The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is one of the best-known lean methods, and one of the key philosophies for continuous improvement. However, despite its apparent simplicity, there are many struggles involved with its proper use. It seems that especially the Act part is challenging. Hence, let me dig deeper into why and how to Act in the PDCA.
PDCA
On Facts vs. Opinions
In lean, as well as in many other areas, facts hold much more value than opinions. But what are facts, and what are opinions? Unfortunately, this is not black and white, but a big gray area. This blog post is based on a question by a reader on my earlier post “Why It Is So Important for Managers to Listen!” Let’s dive deeper into how to distinguish facts from fiction, and how to get facts in the first place…
Kaizen: Hoshin Kanri, Bowler Charts, Action Plans, and More
In my last two posts I described bowler charts, named due to their similarity to the score charts used for bowling. In this post I want to talk a bit more how the bowler chart fits in the big picture… or, if you will, how the big picture can use a bowler chart.
This will be a big picture on kaizen improvement. First you need your true north, which allows you to set your overarching targets (e.g., in a hoshin kanri). To reach the overarching targets in the hoshin kanri, you need practical problem solving, A3s, or an Action plan to make actual improvements toward your overarching goals. Underlying all of this is of course the PDCA. But, let me show you in more detail:
Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Monitor and Share
This post of my series on Practical Problem Solving (PPS) looks at what to do after you have done the “Do” part of PDCA. Yes, that’s right, after implementing the solutions you are not done yet. You need to monitor the outcome to see whether it has actually achieved the target you set much earlier. Here, the next steps can go into two directions. This would be the “Check” of PDCA. If you have not yet achieved the target… well… then you are not yet done and need to keep on working on the problem. If you have achieved the target, congratulations! Now share the wisdom with others. This is the “Act” of PDCA. Let me explain in more detail.
Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Countermeasures and Implement
In this post of my series on the Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS), we finally get to the part many were excitedly waiting for—the development of countermeasures and their implementation. Some people like this part of actually doing the improvement (and hence finally the “Do” part of PDCA) so much that they skip the “Plan” part almost entirely. Don’t do that! Properly prepare and analyze before implementing a countermeasure. Without the plan, the countermeasure may be flawed.
Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Targets and Root Causes
In the previous posts on this series of the Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS) I went into detail on how to understand the problem by clarifying the problem and breaking it down to get the prioritized problem. In this post I will look at target setting and root-cause analysis. Setting the target and doing the root-cause analysis is still the “Plan” part of PDCA. Only in my next post with the development of countermeasures do we get to the next step of “Do.”
Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Clarify
In my last post I introduced the Toyota Practical Problem Solving approach (PPS) and gave an overview how it is rooted in PDCA and often used in the form of an A3. Now let’s dig deeper and go into the details of the individual steps. The first is to clarify the problem. The second is to break down and stratify the problem—to try to understand the problem better by looking at it from different angles, preferably using data. In my next post I will talk about target setting.
Standards Part 7: How to Write a Work Standard
In my last post I talked about the different steps on how to do standard work. In this post I will go into more detail on how to write the actual work standard that is put up at the workplace. This will include quite a few examples in different styles, before I will go into a bit more detail for one example in my next post.