do better.

Discussion:

Definition of Process Improvement:

 An actual "improving" of the way a task is completed.
 Involves the actual improving of the functions of the task so that the operation is more
efficient and crises are better prevented
 Process improvement involves the business practice of identifying, analyzing and
improving existing business processes to optimize performance, meet best practice
standards or simply improve quality and the user experience for customers and end-
users.

Benefits of Process Improvement

 The benefit of implementing a process improvement methodology as part of your
overall management systems is that it gives you an avenue to spot and improve
challenges in your processes.
 These challenges could be hurting your customer experience, internal production or
other business goals. Broken or inefficient processes can cost your team time and
cost your business money. By putting a process improvement method in place, you
can ensure you’re always looking for these and addressing them.
 You might encounter process improvement under many names, including continual
improvement process (CIP), business process management (BPM) and process
reengineering.

Factors for Process Improvement

The following factors should be examined:

1) Materials
2) Methods
3) Machines
4) People
 IDEAS FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Brainstorming
- to generate
 Ideas
 Team involvement and creativity
 Identify problem areas and potential solutions from people directly involved in each
business process

Steering Committee
- To examine and gather data on all processes in the business from beginning to end. In
order to be effective, a steering committee must have the authority to implement
changes within processes based on the data they gather.

Reduce Wasteful Activity

- Identify then reduce/eliminate inconsistencies in lead time, efficiency and customer
satisfaction
- Analyze the physical movements required by each worker in a process.
- Take steps to increase ergonomic comfort and decrease strain to encourage a boost in
productivity and satisfaction

Kaizen: Continuous Process Improvement

Kaizen in Japanese means continuous process improvement.
- Constantly making small improvements that have large impacts on process efficiency.
- Seek out small innovations and changes that will have the most dramatic impact on
business processes
- Continue repeating the strategy

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TIPS

Define the Problem.

 separate the problem from the symptoms and effects
 isolate the problem that needs to be fixed and where it is occurring
 define the problem in specific terms

Map the Process. Once the problem is defined,

 map the process from beginning to end
 use different shapes to represent the different parts of the process.
 identify bottlenecks - clear the bottlenecks.

What-if Scenarios.
 tweak various parts of the process to understand its effects on the outputs and the
process itself
 ask the group what would happen if parts of the process were removed.
 ask why certain steps of the process are performed.

Methodologies. There are several methodologies used for process improvements.

Six Sigma
 It is used to remove defects out of a product or service by defining the problem,
measuring the process, analyzing the root causes, improving the process and then
controlling the process to ensure that the problem does not recur.
  It is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement developed by a scientist in
the 1980s at Motorola. Its methodology focuses on statistical improvements to a
business process and advocates for qualitative measurements of success.

Six Sigma practitioners are business people who use statistics, financial analysis, and project
management to achieve improved business functionality and quality control by reviewing
mistakes or defects. The five phases of the Six Sigma method, known as DMAIC, include
defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling.

The 5 Phases of Six Sigma

Adherents and practitioners of the Six Sigma method follow an approach called DMAIC. This
acronym stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, and control.

DMAIC is a statistically driven methodology that companies implement as a mental framework

for business process improvement. According to the ideology, a business may solve any
seemingly unsolvable problem by following the five DMAIC phases:

Define
 A team of people, led by a Six Sigma champion, defines a faulty process on which to focus,
decided through an analysis of company goals and requirements. This definition outlines
the problem, goals, and deliverables for the project.

Measure
 The team measures the initial performance of the process. These statistical measures
make up a list of potential inputs, which may cause the problem and help the team
understand the process's benchmark performance.

Analyze
 Then the team analyzes the process by isolating each input, or potential reason for the
failure, and testing it as the root of the problem. The team uses analytics to identify the
reason for process errors.

Improve
 The team works from there to improve system performance.

Control
 The group adds controls to the process to ensure it does not regress and become
ineffective once again

Six Sigma certification is offered to professionals and training levels conform to specified
requirements, education criteria, job standards, and eligibility to achieve belt rankings similar to
those offered in martial arts.

Six Sigma Belt Rankings

Individuals can obtain Six Sigma certification, which solidifies and verifies their professional
skills. These certifications are awarded through a belt system similar to karate training. These
belt levels are:

 White belt: Individuals with a white belt have not gone through any formal training or
certification. This belt gives professionals a basic framework, which allows them to take
part in certain quality control and waste reduction projects.
  Yellow belt: This level provides additional training beyond the white belt level. Yellow
belts can become contributing project team members. They may help managers who
have higher belts.

 Green belt: Those who pass this level must take part in a complete course that trains
them to come up with process improvement techniques. The green belt certification is
ideal for individuals who work in certain industries, such as project or financial
management, as well as health care. Graduates often become project leaders.

 Black belt: People who graduate from the green belt level can move up to the black
belt certification. Successful graduates can break down and deal with more complex
jobs and projects. They are taught how to tackle large-scale changes that can impact
their companies through lean Six Sigma projects.

People with black belts can become masters and champions. Someone with a master black
belt is considered an expert and strong leader with excellent problem-solving skills. A
champion is a lean Six Sigma leader who can maximize profits through the elimination of waste
and defects.

You can get certified by going through courses offered by certain schools or companies. Keep
in mind, though, that there is no unified standard for the courses. As such, the curriculum for
Six Sigma certification varies, which means individual courses can vary depending on the
offering entity.

