Continuous improvement is a constant and progressive improvement process that seeks to constantly optimize the practices and processes of an organization, always seeking to do things in the most effective and efficient way, through a cyclical process that consists of Plan, Do, Verify, Act.
The continuous improvement it is a principle of quality management that constantly seeks to optimize the practices and processes of an organization in order to improve efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, as well as customer satisfaction.
Thus, It is a constant and progressive process. that allows companies to stay in the market, grow and improve their profitability.
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To better understand what this improvement approach is all about, let's look at the following 4 examples of continuous improvement, applied in business practices, but not before defining its concept and what its implementation cycle consists of.
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In this article you will find:
What is continuous improvement?
Continuous improvement is a constant and progressive process improvement in the quality of a product, service or business process.
This approach is based on the idea that there is always room for improvement and that the organization must always be looking for ways to do things more effectively and efficiently. For this, a systematic approach is used that involves all the personnel of the organization and focuses on identifying and eliminating waste and maximizing customer value.
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The continuous improvement process is a quality management principle that involves identifying problem areas and implementing solutions to address them, the evaluation and measurement of the results to determine if the implemented solutions have been effective and, if not, make adjustments again to continue improving; In this way, continuous improvement becomes an iterative process that focuses on achieving constant improvements in the quality and efficiency of business processes.
For Garcia P. Manuel et al. (2003) in his book Continuous quality improvement in processes, states that "Continuous improvement of the overall performance of the organization should be a permanent objective of this." (p. 90).
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Well, only through the search for continuous improvement can the optimization of production processes be achieved, and therefore the development and business growth.
Stages of the continuous improvement implementation cycle (PDCA)
To achieve continuous improvement, it is necessary to implement the four stages of the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act), which consist of:
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- Plan (P): This stage involves setting clear objectives and goals, identifying critical processes that need improvement, and developing a plan to achieve the objectives; In the same way, the necessary resources must be identified, a schedule established and responsibilities assigned.
- Do (H): This is an Action stage where the plan developed in the previous stage is implemented; that is, planned activities are carried out and information about the process and results is collected.
- Verify (V): The data collected in the previous stage is analyzed to determine if the objectives and goals established in the planning stage have been achieved; An evaluation of the process is also carried out to identify any deviations from the plan and the root cause of them is sought.
- Act (A): At this stage, corrective action is taken to address any deviations or issues identified in the previous stage, the necessary changes are implemented and measures are established to monitor the process in the future.
4 Examples of continuous improvement
Continuous improvement can be applied to any process within an organization, as seen in the following examples:
1. Example of continuous improvement in manufacturing processes
A company that manufactures a certain product can use the PDCA cycle to improve the quality of its products. Continuous improvement implies:
To plan:
- Thoroughly study the production processes.
- Identify process activities that require improvement.
- Establish a plan to correct the deficiencies detected.
- Identify the people involved and assign responsibilities.
Do:
- Implement previously planned improvements.
- Collect relevant information.
Verify:
- Analyze the collected data.
- Evaluate whether improvements have been made in the manufacturing processes to improve the quality of the products.
- Identify any deviations in achieving the desired improvements.
Act:
- Seek new improvements to the manufacturing process.
- Communicate the improvements to the personnel involved.
2. Example of continuous improvement to the customer service process
Continuous improvement can be implemented in any process, even in service companies, such as the customer service process, as shown in the following example:
To plan:
- Identify improvements in customer service efficiency.
- Establish clear goals to improve customer service.
- Develop a plan to achieve improvements.
- Assign responsibilities.
Do:
- Carry out the improvement plan.
- Collect information on the results obtained.
Verify:
- Verify that the changes made have improved customer satisfaction.
- identify what remains to be corrected that has not been achieved according to plan.
Act:
- Look for any other inefficiencies or problems that still need to be corrected.
- Inform the personnel involved about improvements in customer service.
3. Example of continuous improvement in work safety
A company can use the PDCA continuous improvement cycle to improve safety in the workplace. The process may involve the following activities:
bake:
- Identify errors, problems or inefficiencies in the security of a certain work area.
- Create a plan to improve security policies and practices.
- Assign resources such as security teams.
- Assign responsibilities.
Do:
- Carry out the security improvement plan.
- Collect data on the results obtained.
Verify:
- Analyze the collected data.
- Verifies that improvements made to security policies and practices have achieved significant improvements.
Act:
- Identify additional measures to improve security practices.
- Make the improvements known to the personnel involved.
4. Example of continuous improvement to the sales process
A company can use the PDCA continuous improvement cycle to optimize its sales process, some of the measures that can be implemented are the following:
To plan:
- Identify inefficiencies in the sales process.
- Set clear sales goals.
- Create a marketing plan with good sales strategies.
- Assign resources and responsibilities to sales staff.
Do:
- Carry out the marketing plan.
- Collect information on the results obtained.
Verify:
- Analyze the results obtained in sales.
- Check if the changes have improved sales.
- Identify any deviation from plan.
Act:
- Identify new improvements to optimize the sales process.
- Communicate improvements to sales staff.
Bibliographic references
Garcia P, Manuel; Quispe A., Carlos; Ráez G., Luis Continuous improvement of quality in processes. Industrial Data, vol. 6, no. 1, August, 2003, p. 89-94 National University of San Marcos Lima, Peru.
