10 Commandments of Continuous Improvement (2017)

[Music] hi there my name is Ron Pereira and in this video we're going to learn all about what we refer to as a ten commandments of continuous improvement well specifically by the end of this video you'll know what continuous improvement is all about while also learning what we refer to as the ten commandments of continuous improvement okay so let's get started by first answering a question what is continuous improvement well simply put continuous improvement is a mindset and a way of thinking that's focused on improving processes while also seeking out ways to improve the lives of people now I'd like to stress the word people since it's quite easy to become enamored with the many tools of continuous improvement without realizing in the end continuous improvement is a people based principle first and foremost of course this isn't to say that the tools of Lean Six Sigma and other improvement methodologies aren't important they are which is why we offer hundreds of videos on just about any lead or six sigma tool you will ever need but if you're not able to motivate inspire and respect others it really doesn't matter how good you are and value stream mapping or design of experiments so with this said let's spend some time talking about what it takes to excel at continuous improvement well the first thing it takes is daily practice now while athletes like LeBron James Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are no doubt blessed with amazing talent they also practice extremely hard in fact there have been many studies that point to the importance of practice now some studies indicate it could take as many as 10,000 hours to master a skill while other studies seem to think it could be less in the end the exact number of hours required to master skill isn't all that important instead the important thing especially as it relates to continuous improvement is that we need to practice daily while never feeling as if we've arrived and know-it-all and while practicing is a must there are several other key guidelines that all continuous improvement practitioners can follow at the end Academy we refer to these guidelines as been ten commandments of continuous improvement the first commandment is to open our minds to change while letting deal with paradigms and preconceived notions of how things should be we must also stay focused and how something can be made to work rather than why it would never work along these lines the second commandment is to think yes we can if in other words when we say something can't be done it's because we know what's stopping us from doing it well as it turns out identifying the problem is the first step to solving it we must also remember commandment number 1 which is to keep an open mind in other words think of what it will take to make it happen what obstacles will you need to remove so you see in actuality the person who knows why it can't be done also knows exactly how it can be done ok the third commandment of continuous improvement challenges us to never attack people when confronting problems instead which is always focus our energy on attacking problems and poor processes in fact American statistician and one of the world's earliest continuous improvement champions dr. W Edwards Deming once said that blaming people doesn't solve problems because problems are due to complex root causes in other words this system is to blame not the person and since this system is nothing but a bunch of processes we never want to attack people next the 4th commandment of continuous improvement is to always seek simple solutions whenever possible well legend has it that during a space race in the 1960s one of the major space agencies was faced with its serious dilemma they needed a pen that would write in a vacuum of space well the story goes that after spending 1.5 million dollars on the creation of a so-called astronaut pen the problem was solved well when a competing space program was faced with the same problem they decided on a much simpler solution they used a pencil now as you may already know there was an actual space pen developed by definition pen company but the legend of how one space agency outsmarted the other by you a pencil isn't true since as it turns out broken pencil led floating around at cockpit in space isn't exactly safe but to be sure the principle behind this fun story is extremely relevant for those of us practicing continuous improvement we always want to seek simple solutions whenever possible okay well the fifth commandment challenges us to stop and fix problems when we first identified them no matter how busy we are in the end this attitude will save us time money and can even save lives you see it's often these small problems that turn into big ones we left unaddressed just like a few leaves in a garden can eventually wreak havoc if not removed right away the sixth commandment asked us to use creativity instead of capital another way of stating this is the u.s. our wits over our wallets as an example instead of spending thousands of dollars on expensive conveyor systems perhaps there's a way to move the equipment closer together eliminating the waste of transportation altogether number seven commandment states that problems are nothing more than opportunities with this attitude we're far more likely to make problems visible instead of covering them up with things like inventory and expensive rework the eighth commandment challenges the organization ask why over it over instead of who as we work to identify the root cause of an issue now as it turns out simply asking why most of the times we've actually been the best teaching method tha you know one of the chief architects of the Toyota Production system ever used the ninth commandment states that the wisdom of many is far better than a knowledge of one you see working alone doctors as just one example can't fix the problems facing health care organizations nor to nurses working alone likewise even the best engineers working in isolation can't succeed long-term nor can any single CEO however if we stay with that health care theme when our doctors and nurses and other hospital staff members are allowed to come together as one problem-solving unit nothing is impossible and finally the last of our 10 commandments of continuous improvement states but there's actually no final destination on the improvement journey you see it's common for organizations to ask how long will it take to become world-class and as you might imagine the only accurate answer is no one knows but what we do know for certain is that we should all think 10 to 20 years out for what an ideal process looks like while making a plan for what we want to get done in the next year as well as a plan for the immediate steps we must take before the end of the current day with all this said just like - 10 commandments of the Bible or the teaching from holy books of any religion these 10 commandments of continuous improvement aren't easy to follow but these 10 principles are proven to be the best Road mapping guide for those bold enough to challenge the status quo and make things better my name is Ron Pereira and on behalf of all of us here at Demba Academy I'd like to wish you all the best and G progress on this never-ending journey of continuous improvement

Channel: Gemba Academy

Views: 87,408

Rating: 4.8501291 out of 5

Keywords: gembaleanvideo, gembaleanvideos, lean manufacturing, lean office, lean healthcare, lean six sigma, six sigma, kaizen, TPS, 10 c, 10 Commandments of Continuous Improvement

Id: I7O8DdcGVR4

Length: 8min 2sec (482 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 13 2017