continuous improvement

Continuous Improvement

Presented by:Allan Berry

Today’s Presentation

• Project Manager’s role in Continuous Improvement

• Continuous Improvements Basics• Implementation• Measurement• Employee Recognition

Overview

• Many companies have processes• Integrated into the business model• Goal

– Improve quality standards– Improve client satisfaction

• Questions– What is it ?– How do I do it ?– What makes it work ?

Objectives

• Be able to describe the PM role• Explain the basics as applied to a project and your

firm• Explain the basic steps in implementing a continuous

improvement process• Describe some applications of continuous

improvement• Describe how to measure it

– Because if you don’t measure it ……• Explain the importance of employee recognition

Introduction

• Continuous Improvement• Pareto Analysis• Pareto Chart• Process Map

Project Manager’s Role• What is continuous improvement?

–Process to achieve acceptable quality–Commitment to proved skilled workforce

•You affect your company’s reputation–Do you apply QA/QC processes rigorously?–Do you monitor your projects effectively?–Do you adequately measure and analyze?–Do you look for trends as indicators?–Do you look at time, quality, and productivity?

Project Manager’s Role• Important

–Monitoring schedules–Knowing specifications–Controlling subcontractors

•ALL GOOD, but be aware and responsive•Jobsite

–Rework–Personnel problems–Resources–Communications issues

Project Manager’s Role• Continuous Improvement

–Proactive–Anticipate–Aimed at improving your processes–Eliminates root causes of issues–Monitors employee satisfaction

Project Manager’s Role• Employee Satisfaction

–Satisfied employees•Perform better at their jobs•Act as ambassadors for the business

–Dissatisfied employees•Affect morale•Affect company perception

•Remember, most of time it is the process not the person

–80:20 ( I have been saying 96:4)

Continuous Improvement Fundamentals• To be competitive

– Firms have to improve their processes• Continually• Time waits for no-one !!!

• Not good enough to just meet the specifications– Clients are more knowledgeable– Clients have greater expectation

Continuous Improvement Fundamentals• Four core principles

– Customer focus– Employee Involvement– Results-based decision making– Quality Improvement focus

• Company environment• Business practices

Objectives of Quality Management

• Improve efficiency and performance• Provide opportunity to employees

– Use their talents to improve operations– Use their talents to improve customer reaction

• Encourage decision making– At the appropriate level

• Partnering …… remember ?• Improve communication• Personal growth

– Develop leadership skills

Main Purpose

• Identify barriers to quality improvement• Empower employees to remove them

– Within the company policy !!!!• Barriers can exist in any work environment

– The way the job is done– Interpersonal relationships

• Supervisor-crew• Crew member –crew member

– Whoever has to “live” with it, empower to deal with it

Project Quality Management Process

• Process involves– Company commitment– PM commitment– Identification of barriers– Employee involvement– Problem solving

Project Manager Commitment

• Begins with you !!!– You must be committed– Maintain mentoring relationships– Form effective networks– Enlist help when needed– Commit yourself to growth

• Needs the support of your organization– You may have to convince !!!

• You have to be supportive of the team– Remove barriers to their performance– Training, coaching et al

Identifying Barriers

• Obvious barriers we have discussed– Rework

• Can be >12% of total cost of project• Comes straight out of profit margin

– Falling behind schedule• If productivity halves, guess what happens to costs?

– Going over budget• If it is not a justifiable change

– Comes straight out of profit margin– Excessive waste

Employee Involvement

• Encourage your team to– Take ownership– Problem-solve– Be proactive in these things

• Remember and recognize– You do not have all the answers– People tend to know how to do their job

• Have ideas how to do it more efficiently– People closest to the problem often have the

best solution– A network of resources has a lot of knowledge– People like to share their ideas (if listened to)

Solving the Problem

• Technique– Statement of the issue– Flowchart of the process– Stakeholders and how they are affected– Causes of the problem– Develop solutions– Monitor– Assess results– Follow up

Mapping the Process (A)

Mapping the Process (B)

Mapping the Process (C)

Implementing Continuous Improvement• To be effective

– Has to be applied throughout the project– In large firms, often a SOP , a business process– In smaller firms, less formal sometimes

• But not diluted • Objectives

– Satisfy the stakeholders– Eliminate wastefulness– Maximize productivity– Prevention, not correction

• Measure, don’t assume

4.1.0 Applying Project Quality Management• Hold team meetings• Encourage constructive questions

Crew Meetings

• Explain what you are looking for– How to get there

• Ask for team input– Time– Resources needed– Methods to be used

• Evaluate ideas• Stop - Go - Stop-Go

Questions to Ask

• What is preventing you from doing the job right the first time?

• How are we solving quality related problems?– What help do you need?

• Are you satisfied with the product?• Are our customers satisfied?

– Was it a hassle for them?• How can we improve?

Assessing Project Quality Management

• Assessment to be done during and after the project– Input from all stakeholders– Measured – Post-project debrief is especially important

• Do they want you back ….. Ever !!!


• Methods of Assessment– Discussions at weekly meetings– Individual discussions during project– Post-project review meeting– Surveys, rating forms ….– Make sure quality is always a key topic

• Sometimes difficult– IMPORTANT


• Post-project review– Areas that contributed to the success

• What worked• What didn’t• Areas of failure

– Constraints and their prevention– Problems and how they were approached– Innovative ideas– What could have been done better– How does the team feel about one another

Measuring Improvement

• If you don’t measure it, you ……..• Evaluations

– Measure the success of a change• When things happen ….

– Use them as learning experiences• Continuous Improvement

– By definition• Ongoing and continuous

– We never stop trying to learn


• Metrics (these are by Pyzdek)– Measurement must be valid– Measurement must be reliable

• Not subjective– Critical to quality

• Properties of critical Metrics– Important outcome– Input affects outcome– Controlled


• Metrics that you might measure– Client satisfaction– Schedule adherence– Rework or defects– Safety– Business Processes

• How do you make the measurements – Statistical methods


• Examples– Pareto Analysis

• Graphical method of ranking most to least significant causes

• It is the basis of the 80:20 rule• Who was Pareto

– Not an Italian soccer player– An Italian Economist


• Pareto Chart


• Examples of 80:20– 80% of defects arise from 20% of the issues– 80% of delays arise from 20% of possible

causes– 80% of complaints arise from 20% of the

provided services• Goal

– Take care of the difficult 20% first– Which means you have to know what they are

Employee Recognition

• All about thanking a person• Motivational tool• Reinforces and rewards

– Desired outcomes• Establishes a company culture• Has to be honest and specific

– Careful with Employee of the Month etc

Employee Recognition

• Establishing a Recognition Program– Make sure you know what the criteria are– Everyone has to be eligible– Be clear what the reward is for– Reward close to the time of the review

• Types of Recognition– Involving people in committees– point out the work effort at meetings– Lunch– Personal “thankyou”– Cash, parking privileges etc

continuous improvement

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