Course Description

On completion of this course, participants will have available a wide range of tools and techniques for the practical application of Continuous Improvement in their workplace. The material will cover the standard approaches in the quality movement; (e.g. 6-sigma, TQM), plus the shift to Lean Manufacturing and the ramifications to cost, inventory and scheduling. Project management will be introduced and the participants will undertake their own work-related project.

Module #1 - What is the Continuous Improvement Philosophy?

• understand the nature of continuous improvement programs in industry today
• explore the recent history of North American businesses in terms of quality and productivity in a globally competitive world
• explore the CI approach taken in your place of work and compare it with others
• understand the manufacturing set of objectives and the stakeholders involved in meeting these objectives
• become familiar with the basic quality positions taken by two Pioneers in the field, W.E. Deming and J.M. Juran

Module #2 - The Continuous Improvement Cycle and the Cost of Quality

• understand the importance of measurement of an operation or function in order to determine performance and establish control
• explore what can be measured, what currently is being measured and what might be measured to improve control within your department
• understand the basic principles of gathering useful data
• understand the costs of doing (and of not doing) a Continuous Improvement program
• understand the ‘Plan, Do’ Check, Act’ cycle and the 12 steps involved in the Continuous Improvement mode

Module #3 - What's Required for Success?

• understand the importance of Continuous Improvement (CI) and the impact CI can have on a company
• understand the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and the holistic approach to a successful TQM system
• explore the steps for brining CI driven changes into my organization

Module #4 - What Tools do You Have?

• understand the shift in global thinking that has taken place regarding the concept of “quality”; specifically the “revolution” brought about by the introduction of Statistical Process Control (SPC)
• review information on the use of statistical methods and explore options for a wider application within your department
• understand a wide variety of tools and techniques used in CI programs

Module #5 - Project Management

• improve your understanding of project management and where you might use the concepts
• identify which concepts are useful for project types you might face
• explore the opportunities you have as a project manager

Module #6 - The World of 'Lean'

• improve your understanding of the methods available for minimizing the resources applied to output
• identify which of these methods might be used immediately to impact your business
• explore the opportunities you have to use the Lean tools to your business advantage

Module #7 - More Concepts for a 'Lean' World

• understand the principles and best practices of Just-in-Time and explore how they are employed
• understand the following key terms and how they connect to create a holistic approach to managing a flow system: Benchmarking, , Push vs Pull, Bottlenecks and Kaizen

Module #8 - Standards and Benchmarks

• standards and benchmarks used in your company and other companies
• work with other participants to see how other businesses and departments decide which standards are most appropriate for them and why
• explore the opportunities that exist within your organization to determine how benchmarks and standards can help you to be more productive

Module #9 - Case Studies

• select a case study and complete a CI project for presentation

Module #10 - Project Reports and New Beginnings

• present your prepared report on the Continuous Improvement project you designed and conducted
• explore ideas and opportunities to be part of Continuous Improvement on future projects and establish your next steps

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