Continuous Improvement Is All Around Us

Some businesses haven't grasped the idea of continuous improvement including a progression of small incremental changes.

These businesses don't do continuous improvement, they do one off improvements. Their improvements are small in number but large in terms of change. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

This is OK, I wouldn't dream of condemning this approach; after all, it is just an approach.

But, there are improvements all around - small and large. A simple conversation with a colleague can bring forth a whole range of improvement opportunities. Some will be quick to implement and give great benefits.

If you have ever read up on the subject of 'Kaizen' you will know that it is more than just another word for continuous improvement. It's focus on tiny steps helps many people along their journey to make improvements for their business.

On of my client's mentioned my touch typing ability the other day. They thought it was strange that I could do it, my response was that this was an improvement in my particular world (and probably for anyone who uses a keyboard during their day to day work!). I spend a significant portion of my time with correspondence and writing blog posts like this one. Why wouldn't I want to upgrade my ability to perform this task and in the process save myself a considerable amount of time.

Continuous improvement opportunities are all around us. Our ability to recognise them, capture them, evaluate them and then execute them is the trick. Continuous improvement should be, after all, continuous - and with an abundance of ideas and opportunities at our finger tips there is no reason why this cannot be the case.

So, if your continuous improvement activities are still focused on a few occasional large 'innovation' projects then it might also benefit you to see what else you could do with the abundance of smaller opportunities that are all around you.

Giles Johnston
Author of Business Process Re-Engineering

Kamishibai Boards

Available to purchase here. Some tools are incredibly simple to use, and also deliver some amazing results. Kamishibai boards are a great example and are superb when you want some visual control over routine tasks. By the way Kamishibai is pronounced "come-e-she-bye" in case you were wondering! As simple as you could want it, a Kamishibai board is a T-card system that has red cards glued to green cards (so that each T-card has a red side and a green side). The red cards are for the incomplete tasks, where as the green cards symbolise that the work has been done. See the photo below of a board in use. On the red side of the card you write the name of the task that needs to be completed, and if appropriate you can include details of how the task is to be completed. This is not expected to replace standard operating procedures, but can be a good opportunity for an aide memoire. The boards can be organised for daily, weekly and even monthly cycles. They are g

Kamishibai Boards: A Visual Management Tool to Improve Discipline and Workplace Habits

If you need to increase your effectiveness in the workplace and need a visual tool to help with day to day task management then this short guide is for you. Giles Johnston, a business improvement consultant for small to medium sized businesses, takes you through the steps needed to implement a low / no cost solution to your day to day management problems - a 'Kamishibai' board. A Kamishibai board can help to improve discipline within the workplace and ensure that the working days / weeks / months are more effective. Common within businesses that use 'lean' methods to improve efficiency and performance (and very effective to use when implementing 5S), a Kamishibai board can be used in its own right, in any kind of business, whether you are going through a lean transformation or not. Click here to view on Amazon.com. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

What is 5S and how does it help to improve the performance of my business?

Many businesses have heard of 5S; it is a simple workplace organisation system that is designed to make workplaces more effective and more efficient, as well as safer. Many businesses also try and fail at implementing 5S . It might be simple, but as you will know, anything that involves changing the behaviours of your staff isn’t always straightforward. If you haven’t heard of 5S before there are five basic steps, all beginning with ‘S’. They are: Sort – clearing out the clutter and re-distributing other people’s belongings. Set in order – optimising the workplace so that everything you need frequently is close at hand. Shine – cleaning the workplace to an appropriate level. Standards – defining what good looks like and how you will keep it that way. Sustain – forming the habits to retain the benefits of an organised and disciplined workplace. So, how does 5S improve the performance of your business? From a safety perspective, fewer accidents means less downtime.

Search This Blog