Continuous Improvement

Course Overview

Business is dynamic. Yesterday’s new approach is today’s standard practice. Therefore, businesses need to develop and implement a continuous improvement strategy and process to stay ahead of the game. This requires the vigilance of every employee in focusing on high-impact/high-value processes to look for opportunities to improve what gets done and how it gets done. The Continuous Improvement program has won awards and achieved international recognition for its practical tools, techniques and skills for rigorously examining and improving any business process, and adding real value

Target Audience

Anyone responsible for planning and contributing to how work gets done; members of functional and cross-functional teams facing broad, organizational changes.

Course Objectives

What You'll Learn

• Utilize an efficient, seven-step problem-solving model to structure your continuous improvement efforts
• Assess the customer-supplier chain to define issues, opportunities and problems
• Define and analyze work processes using four different process-flowcharting techniques
• Link work processes to organizational requirements
• Develop and use customer surveys to identify performance gaps
• Use two proven analysis techniques to identify root causes of performance gaps
• Establish improvement targets along with key assessment criteria and measurements to gauge progress
• Use two different techniques to identify and prioritize alternative improvement actions
• Select the best breakthrough actions based on identified priority requirements
• Develop and implement an action schedule and assign tasks making the best use of resources
• Communicate effectively with others regarding the goals and intended outcomes
• Review progress against the plan using short, mid-and long-range review strategies
• Celebrate success

Course Content

1. Benefits for the Individual

• Proven process with easy-to-use tools and methods for business planning, process improvement and project management
• Improved capabilities for leading or participating in process improvement projects
• Increased confidence in presenting improvement opportunities to Senior management
• Energies focused on high-impact and high-value work processes
• Improved decision-making and utilization of resources

2. Benefits for the organization

• Improved processes that lead to better, more focused results
• A mind-shift oriented toward a continuous improvement, best-practices culture
• Processes that link to and reflect organizational vision, mission and key strategies
• A practical, flexible application toolkit for tackling any improvement issue
• Greater confidence in decision-making that supports organizational goals

Course Prerequisites

• There are no prerequisites for this course

Follow on Courses

• There are no follow-ons for this course

Further Information

Benefits for the individual:

• Proven process with easy-to-use tools and methods for business planning, process improvement and project management
• Improved capabilities for leading or participating in process improvement projects
• Increased confidence in presenting improvement opportunities to Senior management
• Energies focused on high-impact and high-value work processes
• Improved decision-making and utilization of resources

Benefits for the organization:

• Improved processes that lead to better, more focused results
• A mind-shift oriented toward a continuous improvement, best-practices culture
• Processes that link to and reflect organizational vision, mission and key strategies
• A practical, flexible application toolkit for tackling any improvement issue
• Greater confidence in decision-making that supports organizational goals