A habit of Continuous Improvement is required at the level of the entire organization and a commitment to achieve Total Quality at the level of the entire institution or company. Richard Schonberger.
Generalities and concept of Continuous Improvement
Continuous improvement should be seen as a culture that can be applied to all areas of life, although in our case the focus will be on organizations.
The application of continuous improvement in organizations must be seen as a tool for solving difficulties or taking advantage of opportunities, it is related to the Japanese word Kaizen and that comes from the union of two words that express the following: Kai " change "and zen" to improve ", so the complete expression means" change to improve ". The Japanese Maasaki Imai was its creator, stating in synthesis that Kaizen represented a permanent change towards improvement or what is the same as “continuous improvement”.
An expression of the above is explained by Beltrán, R., in Continuous improvement: a coveted and elusive business quality and I quote: “It is a way of life, a culture in which everyone who works in the company has their eyes, their mind and their ears wide open to be able to recognize opportunities for improvement and capitalize on them in concrete actions that are reflected in better processes and products ”.
Continuous improvement improves the quality of products and services, reduces costs, improves work methods, makes it possible to satisfy the needs of customers and the organization. reduces the working times of the entire process.
It is very important to take into account what they represent, knowledge in a general and specific sense, as well as obtaining the necessary information for the development of the organization's processes.
To develop and improve work processes, to be more competitive in this modern age, it is essential to make changes in the process, that is, make it more effective and more efficient. This must be done with a broad mind, with an adequate strategy, and taking into account the characteristics of the organization and its environment.
Several authors have raised their approach to the concept of continuous improvement, some of them are cited.
Deming, E. (1996), "total quality requires a constant process, which will be called Continuous Improvement, where perfection is always sought, but never achieved".
Abell, D. (1994), "historical extension of one of the principles of scientific management, established by Frederick Taylor, which expresses that every working method is capable of being improved."
Sullivan, L. (1994), “effort to apply improvements in each area of the organization”.
Harrington, J. (1993), "improving a process means, changing it to make it more effective, efficient and adaptable, what to change and how to change depends on the specific approach of the entrepreneur and the process."
Advantages and disadvantages of Continuous Improvement
This process of continuous improvement offers us great benefits, among them some of its advantages are highlighted below, however, if certain aspects are not observed, some disadvantages could appear that would ruin our aspirations.
Advantage
- It enables the identification, treatment and solution of problems and / or the taking advantage of opportunities It allows to eliminate or mitigate weaknesses and consolidate and increase strengths Analyze processes, renew and update them, allowing organizations to be more competitive, effective and efficient. Obtain short-term improvements, not only in the productive or service part but also in the administrative part. Although it is not a method to reduce defective products, it enables their reduction, saving raw materials and materials, thereby reducing costs, for the organization and for customers. It allows the adjustment of processes with technological development, increasing productivity.
Disadvantages
- In order to obtain tangible results, it is necessary that the changes be made throughout the organization. On many occasions it is essential to make considerable investments. If the appropriate measures are not observed, quickly and opportunely the process can become very long for the achievement of the desired results.
Essential elements for the implementation of an adequate Continuous Improvement
For the implementation of continuous improvement, the observation and application of a group of aspects is required, among which are exposed:
- The design of the implementation process must be well outlined, taking into account the specific characteristics of the organization and with an approach based on small continuous improvements in all processes and activities, not large changes in specific situations. An essential element is the establishment of a correct quality policy that can clearly express what is expected of the production or the services provided to customers, as well as the concrete contribution by the workers. It is very important that the top management of The organization is not only involved but is also committed to the actions to be implemented, and that each boss exercises adequate leadership in his or her radius of action. A strategic action must be defined in which all the members of the organization actively participate,with knowledge of what each one must do, since the actions must be taken in all the teams and processes and it is the people who will carry them out. In relation to people, continuous improvement should not be neglected at any time as an essential aspect to keep them with the necessary labor competence. The process, in addition to incorporating all the members of the organization, must be continuous and progressive, Identify existing problems through a well-developed and well-developed diagnosis, and never lose sight of the needs and requirements of external customers, as well as such as the motivation and job satisfaction of internal customers, a decisive aspect is the communication between the organization and all its bodies and employees,of the organs among themselves and equally the workers in general, all this from the internal point of view, but also observe and maintain communication with the organization's environment. Its development should not be at all costs, but be economic, that is,, that the results are higher than the expenses that originate its application.
