Process Improvement Loop

author: Lee Buttolph

This is a poster I created for a company I did some consulting work for.

I made a lot of copies and posted them throughout the organization. If they ever got lost and didn't know how to proceed I would point to the poster and make them walk through the steps.

Process Improvement Loop

1. Fault of Employee is Fault of Management (Example)

- Don’t rush to yell when there is a good chance the mistake was your fault

- Use mistakes as an opportunity for process improvement

- A good checklist solves most employee mistakes

2. Focus on the Bottleneck (Core Problem)

- All decisions must be made in support of the bottleneck

- 1 hour downtime at Bottleneck = 1 hour cost to run the entire company

- “If you do not deal directly with the core problem, don’t expect significant improvement.” —Eli Goldratt

3. Go to the Bottleneck to: WATCH, LEARN, IMPROVE

- Spend most of your time watching instead of talking

- Learn from each job:

a. When the employee is doing too much

and

b. When the employee is doing too little

or

c. What questions/issues arise over and over again

- Use standardized process flows as the basis for improvement