Understanding business improvement FAQs

Business improvement is the process of identifying and implementing changes that will improve an organisation's performance. This can include improving efficiency, effectiveness, profitability, or customer satisfaction.

Key steps involved in business improvement generally include:

• Identifying where improvement is needed and setting goals
• Assessing current processes and procedures together with current levels of efficiency and productivity
• Identifying changes that could be made and their risks and benefits
• Implementing the changes to processes, procedures, and/or technology
• Measuring the results of the changes in terms of efficiency, productivity, and/or quality
• Continuing to identify opportunities for improvement and implementing changes that will help achieve goals.

Six Sigma is a set of quality management methods, techniques and tools for improving the quality of products and processes by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimising variability. Originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s, it has since been adopted by many other companies around the world.

Six Sigma is based on the (DMAIC) five steps:

• Define the problem or opportunity that you want to improve
• Measure the current state of the process and identify the root causes of defects
• Analyse the data to identify the root causes of defects
• Improve by eliminating changes to the process to eliminate the root causes of defects
• Control to ensure that the improvements are sustained over time

Six Sigma can be used to make improvements around an organisation. It can help

• Improve the quality of products and services by reducing defects and variability
• Reduce costs by eliminating waste and improving efficiency
• Increase customer satisfaction by providing products and services that meet or exceed their expectations
• Raise employee morale by providing opportunities for employees to contribute to process improvement and by recognising and rewarding employees for their contributions.

Bywater runs a comprehensive programme of training courses around Six Sigma, introducing delegates to the tools, techniques and skills required to attain Yellow, Green and Black Belt professional status.

Lean is a business improvement methodology that focuses on raising levels of efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and eliminating waste.

Lean can be used to improve a wide variety of business activities, including manufacturing, service and administrative processes. It can also be used to improve the quality of products and services, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction.

The Lean philosophy is based on five principles:

• Identifying the value that customers place on the products or services that you provide.
• Using value streams to map the flow of activities required to create and deliver those products or services.
• Improving flow by removing waste from the value stream through eliminating unnecessary steps, delays, and duplication.
• Applying ‘pull’ to produce products or services only when customers demand them.
• Aiming for perfection by striving for continuous improvement in all aspects of your operations.

The Lean approach can be used to make improvements around an organisation to quality, costs, customer satisfaction and employee morale by:

• Reducing defects and variability
• Eliminating waste and improving efficiency
• Providing products and services that meet or exceed their expectations.
• Enabling employees to contribute to process improvement

There are many tools and techniques that have proved to be valuable to businesses in applying the Lean Approach. These include:

• Value stream mapping, a visual tool that helps to identify and map the flow of activities required to create and deliver a product or service
• The 5S methodology for organising and cleaning up the workplace to improve efficiency and safety
• The Kanban system for managing work flow by using visual signals to control the flow of materials and information
• Kaizen - a Japanese term for continuous improvement - exploring a philosophy of making small, incremental changes to processes on a regular basis to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

These approaches and tools can be explored on Bywater’s range of Lean training courses.

At Bywater we offer a range of training courses exploring Lean, and enabling delegates to attain the skill levels to become Lean Leaders and Lean Practitioners.