ISO 9001 - focuses on the continuous plan-do-check-act cycle to ensure process

improvements.

WHAT IS ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for Quality Management. Used by over 1
million companies; it was created to give organisations the tools they need to win more
business, reduce costs and improve productivity. ISO 9001 certification also provides your
customers with assurance that they will receive consistent, quality products and services.

HOW DOES ISO 9001 DO THIS?

ISO 9001 contains a set of Quality Principles, which include:
 Customer focus
 Leadership
 Engagement of people
 Process approach
 Continual improvement
 Evidence-based decision making
 Relationship management

Under ISO 9001 there are numerous processes and procedures a company would be expected
to follow. For example, you are required to record your customers’ contact information and
gather feedback during the customer journey which – you’re probably doing already. However,
there are some processes and procedures which you may not be accustomed to, such as
keeping an error log or implementing a final inspection procedure.

WHO NEEDS ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 is perfect for any organisation, large or small, looking to improve quality and
consistently meet customer requirements.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ISO 9001?

Benefits of ISO 9001 Certification include:

 Increased Efficiency
 International Recognition
 Factual approach to Decision Making
 Better Supplier Relationships
 Improved Customer Satisfaction
 Greater Employee Morale

So if you’re considering ISO 9001 to win a big tender or contract it is likely you will also be able
to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction. You could get ISO
certified within as little as 45 days with QMS’s award-winning hassle-free process. To find out
how much it would cost your organisation fill in our free online calculator, and we will email you
a personalised quote immediately.

Other Methodologies

Just like with project management methodologies, process improvement methodologies vary
slightly in their approach to identifying, analyzing and implementing changes.

Some common process improvement methodologies include:

PDCA Cycle

The PDCA cycle is a component of many continuous improvement methodologies. Its steps include:
 Plan. Spot room for improvement, and develop a plan for change.
 Do. Implement the change on a small scale as a test.
 Check. Look at the results of the change and determine its efficacy.
 Act. Take action depending on the results you observed—implement the change broadly or revisit the cycle
to spot more room for improvement.

This cycle is also sometimes referred to as PDSA—Plan, Do, Study, Act—or the Deming Cycle, after W.
Edwards Deming, who developed it in the 1950s.
Just like the Lean and Agile project management methodologies that usually complement it, PDCA and
continuous improvement process methodologies are iterative approaches to learning, development and
improvement.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a process improvement methodology focused on continuous improvement that involves the entire
company in a bottom-up strategy.

The core aim of Kaizen is to create a company culture that encourages employees at all levels to spot, suggest
and implement process improvements. It pays particular attention to involving plant floor employees—in
manufacturing facilities—in process improvement.

In practice, the methodology is centered on so-called Kaizen events—i.e., the action steps for process
improvement. Kaizen events involve employees at all levels of the organization and include:
1) Setting and stating business or project goals
2) Reviewing the current process to spot room for improvement
3) Implementing necessary changes
4) Reviewing the changes, and fix as necessary
5) Documenting and reporting results
 TQM

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a similar system to Kaizen in that it aims to involve the whole company in
process improvement.

It takes a stronger focus on customer satisfaction than Kaizen, considering internal or external customer
satisfaction the measure of success in the system.

An analysis of TQM and Kaizen by researchers at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore,
Pakistan, notes that, while Kaizen is a bottom-up approach, TQM uses both a top-down and bottom-up
approach. That means management and leadership are encouraged to spot and implement improvements as
much as employees are.

Like Kaizen, TQM implementation follows the PDCA cycle. The TQM philosophy relies on a set of principles
that include:
 Leadership commitment
 Employee engagement
 Fact-based decision-making
 Continual improvement
 Customer focus

Theory of Constraints

Introduced by Israeli business management expert Eliyahu M. Goldratt in 1984, the theory of constraints is
based on a belief that a process will always include at least one constraint that hinders efficiency and business
goals—e.g., limits production.

Constraints are often equipment, policies or people (including the number of people and their mindsets or skill
sets) that limit a system from producing more than it is. In other words, a constraint is a bottleneck in the
process.

The goal of this methodology is to identify those constraints and discover how to open up the bottleneck by
breaking the constraint or adding buffers to keep it from limiting the entire system.
Implementing the theory of constraints follows these five steps:
1) Identify a process’s constraint(s)
2) Exploit the constraint—examine it to determine how to use it to its full capacity
3) Subordinate to the constraint, or set up everything else in the system to support the best possible
performance from the constraint
4) Elevate the constraint by adding resources or adjusting processes to open up the bottleneck
5) Repeat the process

Remember, the theory of constraints assumes there’s always at least one constraint on a process. That doesn’t
mean the process is broken. Instead, it means you can always find ways to improve it to increase its efficiency
and productivity. This requires constantly identifying and opening up constraints.

References:
"Handbook for Basic Process Improvement"; Balanced Scorecard; 1996
BP Trends: Service Process Improvement
Air University: Handbook for Basic Process Improvement
Big Dog & Little Dog's Performance Juxtaposition: Continuous Process Improvement
Five-step approach to problem-solving
More tips for process improvement
Process improvement tools
https://www.cio.com/article/220557/what-is-process-improvement-a-business-methodology-
for-efficiency-and-productivity.html
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/what-is-process-improvement/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/six-sigma.asp
https://www.qmsuk.com/iso-standards/iso-9001/what-is-iso-9001