How do you monitor and control the results of a production improvement project using DMAIC and PDCA?

2 What is PDCA?

PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check, and Act. It is a simple and iterative cycle for testing and learning from your improvement ideas. It helps you to plan your actions based on your objectives and hypotheses, do them on a small scale, check the results and feedback, and act on the findings to either standardize or adjust your actions. PDCA is also known as the Deming cycle, after the quality guru who popularized it.

3 How to use DMAIC and PDCA together?

DMAIC and PDCA are complementary methods that can be used together to enhance your production improvement projects. You can use DMAIC as the overall framework to guide your project from start to finish, and use PDCA as a tool to test and refine your improvement actions within the Improve phase. For example, you can use PDCA to run experiments on different solutions, compare their results, and select the best one. You can also use PDCA to implement your solution gradually, monitor its effects, and make adjustments as needed.

4 How to monitor the results of your improvement project?

Monitoring the results of your improvement project is essential to ensure that you achieve and sustain your goals. You can use various tools and techniques, such as control charts, dashboards, and audits, to monitor the performance of your process before and after the improvement. Control charts can indicate whether the process is in control or out of control. Dashboards are visual displays that show the key indicators and metrics of your process and project. Audits are systematic inspections or reviews of your process and project, which can verify the compliance and effectiveness of your improvement actions. All of these methods can help you identify any gaps or opportunities for further improvement, as well as communicate the status and progress of your project to stakeholders.

5 How to control the results of your improvement project?

Controlling the results of your improvement project is critical to prevent the recurrence of the problem and ensure the continuity of the benefits. Various methods and actions can be used depending on the level and type of change required, such as standardization - documenting and implementing best practices and procedures - training - educating and developing skills and knowledge - and feedback - collecting and analyzing customer input. These measures can ensure that everyone follows the same steps, understands new methods, tools, and tasks, as well as measure customer satisfaction and expectations.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?