Continual Improvement
Posted on June 10, 2008 Comments (10)
Dr. Deming used to using the term continual improvement (rather than continuous improvement) later in his life because that would include continuous and dis-continuous improvement (innovation, etc.). I use continual improvement for that reason also. I think the improvement process
- must be never ending
- must focus daily on how any process can be improved
- must focus on adopting improvement systemically (not just locally, by one person or team)
- must focus on discontinuous improvement which could include high energy kaizen events and dramatic innovation
- must include a study phase (PDSA) where the improvements are evaluated to determine whether they actually had the anticipate effect
- and must include improvement of the improvement process itself
To me, continual improvement encompasses both continuous and discontinuous improvement.
Reflecting on: Continuous Improvement vs. Continual Improvement
Related: Process Improvement and Innovation – Better and Different – Kaizen the Toyota Way – Change is not Improvement – Think Long Term Act Daily – Encourage Improvement Action by Everyone
Posted by John Hunter
Categories: Deming, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, quote
Tags: curiouscat, Deming, Process improvement
Categories: Deming, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, quote
Tags: curiouscat, Deming, Process improvement
10 Responses to “Continual Improvement”
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July 14th, 2008 @ 11:33 pm
[...] and ask what can be improved. Improve your meeting process over time. If you don’t have an improvement process in place for meetings that is a bad [...]
August 25th, 2008 @ 11:48 am
As I learned about agile software development, what I saw was a great implementation of management improvement practices focused on software development…
March 31st, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
[...] and ineffective behavior. You will learn how to overcome these problems and focus on creating a system of continual improvement, just as Toyota and other Japanese firms did some fifty years [...]
April 13th, 2009 @ 12:40 pm
[...] practice, not just words) is also very wise. In my experience far to little emphasis is placed on continual improvement of what many companies will say is their most important asset: their people. If you don’t [...]
August 23rd, 2010 @ 12:53 pm
[...] in this way improves morale and participation…and profits. … What is called for is constant, never-ending improvement of all processes in the organization. What management needs, too, is constant, never-ending improvement of [...]
November 8th, 2010 @ 8:20 am
[...] The improvement process itself should be continually improved [...]
December 6th, 2010 @ 8:18 am
[...] is a rare organization that adopts a continual improvement, long term focus, system thinking mindset initially. The tendency is often strong to focus on fire [...]
April 8th, 2011 @ 12:06 pm
[...] system (one that respects people, continual improves using a standardized improvement process (that itself is being improved), practices evidence based management, focuses on customer value, improves processes rather than [...]
April 12th, 2011 @ 8:01 am
[...] the work is done, standardize processes (from the gemba view), practice respect for people and continually improve. Lean thinking focuses on achieving better results and through that process improves trust and [...]
October 26th, 2011 @ 8:11 am
[...] about that one instance) is the most effective way to achieve the best results. We believe in continual improvement. We believe that the effective way to improve, when a system is in statistical control, is by [...]