One of the common questions we hear is 'how do we get started with improving our business, what are the tools to use?' The simple answer is that improvement is largely an attitude and a habit. The desire to find new and better ways of working is the most prominent factor, when you couple this with a habit then things get done regularly and continuously. Sporadic improvements don't always generate the gains that you would hope for. The tools that you can use to help facilitate change can make a real difference in specific situations, or if you need a framework to improve. If the desire and curiosity for change aren't present and aren't backed up with habitual actions then you will have an uphill struggle. You can use lean and six sigma tools (for example) to help encourage the starting of an improvement culture in your workplace, but this needs to be backed up with forming habits. Time table sessions and adhere to your own schedule if that helps. So

The end result of an improvement usually reflects the planning and decision making that takes place at the beginning, when the idea is being developed. If there is no planning and the improvement is a stab in the dark as to what needs to change then the final result may not be what was expected. The 'what are we doing this for?' question is a great place to start. Sometimes improvements are spotted mid thinking, so to speak, and if you work backwards just a little further you may uncover a more meaningful issue to resolve. This minor change can deliver a major difference in terms of business performance and is along the lines of root cause problem solving (solve the root cause and not a symptom). The fact that an opportunity is present does not always mean that it should be improved. With limited resources it may be prudent to widen the vistas and see what other opportunities are also available. Many continuous improvement approaches struggle due to an overload of less

When a problem arises in a business there is usually a fix put in place. This fix sometimes increases the complexity of the business by adding in additional rules at the operational end of the business. Sometimes it is worth stopping what you are doing and reviewing the basics of how your business operates. Sometimes the disciplines around the basics of operating a business have been forgotten. From a engineering perspective the challenges that we face are symptoms of a deeper system based problem. If you track back to the root of the problem you are usually faced with a basic issue that can be resolved easily (or at least in a straightforward manner) and will prevent a myriad of other symptoms appearing in due course. As people move around organisations there is the possibility that people move into roles and are trained in the current ways of working but aren't exposed to the fundamental principles of working that this particular job requires. Ensuring people understand

A datum is a reference point, something that you can look back to work out where you are. Business can move so quickly and by having some defined reference points you can make decisions quickly and consistently. Being able to step back and see where you are can sometimes be difficult and requires objectivity. If you can see your datum and see where you are then an appropriate decision can be made as to what you need to do next. The gap is the action required. A datum doesn't have to be a cold measurement (such as a KPI) it could be a principle that you use in the business to help guide thoughts and decisions. It could be something like 'take work seriously, but not each other' - reminding people on how to conduct their business and their interpersonal transactions. When the datum is communicated through the business then the way people behave changes. Clarity improves action and, by having some definitions about the way the business can be referred to, people c

When a business is undertaking changes to improve its performance the sequence of steps needs to be understood. Many businesses attempt to leap to the finish line in one fell swoop and this can create huge problems for the business, so much that they may decide that their overall plan is not suitable. If you have worked out your sequence then you will know that the first step is followed by the second step. You must do the first step. Being able to articulate this to the other people in your business becomes easier when you know the sequence. Advanced approaches need the basics to be right before you can attempt the big stuff. The desire and impatience to achieve the results without putting in the effort with the basics shows up time and time again when the new ways of working collapse. One of the common sights in manufacturing is when businesses try to implement slick pull production systems when none of the work required to achieve this result have been completed. Result -

Many improvement projects aim to improve the performance of a business in one fell swoop. Many times however the shift that the business undertakes needs to be backed up with new habits and discipline. By discipline I am referring to routines of working. If certain things need to happen every single day in order to maintain the new way of working then we need to ensure that we do what we say we are going to do. There is no magic bullet and we have all seen how quickly habits can be broken. Abdication is another aspect to consider. When new tasks are established in a business and responsibility is handed down to complete the tasks then it is essential that some form of inspection takes place. There are those people who will say that this is not only a waste of resources but that you shouldn't need to do this. The inspection however can be relaxed in its frequency and as long as you ask the right question(s) then it won't take long at all. Abdication of responsibility is

When our projects at work are taking a long time to come to fruition and our daily lives are complicated, it is a great time to ask ourselves how we can make things 'really simple'. When issues haven't been addressed properly we can end up with complicated solutions that take a lot of hard work and administration to keep on top of. When we ask how we can make it more simple we can usually find a better way to get the work done. If there are lots of people involved with a process in the workplace there is a natural tendency for everyone to do their little bit in their own way. Getting everyone together so that they can come up with a single simple way to perform the work can give your business an immediate boost in performance. Simpler usually becomes faster, and with this you have the opportunity to deliver better customer service. You may even end up winning more business as a result! Keeping it simple makes the overall management of the business easier. S

