The Implementation Of Continuous Improvement: How To Do It?

Introduction:

It is hard to pinpoint what exactly triggers off successful implementation of continuous improvement as a never ending activity. It is even harder to be inspired by championing organisations in the West since successful efforts at continuous improvement have to be sustained for a long period of time. Besides structuring the pyramid for continuous improvement and allocating responsibilities, management has to ensure that people are adequately trained and provided with modern tools and techniques to be used for continuous improvement programmes.

Implementing of continuous improvement fail:

One can however pinpoint very accurately why major moves to implement continuous improvement fail.

It has been reported for instance that if quality is ill defined or merely confined to meeting technical specifications, this effort will be doomed to fail. Quality has to be appreciated for its more pervasive role in transforming parameters of competitiveness and enabling workers and managers alike to raise work standards for excellence.
Management commitments once again keep appearing as a prerequisite for making continuous improvement programmes successful. There are no compromises in this area. Any halfhearted effort will lead to failure in continuous improvement initiatives.
Continuous improvement cannot be treated as another fad or a management exercise for a specific purpose. It is only when quality is accepted as a new way of working and doing business which is essential for companies’ survival, that continuous improvement efforts are likely to succeed.
Lack of appreciation of the need to change organisational culture. It is vital that an organisational transformation takes place in order to reap the benefits from continuous improvement activities.
Continuous improvements cannot be based on use of statistical tools and techniques alone. Improvement does not happen by using control charts and collecting data statistically. Processes have to be owned, well understood, investigated and continuously improved.

Juran’s concept:

Juran suggests that for a quality improvement process to start bringing about benefits will take many years.13 He estimated that:

Choice of strategy will take one year; Improvements at a test site, plus evaluation of results will take one year;
Scaling up to companywide improvement, including strategic quality management at test site will take two years;
Scaling up to strategic quality management will take up to two years.

Some guidelines for implementing continuous improvement:

A context that shapes the expression of all work - its vitality, creativity, and quality
Empowering people with the information, resources and support they need to fully express their capabilities
Intense and pervasive communication about direction, co-operation, problems and results
Constant discovery and elimination of barriers to people's performance
A set of core concepts that provide common terminology and ideas about quality and its meaning and application to everyone's work
A systematic and common process that everyone uses for identifying and working quality issues through to effective prevention or corrective action
A set of managing elements that define the areas for change in an effective organisational change process
Familiarization (ongoing)
Development of a team network
Training
Introduction of measurement techniques
Strategic planning [ongoing)
Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service
Adopt the new philosophy
Cease dependence on mass inspection
End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone
Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service
Institute training
Adopt and institute leadership
Drive out fear