Six steps to an effective improvement process

Avoiding waste of all kinds is the goal of the continuous improvement process. This instrument, known in theory as CIP, thus opens up great economic potential. A company that can integrate CIP as an integral part of its work creates a culture of winners. The company is continuously optimised and develops into a learning organisation through the active participation of all its members. Superiors can count on employees who think and act with them. Staff feel that they are taken seriously and valued, and can have a direct influence on the way in which their day-to-day work is organised. The customer also benefits from this.

Insightful, but difficult
As obvious as the advantages of the Asian-influenced improvement culture are, it is difficult to introduce it in practice. A project work, developed in the context of the further education MBA Lucerne at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, shows how a continuous improvement process can be anchored simply, sustainably and effectively in a company. The practice-oriented case study examines a company in the logistics sector, whose economic environment is representative of a large part of the economy: every cent counts, and the pressure on productivity is correspondingly high. Speed at any price, the lowest possible personnel expenditure and largely standardised processes are an absolute necessity. This requires employees to be able to perform their work with the best possible efficiency.

The practical work shows that it is not sufficient for a successful CIP to "prescribe" the measures and the associated target expectations. Rather, it is necessary to establish a new culture in the company - a culture of improvement that is aligned with the individual structures and values of the company. In addition, the integration into the operational processes should be designed in such a way that the required measures are transparent and easy to implement for the employees. The project group of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts mainly investigated the interaction of normative requirements of the management with the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors of the employees. These findings form the basis for the design of the framework conditions as well as the procedural handling of suggestions for improvement.

Empowerment of staff - Creation of free space
In order for employees to be able to reflect on their direct field of action, they need freedom in the form of time. This is the main task of superiors: they are required to create this creative freedom despite short-term losses in efficiency. At the same time, they are required to ensure that their employees make meaningful use of them. This requires managers to be convinced that the time invested is well spent. In addition, supervisors assume the role of CIP coaches. They accompany their employees at eye level in reflecting on and finding approaches for improvement. Middle management has a key function here. In the continuous improvement process, they must be able to shed the "boss role" and coach their employees (primarily) as method experts. The superiors regularly give impulses and thus ensure that improvements are constantly present as a topic. This improves the management relationship, which is confirmed by the statement of a team leader of the logistics company: "The CIP opened a direct line to the concerns of my employees. »

Use diversity of topics for food for thought
The supervisors guide their employees through the variety of CIP topics. They sharpen the understanding and the view for possible improvement potentials:

• Increasing productivity (e.g. by optimizing throughput times)
• Increasing flexibility (e.g. via optimised working tools)
• Increasing quality (e.g. by optimizing intermediate and final inspections)
• Cost savings (e.g. through process automation)
• Improvement of work ergonomics (e.g. optimal use of aids)
• Increase in employee and customer satisfaction

Supervisors should take every opportunity to address CIP issues and praise good examples. Through this active and appreciative communication culture, managers show that they perceive their employees as experts. This creates a sense of responsibility for process quality among employees.

Operational interfaces - Achilles heel of process optimization
It is advisable to start initial CIP actions within individual teams or departments in order to realise the first rapid successes. Cross-company overall exercises are quickly too complex, too administrative and only lead to a result with a lot of effort. The weak points of each process are to be sought in the operative interfaces. Excellent process landscapes are characterized by their rapid elimination. In addition to this purely operational view, there is also a cultural aspect - joint learning. For interface optimization, representatives of different departments are invited to exchange ideas and work together on suggestions for improvement. This exchange reduces "garden-variety thinking" and promotes cooperation and mutual understanding.

The result: Six steps to successful CIP
The six-step operational continuous improvement process developed at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is simple in structure, transparent and thus comprehensible to employees. In practice, it became apparent that the time factor plays a decisive role. Once a suggestion has been made, action must be taken quickly. Employees' motivation and sense of purpose are quickly diminished if their suggestions are not dealt with or are dealt with after a long delay. For this reason, rapid feedback from superiors (CIP coaches) is emphasized. This creates the motivating appreciation towards the employees. It is important to make sure that the suggestions are either approved after a short discussion (max. 15 minutes) in departmental meetings or that a meeting on the topic is arranged instead in a timely manner (within two days). Appreciation of every idea, fast reaction times, short decision-making processes and CIP coaches who structure the discussions and lead them at eye level with the employees are the success factors.

1. Input: Employees (individually or in groups) submit their suggestions/ideas to their direct supervisors. The existing suggestion system or a team meeting can be used for this purpose.

2. Initialization: The superiors are obliged to discuss the suggestion with the idea givers within a maximum of two working days. Care must be taken to ensure that each suggestion is taken seriously and dealt with in a serious manner.

3. Alignment: The meeting should last a maximum of 15 minutes. Employees (experts) and supervisors (CIP coaches) meet at eye level.

4. Decision: A joint decision is made as to whether and how the project should be pursued. It is also assessed whether (internal) experts from other areas are needed for the project (e.g. IT specialist, controlling, etc.), who can contribute their specialist knowledge on the topic (promoting organisational learning). The managers are responsible for project coordination in consultation with the idea providers.

5. Implementation: The topic is worked on by the idea providers independently or in a working group. If necessary, the line managers support the project with regard to the methodology (PDCA cycle). In this way, a significant contribution can be made to empowering employees for future CIP projects. However, the employees themselves are responsible for the successful implementation of the project at all times.

6. Conclusion: The project is concluded in the same way as it was started. The results are jointly assessed and evaluated. Subsequently, the superiors ensure communication and visualization. In this way, genuine appreciation takes place by means of "do good and talk about it".

In conclusion, it can be stated once again: It is important that companies do not merely implement a process module with a CIP. Rather, with the integration of this approach, it is important to build up a working culture that seeks continuous improvement. This requires - in addition to perseverance - a high degree of inner conviction about the sense and benefit of CIP, combined with a long-term view as well as trust and appreciation towards the employees. The following comment by a concerned employee from the case study confirms: "My concerns are now taken seriously - and I benefit from direct improvements in my everyday work."