Continuous Improvement
Hitachi Consulting are leading experts in the area of Continuous Improvement:
- we help you set up an effective Continuous Improvement programme so that you can realise the wide range of improvements to your business which such a process brings
- we also support your staff as they manage the process, ensuring that each consequent benefit achieved is measured and reported
What is it?
It builds on the accumulated experience within the operation itself, often relying on the people who operate the system to improve it.
It involves the gradual improvement of existing processes and not the whole-scale redesign or re-engineering of processes.
[Nigel Slack - Professor of Operations Strategy, Warwick Business School]
Why have it?
Two reasons:
- Once a change initiative has achieved its goals, it is all too easy for the energy, enthusiasm and momentum to vanish, as the daily demands of a busy operation overwhelm the key players. This frequently has the effect of undoing all the progress achieved from the change initiative, and also building up a level of cynicism within the staff about the whole process, making the next change initiative considerably harder to implement
- On some occasions, front-line staff feel left out of the change process: they do not believe that their opinions are valued, and as a consequence inevitably feel little or no ownership of the new ways of doing things. This can lead to apathy in adopting the new ways of doing things, and - in some cases - overt obstruction.
Both these scenarios lead to sub-optimal levels of customer service, potential cost savings are not realised, and the damage to internal morale and effectiveness is significant.
How does CI differ from the traditional Suggestions Scheme?
|
Traditional Suggestions Scheme |
Continuous Improvement |
| Reliant on ‘upwards' suggestions |
Issues and problems are focused from all areas of the operation |
| Little use of problem solving tools |
Central role of problem solving tools |
| Ideas evaluated centrally |
Ideas evaluated by front line teams |
| Management led |
Team led |
| Circumvents team leaders |
Driven by team leaders |
| Measured on ideas per person |
Measured on effective CI activity |
CI Cultural Keys
ÑSmall steps matter
-
Every suggestion - no matter how trivial - is important
ÑPeople Matter
-
Not just ‘more pairs of hands', but their brains as well
ÑIt's OK to fail
-
provided of course that you learn from the failure
-
‘Success is a poor teacher'
- CI makes managers and staff see process improvement as part of their job - and not simply ‘something that managers do'
- CI engages the knowledge and experience of staff in the improvement activity - identifying areas of improved customer service or cost reduction. This draws on their detailed knowledge of their own process - a level of understanding that their line managers will rarely have themselves
- Significant cost savings are realised from a well-run CI process as well as measurable improvements to customer service and satisfaction - critical in competitive market places.
Hitachi Consulting provide a unique blend of operational expertise combined with a down-to-earth practical approach, which ensures:
- your staff feel fully engaged throughout the entire process
- the Continuous Improvement programme is fully ‘owned' by the workforce
- you can identify clearly the cost-saving / customer service benefits that have accrued from the process