Related Sponsors

What is the practice of Process Improvement?

Home » Entrepreneurship » Process Improvement » What is the practice of Process Improvement?

To achieve the benefits of process improvement you do not want to start by changing wages and prices. Instead, begin by studying the work processes that create the value for which these dollars change hands. This takes place one process at a time.

Study the flow of the items within each process (records, forms and materials that make their ways through the processes). Pay special attention to tasks that change these items. Do not focus on the resources that work on these items (people, machines and software) or on their prices and costs. It will be important to evaluate the effect of the ideas on resources and dollars, but first study the flow of the work itself using experience, common sense and understanding, with a focus on creating value and reducing waste.

Follow each of the items that are processed, step by step, and prepare a chart that shows how the items affect one another. A team of experienced employees representing different parts of the process should then review the chart. Team members can see what happens to the items not only in their own work areas but also before they receive them and after they are done with them. This approach encourages team members to think together about what is best for the organization rather than being limited by biased views of their own work areas.
Instead of trying to juggle all of the changes simultaneously the team works on them one step at a time. Once the changes appear to belong and the process improvement has been evaluated, people usually look back on their previous processes as something they would never return to.

Next Page: What are some of the areas of focus as a company begins to look at Process Improvement?

Related Process Improvement Articles