Continuous improvement process

Continuous Improvement Process ( CIP , Engl. : Continual Improvement Process (CIP) , and Continuous Improvement Process ) is a way of thinking that with steady improvements in small steps to strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises. CIP relates to product , process and service quality . CIP is implemented as part of teamwork through continuous small improvement steps (in contrast to innovations in the form of large, radical innovations). CIP is a basic principle of quality management and an indispensable part of ISO 9001 . The development of suggestions for improvement by CIP teams is usually summarized together with the company suggestion system under the term idea management .

history

KVP is comparable to Japanese Kaizen and is usually used synonymously. The origins of the Kaizen were developed in the context of the quality movements in the 1950s by the American W. E. Deming in Japan (see 14-point management program and PDCA cycle ). Toyota in particular lived this philosophy very clearly and successfully. At Toyota, CIP has a workshop character ( workshop circle ) and is led by internal or external moderators.

In Germany, CIP in production and assembly began in the automotive industry in the 1990s. It spread to all areas of work and business and thus became a feature of employee and participation-oriented corporate culture . CIP was introduced in the Bundeswehr as a “continuous improvement program ”. Many companies have now set up CIP teams in which employees regularly track down potential for improvement and make plans for implementation. These CIP teams are comparable to the quality circles that were introduced at some German industrial companies in the 1980s, but which did not catch on at the time.

requirements

The prerequisite is the will of the company management to implement results from the CIP immediately, as well as to empower the CIP teams themselves to implement their ideas directly and to make the necessary resources available. Missing or slow implementation quickly slackens employees' motivation to participate. If implementation is not possible in individual cases, this must be clearly justified to the employees. It is also necessary to have a corporate culture in which employees' ideas and teamwork are expressly desired and in which employees receive effective support and public recognition. Above all, it is important that the company management sets the right expectations in the CIP and that the employees are also motivated to implement apparently only small improvements. Correspondingly constructive cooperation by the works council is also beneficial, and not only to the extent that matters requiring co-determination are affected.

Process of a CIP project

There are many different procedures for actually implementing the CIP. The following sequence should only be understood as a more or less typical example.

The employees analyze their work area in CIP teams and develop specific suggestions for improvement. For this purpose, they are usually trained in teamwork and group moderation beforehand . The process is usually as follows:

1. Define and delimit the work system (what should be improved?)
2. Describe the actual and target status using key figures
3. Describe and evaluate problems (frequency per unit of time or object unit - offer, order, lot, etc.)
4. Assess problems (time, money, energy, stress per unit of time)
5. Problem analysis (causes, relationships, interfaces, side effects)
6. Collect solution ideas (e.g. brainstorming )
7. Evaluate and decide on solution ideas
8. Derive measures, evaluate effort and income
9. Presentation of the results to the decision-making body
10. Agree on measures (who does what by when?) And clarify resources
11. Implement measures
12. Check success

The individual steps can also be assigned to the individual phases of the Deming circle (PDCA cycle). With the KVP² derived from Volkswagen, the workshop character is even more emphasized. It is more about quickly leveraging potential for rationalization according to the Pareto principle , but less about employee participation or even humanization of working life.

Typical results are, for example: process improvements, avoidance of wasted resources, improvements in quality and customer satisfaction as well as internal improvements in satisfaction, creativity or cooperation among employees.

Continuous improvement in the quality management standard

An organization that wants to receive a quality certificate according to EN ISO 9001 has to explain, among other things, which organizational measures it has defined so that continuous improvement takes place in a targeted and regular manner. The implementation of these measures and the results must be monitored and documented. In addition, the organization must demonstrate how it ensures that deficiencies are not repeated. CIP is an expressly mandatory component of standard-compliant quality management for all areas of the company (sales, order processing, purchasing, development, etc.). However, CIP also affects the management system itself.

Organizational theory

From a systemic point of view, organizations always strive to remain stable, they have a "perseverance" (are structurally conservative). The demand for constant improvement contradicts this. Continuous improvement therefore requires constant commitment and communication, otherwise results will not be implemented and the entire improvement process falls asleep. Time and money must be made available and energy invested for CIP.

CIP promotes flexibility, an important quality feature in order to be able to adapt to changing markets. An organization only changes if there is an external reason for it - or, as in CIP, continuously through an internal attitude. If the organization does not recognize that the conditions in the environment are changing and how, then it can no longer fulfill its task and sooner or later dies.

literature

• René Gastl: Continuous improvement in environmental management. The CIP requirement of ISO 14001 in theory and business practice. 2nd Edition. vdf Hochschulverlag, Zurich 2009, ISBN 978-3-7281-3231-4 .
• Maarten de Groot, Bert Teeuwen, Marco Tielemans: CIP in the team. Targeted operational improvements with Small Group Activity (SGA) (= Operational Excellence. No. 2). CETPM Publishing, Ansbach 2008, ISBN 978-3-940775-01-6 .
• Thomas Hoffmann, Silke Balbierz: The CIP workbook for small and medium-sized companies. Make continuous improvements professional. Verlag Wissenschaft und Praxis, Sternenfels 2010, ISBN 978-3-89673-543-0 .
• Claudia Kostka, Sebastian Kostka: The continuous improvement process. Methods of KVP (= Pocket Power. Volume 22). 3rd, completely revised edition. Hanser, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-446-40736-7 .
• Jürgen Witt, Thomas Witt: The continuous improvement process. (CIP). Concept - system - measure (= workbooks leadership psychology. Volume 42). 2nd, revised edition. Verlag Recht und Wirtschaft, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-8005-7325-3 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Peter Koblank: What is CIP? "Japanese Philosophy" - Suggestions in the Team - Differentiation from BVW . In: EUREKA impulse 3/2001, DNB 1027032907 .
2. ↑ Evolution instead of revolution - 11 success factors for idea management - 08: The right expectation ; accessed on October 23, 2016.