HOW WE WORK

Continuous improvement  is an ongoing effort in our org to improve products, services or processes. These efforts can seek “improvement over time or “breakthrough” improvement  all at once.

Among the most widely used tools for continuous improvement  is a four- step quality model- the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, also known as Deming Cycle or Shewhart Cycle:

Plan: Identify an opportunity and plan for change.

Do: Implement the change on a small scale.

Check: Use data to analyze 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 the change did not work, begin the cycle again.

Total Quality Management- emphasize employee Involvement and teamwork; measuring and systematizing process ; and reducing variation,defects and cycletimes.



Kaizen , or ‘Continuous Improvement’ is a policy of constantly introducing small incremental changes in a business in order to improve quality and/or efficiency. This approach assumes that employees are the best people to identify room for improvement, since they see the processes in action all the time. A firm that uses this approach therefore has to have a culture that encourages and rewards employees for their contribution to the process.

Kaizen can operate at the level of an individual, or through Kaizen Groups or Quality Circles which are groups specifically brought together to identify potential improvements. This approach would also be compatible with Team working or Cell Production, as improvements could form an important part of the team’s aims.

KEY FEATURES OF KAIZEN:

• Improvements are based on many, small changes rather than the radical changes that might arise from Research and Development


• As the ideas come from the workers themselves, they are less likely to be radically different, and therefore easier to implement


• Small improvements are less likely to require major capital investment than major process changes


• The ideas come from the talents of the existing workforce, as opposed to using R&D, consultants or equipment – any of which could be very expensive


• All employees should continually be seeking ways to improve their own performance


• It helps encourage workers to take ownership for their work, and can help reinforce team working, thereby improving worker motivation