Continuous Improvement Toolkits

When you are trying to get your Lean / Continuous Improvement activities moving it is vital that you get the buy in and support from all areas of the business.

If your area of specialism is in facilitation and / or business improvement methods then the toolkit that you are currently using may be far too advanced for newcomers to this way of working. Developing a simplified toolkit for your team is often a great way to let people dip their toes into the water, but still yield excellent results.

To simplify this process further I recommend considering your simplified toolkit as being divided into three sections:

1. Seeing It

Choose a group of tools to help your team to see the problems and opportunities that they are facing.

2. Solving It

Choose a root cause problem solving method that is straightforward to use.

3. Doing It

Choose a simple way to track and monitor progress.

Existing well known tools such as 8D or A3 can be a great help in this regard. It may also be the case that you want to expand on the 8D/A3 format to help get the background data to use these tools properly, hence why a limited toolkit is a good way to proceed.

Over time the toolkit can be expanded and upgraded to align with the increasing skills of the business. But for now, if you are struggling to make progress within your business, it may be more effective to facilitate the change via a smaller toolkit rather than trying to drag everyone along at your speed.

Giles Johnston
Author of 'Business Process Re-Engineering', a practical plan to improve business performance.