Are Continuous Improvement Departments necessary in your organization? (#7)

This is an answer we want to hear from our readers. We will post questions like this on our social media platforms, hoping to spark great conversation and ideas from you. This question in particular, “Are Continuous Improvement Departments necessary in organizations?” often initiates awesome discussions. From the answers we have collected from this question, the majority of our readers will agree that the answer is Continuous Improvement Efforts should be viewed as processes within the company versus a separate department. 

Continuous Improvement should not have its own department, rather it should be fluid and work throughout the organization. One of the best responses we have had to this question states that the reader “views CI as a process in lieu of a department. The focus of CI should be less on which department the effort is in and more on how that change and/or improvement is directed. Successful Continuous Improvement efforts need a project to have a multi-functional organizational structure. These projects should be defined and outlined as part as an organization’s all department strategy.”

My team has been involved in quite a few Lean Six Sigma deployments. What we have learned from each of these implementations is that unless the Continuous Improvement efforts are adequately managed, those efforts will be futile. Every individual in the company should own the change and it is everyone’s responsibility to uphold and maintain those CI efforts. Forrest McCracken defines the departmental roles of Continuous Improvement Efforts in an excellent way. McCracken states that every employee should receive some form of training to aid in the implementation of the concepts of the Continuous Improvement Efforts. Management and selected employees should undergo more training to lead the implementation within their departments. The Continuous Improvement department leaders should train employees, transcribe objectives and improvements, as well as charge Senior Management with Continuous Improvement Strategy. The strategy and efforts of Continuous Improvement should flow between every department in the organization. It should be administered as a cultural change, allowing the methodology to be taught and understood most by lower level employees and managers, as they are the ones who will charge and administer the Continuous Improvement efforts. McCracken says “Quality assurance departments should work with Continuous Improvement as a cross-functional team and help capture trends, validate efforts and identify improvement opportunities when real data flags a real problem.”

Constructing an effective and efficient Continuous Improvement strategy is not an easy task. Taking short cuts and building a strategy that does not have a strong foundation and fluid movement is quicker and easier to do, but these efforts will always ultimately fail. What is your opinion? How has your organization administered Continuous Improvement efforts?

About Six Sigma Development Solutions, Inc.

We are Certified as an Accredited Training Organization with the International Association of Six Sigma Certification (IASSC)

“The IASSC Accredited Training Organization (ATO) designation validates Six Sigma Development Solutions, Inc. has demonstrated adequate management systems, courseware with a high degree of correlation to the subject matter contained in the IASSC Bodies of Knowledge, delivery schema consistent with such content and highly qualified instructors.”

We Provide Public Lean Six Sigma Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Training Courses in 34 Cities across the globe.

Our Training Centers are located in: Albuquerque, New Mexico| Atlanta, Georgia | Austin, Texas | Boston, Massachusetts | Charlotte, North Carolina | Chicago, Illinois | Cincinnati, Ohio | Columbus, Ohio | Dallas, Texas | Denver, Colorado | Detroit, Michigan | Dubai, UAE | Fort Smith, AR|  Houston, Texas | Kansas City, Missouri|  Las Vegas, Nevada | London, UK | Louisville, Kentucky | Memphis, Tennessee | Minneapolis, Minnesota | New Orleans, Louisiana|  Northwest, Arkansas | Orlando, Florida | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Phoenix, Arizona | Portland, Oregon | Raleigh, North Carolina | Salt Lake City, Utah | Seattle, Washington | St. Louis, Missouri|  San Diego, California | Tampa, Florida | Toronto, Canada | Washington DC.

We Provide Onsite Lean Six Sigma Certification Training. Some of the training's we provide are: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Lean Six Sigma Champions Training and Lean Certifications for Healthcare, Finance, I.T, Manufacturing, Processing, Logistics, Retail Sales and Government.

SSDSI will come to your site to train for your choice of the Lean Six Sigma Certification Levels. Onsite training is more cost effective than open enrollment training when training larger groups of team members.

Benefits of Onsite Training:

The Training is focused on Your Opportunities

SSDSI uses your opportunities in class (vs. generic examples)

You will get the experience of a seasoned Lean and Six Sigma Master Black Belt who will help mentor you while completing your Lean and Six Sigma Project

You can train up to 20 employees for one fixed cost (this cost includes courseware and the instructors travel & lodging)

Our courses are full of games, simulations, and active learning to help the adult learner

SSDSI can customize the training to meet your company’s particular training needs

For More Information Contact: Kevin Clay, MBB at 866-922-6566 or kclay@sixsigmadsi.com