IMPLEMENTATION OF A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN

 

• Better working conditions for employees,
• More satisfied and therefore more loyal customers,
• Better collaboration with partners (suppliers, service providers, etc.).

« Your problem is that you're trying to think about what you need to teach your employees [to work better]. You don't need to teach them anything. What you need to do is help the operators make their work easier. That's your job.» Taïchi Ohno   

5 key essential points to implement and manage continuous improvement. 

Continuous improvement is a mindset that aims to always do better and not be satisfied with the existing situation. To evolve constantly, managing continuous improvement requires instilling this mindset in all teams and sometimes necessitates a significant change in some companies that are not used to the concept of "working better together."

At TECTRA BENIN, we have undertaken this approach ourselves and are sharing our feedback on 5 key essential points to implement and manage continuous improvement:

1.     Ensure strong involvement of general management  

Governance is one of the main key success factors: the "best effort" mode is not enough for the success of continuous improvement because operational staff no longer have free time to devote to a simple logic of goodwill. An impetus from general management is not only ideal; it is fundamental if we want continuous improvement to be deployed effectively and sustainably.

2.     Involve employees at all levels  

Resistance to change is the first challenge of continuous improvement, and the key to success lies in anticipation: it is necessary to identify obstacles as early as possible to solve them effectively.

3.     Use concrete facts and data  

In the context of continuous improvement, we can only act on tangible and measurable things. The different types of actions are systematically based on concrete facts:

• Corrective action taken immediately after a malfunction,
• Corrective action that will prevent the malfunction from recurring,
• Preventive action, which should ideally eventually replace the other actions to allow anticipation of a possible malfunction.

4.     Adapt the method to each situation  

There are different methods to implement a continuous improvement approach, and we will detail some of them below. However, it is essential to apply the right method to each problem if we want to have the appropriate solution path. They can be used independently, and it is sometimes interesting to use them in combination.

5.     Act according to the 4 steps of the Deming Wheel  

To make the continuous improvement approach sustainable, the ideal is to implement the PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) cycle: Plan, Do, Check, and Act.

• Plan:  : We need to set precise and transparent objectives if we want to develop clear and understandable action plans.
• Do : Collaboration and teamwork are key to sharing responsibilities and motivation; however, this requires regular communication.
• Check: The results obtained must be measured continuously to evaluate the impact of the actions and initiatives implemented.
• Improve: Some points can always be improved, so we need to continue to communicate and challenge the teams.

Continuous improvement plan: the different methods used within TECTRA BENIN

Depending on the context, the team, and the situation, some continuous improvement methods may be more suitable than others. While some companies apply them literally, others are inspired by them to adapt and remain aligned with their fundamental needs and objectives: this is what we have done.

Tectra implements the concept of "GIVE ME 5," which conditions the validation of the action based on the time required for its implementation:

• 5 minutes (Just Do It),
• 5 hours (Just Do It with Manager validation),
• 5 days (projects with team validation),
• 5 weeks (with Unit Direction validation),
• 5 months (with CODIR validation).