When a business is struggling to achieve its business objectives then a review of the standards agreed in the business can make a radical change. Sometimes this change can take place rapidly. One of the simplest agreements we can make is how long a part of the business will take to respond to customers. This gives the people in the business a standard to focus on and (hopefully) the customers a better quality of service. Defining the key parts of the business process and looking at how they affect the achievement of the business objectives can tell you how each part needs to perform. Once this contribution is understood a standard can be set for its performance. This might be lead time, delivery performance, error rate etc.. Having standards is of course a benchmark for beginning your continuous improvement adventure. Once you achieve the standards initially agreed you can ask the question 'how far can we go with improving this business?' Agreeing standards in

If you search Google for the term 'lean' you can find a huge amount of resources about this subject. At its simplest it is a business improvement methodology / philosophy but this seems to get missed and so businesses head off looking for some mysterious set of tools that will transform their business when in actual fact it is more likely to be an attitude that delivers the improvements. I once heard a highly respected business man state that 'lean is awful'. He was   referring to the cost cutting and vicious approaches that are often associated with lean. He then went on to talk about doing business 'simpler, faster and better', which sounds like a really good summary of lean. Many things are done in the name of lean, many of which are just not accurate. Some businesses get hung up on the methodology, don't try to shoe horn a solution just because it's from the lean toolbox. Use the right tool for the issue at hand, don't get hung up on the

So many businesses rely on their computer systems to provide accurate and meaningful information. In many cases their databases are riddled with holes, or even worse, incorrect information. Bad data often leads to the users creating sub systems to cope with the lack of confidence, which can create other problems including wasted time.  If you find that the data in your organisation is unreliable then don't keep quiet. Ensure that the offenders know that their data collection / input methods aren't acceptable and keep supporting them until the situation changes. Find out why the data is so bad. There may be an educational element, they may not fully understand what is required and some quick adjustments can make a big difference to the quality of data. When you do have reliable information available to you make sure that the data is used so that people value good data. If you're not going to use the information to help drive your business forwards then what is t

Kaizen is a term that is often bandied about within continuous improvement circles and by lean manufacturing experts. Kaizen is amazing, but quite often one of the more subtle aspects is often overlooked. Taking tiny steps is at the heart of the kaizen approach, a stance taken to help people overcome procrastination when projects or tasks look too complicated. When someone is faced with a large task, a proposition that will take far too long to complete in their eyes, procrastination can kick in. When we take the same task and look for the smallest and simplest way to get the task started then the resistance to the work usually disappears. This is one of the most powerful uses for kaizen - find the tiniest step. If new habits need to be formed in the workplace then you can use the same approach - find the simplest way and smallest way to perform part of the habit required. People gain momentum as their confidence increases and so what may seem a pointless tiny step could well be th

Have you ever noticed that from time to time some really big jobs crop up? They take an inordinate amount of time and you wonder where they come from. A common reason is that small bits of maintenance don't get performed, over time this issue compounds until one day something crashes to a halt. Finding the small regular maintenance activities can pay off in the long run if they are incorporated into a daily or weekly routine of some kind. Data bases and computer systems that are used to manage the day to day activities in your business are a great place to perform small chunks of maintenance. If your data becomes obsolete or can't be used to make decisions then it will be bypassed. If you continue along this path you may end up creating a sub-system of working rather than resolving the original problem. Keep your data bases and computer based systems (including the storage of files) organised and current through small acts of maintenance (and computer housekeeping!). When y

Many business improvement projects are embarked upon when some of the basics in a business are not being catered for. These projects are unlikley to work. The basics have to be in place first - the frills come second. When we ignore the fundamentals of a business little cracks appear in the business. Over time these cracks get bigger and bigger until something significant happens. For those of you who are into root cause problem solving you will know that this occurs only too often. However, if we fix the basics, we can prevent the occurrence of a 'show stopper'. When projects are designed to improve the finer aspects of how a business works it is always a good opportunity to make sure that all of the basics are in place already. I'm sure that you have heard countless 'house' analogies about weak foundations. Are there things in your business that aren't quite right that need to be tackled head on? By all means do the other tweaks later on. Are there patte