The notion of continuous improvement is at the heart of total quality, lean and even six sigma processes, all of the current star methods for organizational excellence. It is based roughly on the plan do check act cycle introduced by Doctor Edwards Deming. But despite all the efforts to identify the means to improve, without compliance management software, companies will have great difficulty keeping the effort on track.
In the time period around 1970, American manufacturing experienced a significant event. The oil crisis opened the door for smaller, compact vehicles, and suddenly the idea that foreign companies made competitive products came to the front. Not only were there suddenly Japanese cars on the highways, but store shelves filled with electronics goods, appliances and other non-US products.
US companies were loath to admit the problem could have anything to do with domestic production, and cries of foul play were ubiquitous. But after considerable investigation and searches for the source of unfair competition, nothing untoward was discovered. Instead, the realization that the way things have been done might not still be the best, and that standards needed to be updated in American companies slowly emerged.
The concepts touted by Doctors Juran and Deming were simple enough, but had been rejected by manufacturers who believed their success demonstrated they had no need of process improvement. Misreading the global desire for products after years of sacrifice during a war blinded companies to the lack of competitors. It took several decades to rebuild the manufacturing capability that had been destroyed.
The natural response for North American companies was to try to identify what was being done differently overseas. Most believed it had to be something cultural, that made workers more compliant or harder working. The notion that corporate leadership had grown to distant from their production processes, or that those processes needed improvement was difficult to accept.
At its heart, the issue was about identifying waste in processes and energizing management to lead companies instead of just manage from on high. The plan, do, check, act cycle is mean to be a method for continuously improving a process and therefore the product or service made through it. While it is simple to state, it is difficult to execute, since manufacturing processes can be long and complex.
Finding what is being done inefficiently is usually a highlight of the effort, but it can be rendered moot without proper follow up. A great many organizations have implemented corrective inspection systems only to find that a year later the same problems are identified. Once something is found to be wrong, there must still be effort to identify a corrective action and then to ensure that action is accomplished.
The issue is complicated due to the fast pace downsized workforce most companies have adopted to weather the difficult economic times. With everyone exceedingly busy accomplishing the mission, taking the time to address a process can seem an additional duty not as crucial as the main production. Compliance management software helps keep corrective action in the spotlight and tracks it to completion.
In the time period around 1970, American manufacturing experienced a significant event. The oil crisis opened the door for smaller, compact vehicles, and suddenly the idea that foreign companies made competitive products came to the front. Not only were there suddenly Japanese cars on the highways, but store shelves filled with electronics goods, appliances and other non-US products.
US companies were loath to admit the problem could have anything to do with domestic production, and cries of foul play were ubiquitous. But after considerable investigation and searches for the source of unfair competition, nothing untoward was discovered. Instead, the realization that the way things have been done might not still be the best, and that standards needed to be updated in American companies slowly emerged.
The concepts touted by Doctors Juran and Deming were simple enough, but had been rejected by manufacturers who believed their success demonstrated they had no need of process improvement. Misreading the global desire for products after years of sacrifice during a war blinded companies to the lack of competitors. It took several decades to rebuild the manufacturing capability that had been destroyed.
The natural response for North American companies was to try to identify what was being done differently overseas. Most believed it had to be something cultural, that made workers more compliant or harder working. The notion that corporate leadership had grown to distant from their production processes, or that those processes needed improvement was difficult to accept.
At its heart, the issue was about identifying waste in processes and energizing management to lead companies instead of just manage from on high. The plan, do, check, act cycle is mean to be a method for continuously improving a process and therefore the product or service made through it. While it is simple to state, it is difficult to execute, since manufacturing processes can be long and complex.
Finding what is being done inefficiently is usually a highlight of the effort, but it can be rendered moot without proper follow up. A great many organizations have implemented corrective inspection systems only to find that a year later the same problems are identified. Once something is found to be wrong, there must still be effort to identify a corrective action and then to ensure that action is accomplished.
The issue is complicated due to the fast pace downsized workforce most companies have adopted to weather the difficult economic times. With everyone exceedingly busy accomplishing the mission, taking the time to address a process can seem an additional duty not as crucial as the main production. Compliance management software helps keep corrective action in the spotlight and tracks it to completion.
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