CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT
Continual improvement, also known as Continuous improvement, is the ongoing improvement of products, services or processes through incremental and breakthrough improvements. Continual improvement is extremely important to almost any business where Health, Safety, Environmental or Quality is relevant - as the industry is always changing and evolving and its easy to fall behind.
THE CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT MODEL
The most common model used for continual improvement is the four-step method - the PDCA cycle.
PLAN: Identify an opportunity and plan for change.
DO: Implement the change on a small scale.
CHECK: Use date or precedence to analyse the results of the change and determine whether it made a difference.
ACT: If the change was successful, implement it on a wider scale and continuously assess your results. If it was unsuccessful, begin the cycle again.
BUT WHY?
Why do companies need a continual improvement process?
Highly efficient processes and lean structures are the most important competitive factors for organizations. Successful companies regularly put all processes and procedures to the test. They challenge the status quo, proactively search for inefficient activities, and develop unique solutions for more efficient operational processes.
Many companies establish a continual improvement process because they have to prove structures and processes for quality optimisation within the scope of the ISO 9001 certification.
But continual improvement is much more.
Continual improvement is a fundamental attitude within a company to achieve improvements of processes, products and services, as well as gains in quality and efficiency through continuous brainstorming and systematic idea development.
Learn more about continual improvement here.
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