Development of the Continuous Improvement process
The application of continuous improvement requires that the organization have its mission, which is its reason for being, correctly defined, it is in a certain environment and performs a production or provides a service, which makes it have its specificities and characteristics, not However, for the development of a continuous improvement process, it is necessary to carry out and systematize a group of aspects that we could consider as stages of the process. In a general sense these will be exposed.
- Identification of problems and / or selection of opportunities Identification and analysis of the causes of problems Determination, design and implementation of solutions Monitoring, control and assurance of the results obtained.
Identification of problems and / or selection of opportunities
The identification of problems and / or selection of opportunities constitutes an element of primary significance for the realization of continuous improvement, since it is the basis for the continuity of the other stages and subsequent results will depend on its correct definition and deepening.
Due to their significance, special interest must be taken in quality and productivity problems, on which their definitions must be well outlined, as well as what they consist of, together with this, opportunities for improvement must be determined.
Sometimes, in organizations, problems are only identified in an elementary way and these are not specified or adequately quantified, with indicators that allow us to obtain a deep and truthful reflection on it.
Very important, I would say essential, that the method used to determine problems or to detect opportunities must have the participation of all employees.
Identification and analysis of the causes of problems
Once the problems have been identified and specified accurately, the causes that originate them must be determined, both for a global or specific situation.
The determination of the causes must imply its specification, as well as the depth of the impact that it originates through precise indicators.
At this point, be very careful not to confuse the causes with the symptoms, a mistake that is frequently made, also determining the magnitude of it and if its elimination eliminates the problem in its entirety.
The observation for the previous stage in relation to the identification of the problem and the participation of the employees, is valid for the determination of the causes.
Determination, design and implementation of solutions
With the first two stages completed, we can begin actions to eliminate problems and / or take advantage of opportunities with the application of viable solutions to this effect, and for this a solution program must be designed.
The step to determine the solutions should not be carried out with haste or clinging to the first solutions that are found, this does not mean that the first solutions could not be the best, but that we must be cautious and try to look for alternatives or variants to select the best ones, only with the above defined in this way must we begin the implementation through a program of actions that guarantees us solutions and at the same time allows us to control and follow up later.
Monitoring, control and assurance of the results obtained.
Even with the previous stages outlined correctly, we are not certain of this if we do not establish a follow-up and control of the results that allows us to stay in the oriented direction or make corrections in cases of deviations.
This step should define who should carry out the control and monitoring and measurement of the indicators chosen to measure the effectiveness of the process in a comprehensive manner, that is, both in material results and in the satisfaction of external and internal customers.
Summary
We study how the application of continuous improvement in organizations should be seen as a tool for solving difficulties or taking advantage of opportunities, and its relationship with the Japanese word Kaizen, which comes from the union of: Kai "change" and zen " to improve ”, so the complete expression means“ change to improve ”.
Be clear about the expression that its use is to develop and improve work processes and to be more competitive, among other important aspects.
It is the recommendation of this author, that if the study of the advantages is important, it is as important or more so to observe the aspects that could cause disadvantages for the process.
Although in this summary we will not detail the essential elements for the implementation of an adequate continuous improvement, we strongly recommend that they be studied in detail due to their important significance.
The stages for the application of continuous improvement require not only a rigorous study but a correct application due to the above in relation to the specificities and characteristics of the organization.
We recall the stages for the development of a continuous improvement process, which are:
- Identification of problems and / or selection of opportunities Identification and analysis of the causes of problems Determination, design and implementation of solutions Monitoring, control and assurance of the results obtained.
Bibliography
Beer, M. (1992). The renewal of companies. Through the critical path. Spain: Edic. Mc. Graw Hill Harvard Business School.
Harrington, J. (1993). Process improvement in the company. Mexico: Editorial Mc. Graw Hill Interamericana SA.
(1997). Management of continuous improvement.
Colombia: Editorial Mc. Graw Hill Interamericana SA.
Johansen, R & Swigart, R. (1996). Professional growth in organizational downsizing. Mexico: Compañía Editorial Continental SA.
Kaizen or Continuous Improvement. Extracted on July 11, 2005 from GestioPolis. com
Morera Cruz, J. Continuous improvement. Excerpted on January 4, 2000 from GestioPolis. com
Continuous Improvement. Retrieved July 14, 2005 from Monographies.com
