Topic 9

Continual Improvement (CI)

MAJOR TOPICS
 Rationale for Continual Improvement
 Management’s Role in Continual Improvement
 Essential Improvement Activities
 Structure for Quality Improvement
 The Scientific Approach
 Identification of Improvement Needs
 Development of Improvement Plans
 Common Improvement Strategies
 Additional Improvement Strategies
 The Kaizen Approach
 Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints
 The CEDAC Approach
 The Lean Approach
 The Six Sigma Approach
 The Lean Sigma Approach
 The Theory of Contraints (TOC) and Integrated TOC, Lean, Six Sigma
(iTLS) Approach
 The rationale for CI is that it is necessary in order to
compete in the global marketplace.
 Management can play the leadership role– and that
essentially is its role--- in continual improvement by doing:
 Establishing an organization-wide quality council and serving
on it.
 Working with the quality council to establish specific quality
improvement goals with timetables and target dates.
 Providing the necessary moral and physical support. Moral
support manifests itself as commitment. Physical support by
providing resources to accomplish the quality improvement.
 Scheduling periodic progress reviews and giving recognition.
 Building continual quality improvement into the regular
reward system, including promotion.

 Essential improvement activities include the
following:
● Structuring for quality improvement involves the
following:
▪ Establishing a quality council
▪ Developing a statement of responsibilities
▪ Establishing the necessary infrastructure
 The Scientific Approach
● Use Scientific Approach is one of the fundamental
concept for TQM.
● Using the scientific approach means:
▪ Collecting meaningful data
▪ Identifying root causes of problems
▪ Developing appropriate solutions
▪ Planning and making changes.

● Ways of identifying improvement needs include the

following:
▪ Multivoting (brainstorming) for improvement candidates
▪ Identifying customer needs
▪ Studying how employee time is spent.
▪ Localizing problems before trying to solve them.
 Developing improvement plans involves the following
steps:
▪ Understanding the process (Flow chart the process)
▪ Eliminating any obvious errors
▪ Removing slack from processes (anything that serves no
purpose)
▪ Reducing variation in processes (special and common causes)
▪ Planning for continual improvement to become a way-
of-life.
 Common Improvement Strategies
 Commonly used improvement strategies include the
following:
1. Describing the process and correcting obvious problems
2. Standardizing the process (make sure the process procedures are
followed)
3. Eliminating errors and potential errors in the process
4. Streamlining the process (eliminating non-value-adding steps)
5. Reducing sources of variation
6. Bringing the process under statistical control
7. Improving the design of the process.
Standard Process Improvement Strategies

9
 Additional improvement strategies include the
following:
1. Reducing lead time
2. Flowing production
3. Using group technology
4. Leveling production
5. Synchronizing production
6. Overlapping production
7. Using flexible scheduling
8. Using pull control
9. Using visual control
10. Using stockless production
● Additional improvement strategies include the
following:
11. Using Jidoka
12. Reducing setup time
13. Controlling work-in-process
14. Improving quality
15. Applying total cost cycles
16. Using cost curves
17. Using supplier partners
18. Applying total productive maintenance
12
 The Kaizen Approach
 Kaizen is the name given by the Japanese to
the concept of continual incremental
improvement by Masaaki Imai.
 Kai means ” change”, Zen means “good”.
 Kaizen philosophy should be improving
people, process, management practices,
product and service all the time.
 Overview of the Kaizen can be summarized in following:
1. Kaizen value system. Value system of Kaizen is CI of all
things at all level. All strategies can be used is as below:

2. Role of executive management

3. Role of middle manager
4. Role of supervisor
5. Role of employees 14
6. Kaizen and quality
 Kaizen Implementation Tools
1. Kaizen checklist

15
2. 5 S’s—Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and shitsuke.

3. 5 W’s and 1 H

4. 5 M’s

16
 The CEDAC Approach
 CEDAC is an acronym for Cause-and-Effect Diagram with the Addition
of Cards. (This acronym is a registered trademark of Productivity, Inc.)
With CEDAC, a cause-and-effect diagram is developed, but fact cards
about problems and improvement cards containing ideas for solving
the problems are used.
 CEDAC system can be divided into 2 main parts:
 Part 1-a problem is identified.
 Part 2-solution implementation.

17
18
How to develop CEDAC

19
20
21
 LEAN Approach
● The Lean Approach is based on the just-in-time Toyota
Production System (TPS).

● A Lean operation is one in which a better product is

developed or a better service is delivered using less of
everything required (i.e. human, financial, technological,
and physical resources).

● Lean is about being flexible enough to get the right things,

to the right place, at the right time, in the right amounts.

● Lean is focused on elimination of all wastes, and continual

improvement of products and processes.
 Type of waste eliminated in LEAN are:
 Overproduction waste
 Inventory waste
 Motion waste
 Transportation waste
 Over processing waste
 Defect waste
 Waiting waste
 Underutilization waste

23
 Tools and techniques of Lean
 5S
 Visual workplace system
 Layout
 Standardized work
 Point of use storage
 Batch size reduction
 Quick changeover
 Poka-yoke
 Self-inspection
 Automation
 Pull system/Kanban
 Cellular and flow
 JIT
 Total Productive Maintenance
 Value stream mapping
 Change management
 Team work 24
 Others Popular Approaches
 Six Sigma
 Six Sigma is a statistically based approach that targets
the defect rate at 3.4 per million or less. Key elements of
Six Sigma include the DMAIC roadmap and an
infrastructure of Green Belts, Black Belts, Master Black
Belts, and Champions. Like other approaches, Six Sigma
aims for quality improvement, but goes further to tie
these quality improvement initiatives to the financial
elements of the organization.
 For details, please refer to text book chapter 19.

25
 The Lean Six Sigma
 The Lean Six Sigma approach is not a low calorie
variation of Six Sigma, but a linking of JIT/Lean and Six
Sigma that synergistically combine the benefits of both.
 TOC and iTLS
 The Theory of Constraints (TOC) and Integrated TOC,
Lean, Six Sigma (iTLS) approach. focuses on the few
critical elements that limit performance of the
organization by applying Theory of Constraints tools,
eliminates waste with application of Lean tools, and
reduces variability to ensure process performance and
stability with Six Sigma tools.
 For details, refer to text book chapter 19.
26
End

27