The concept of continuous improvement concerns the non-stop development of a product, service, or business process. The efforts that should be applied during this development can be either incremental or regularly made over a certain period of time, or “breakthrough”. In general, continuous improvement is not a particular process. It is a meta-process that can be applied at different levels of an organization and in different fields. The continual improvement allows the organization to effectively organize working processes involving less effort.
Continuous Improvement Model
The model of continuous improvement usually includes four steps. The first step is identifying a plan for change. At this stage, an opportunity for improvement is sought, and the actions planned to do are placed in their logical consequence with time frameworks. The second step includes the implementation of the plan or doing the actions that have been identified as needed to achieve the goal. The third step is checking, which is made by analyzing the results of actions. Within this step, it is also important to define whether the actions brought desired changes. During the fourth step, the assessment of the result should be done. If the changes do not improve the situation, the cycle should be repeated again. If it did, they should be implemented on a wider scale.
Continuous improvement also refers to the concept of kaizen, which can be translated from Japanese as “improvement”. It includes such principles as feedback or reflection on processes, efficiency, or evaluation of non-optimal processes, and evolution. Evolution is focused on taking incremental steps. Continuous improvement also prioritizes small but regular actions over breakthrough ones. According to this system, the employees should constantly strive to increase their performance.
5S Framework
The model of continuous improvement also includes the 5s framework. This framework was developed in Japan and originally included five Japanese words: Seiri, Seiso, Seiton, Shitsuke, and Seiketsu. They were translated into English as Sort, Sustain, Set in Order, Standardize, and Shine. The first step, Sorting, involves sorting all the materials and getting rid of unnecessary ones. Only the materials used for the particular task should be kept. All the instruments and papers that do not help to complete the task should be removed from the working area.
The second step, Setting in Order, involved the organization of the items. They should be put in order according to their places. This order should be logical and simple, and the articles should be stored in ergonomic locations. Thus, they should be easy to access and placed in a way that people would not need to bend, lean, or make any other extra movements to reach them.
The Shine step embodies proactive efforts that allow keeping working areas clean. It should ensure that the work is purpose-driven and the workspace is organized logically. This step may include dusting, mopping, repairing, or replacing some tools. During the fourth step, called Standardization, a set of standards should be developed and adopted in the organization. This set of standards should embrace the principles of the first three steps. They should be expressed in clear rules, obligatory for everyone.
The last step is Sustain, which involves practices aimed at maintaining the discipline within the organization. It can be done through audits, ensuring that the employees follow the standards developed during the fourth step. The activities prescribed by these standards should be made all the time, making the system of continuous improvement effective.