What are the common barriers and enablers of continuous improvement in your industry?

Culture is absolutely critical for a successful continuous improvement program. One of the biggest barriers to achieving it, is patience. Creating the culture is not overnight and it is not accomplished with "big bang" projects. It is accomplish through incremental improvements that make employees feel heard and valued. There may be some projects with minimal payback but provide a large morale boost. Without the patience to allow the process to become engrained in the organization, continuous improvement becomes an occasional project based exercise.

A resistência à mudança emerge como uma barreira significativa, demandando abordagens sensíveis e estratégias de comunicação eficazes. A falta de alinhamento entre equipes e departamentos pode prejudicar a sinergia, enquanto a ausência de métricas claras e indicadores de desempenho dificulta a avaliação objetiva. Facilitadores como a implementação do Lean Six Sigma se destacam, oferecendo uma estrutura metodológica sólida para identificar e eliminar desperdícios. A cultura organizacional voltada para a qualidade, estimulando a participação ativa dos colaboradores, também impulsiona a melhoria contínua.

Irrespective industry type either manufacturing or healthcare, the concept of relevance for continuous improvement (CI) is same and barriers can vary according to industry domain. common barriers are a. resistance to change: there is strong resistance against change or implement new processes or products. b. lack of leadership: lacuna in leadership will hinder CI initiatives. c. lack of resources: lacuna in resources like time, manpower, budget will hinder CI activities. d. cultural barrier: culture with resistance of change or risk or short term gain focus will indicates sign of negative ,lack of trust among teams or fear of failure. apart from these common barriers others like communication, training, engagement can be considered

Um barreira muito comum é a falta de engajamento da liderança. Quando se há um envolvimento constante dos gestores e líderes nos projetos de melhoria, ocorre uma mudança de atitude dos colaboradores, afinal, a liderança precisa ser exemplo para todos, independente do nível hierárquico. Sejam diretores, gerentes, coordenadores ou supervisores, toda a liderança deve estar fortemente comprometida com a cultura de melhoria.

Today’s corporate structure disincentivizes procurement from following innovative paths in markets where the product is perceived as a commodity item. When procurement saves incrementally against the item costs, they have minimal risk and the possibility of reward for reducing unit costs, as opposed to seeking permission from other departments to pursue a disruptive technology that may offer more significant systemic rewards. However, doing so offers the risk of failure, even if it is small, and difficulty showing cost reduction for systemic savings versus unit cost savings. The best path forward is with a multi-departmental project where the group's buy-in helps spread both the risk and the reward.

Com certeza a falta de engajamento verdadeiro da alta liderança nas iniciativas de melhoria contínua é a maior barreira. E esse engajamento vai além de prover recursos financeiros e materiais, vai desde coisas muito simples como: - Proporcionar treinamentos ao time ou simplesmente organizar a escala de trabalho para que as pessoas de seu time possam participar dos treinamentos oferecidos pela empresa; - Disponibilizar tempo da equipe para que participem de cases de melhoria contínua; - Orientar a equipe, em um papel de coach/ facilitador, em como utilizar as ferramentas de melhoria contínua. Entretanto, para que a liderança consiga ter esses comportamentos positivos, também precisa passar por uma mudança de mindset.

- Lack of alignment: Different departments or teams may have conflicting goals, priorities, or incentives, leading to silos and inefficiencies. Leaders need to align the vision and strategy of the organization, as well as establish clear roles and responsibilities for each function. - Insufficient feedback: Without regular and constructive feedback from customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders, leaders may not be aware of the problems or opportunities for improvement. Leaders need to create channels and mechanisms for collecting and analyzing feedback, as well as encourage a culture of learning from mistakes and successes.

I've seen firsthand how leadership can make or break the success of continuous improvement initiatives. Leaders who are committed to continuous improvement, communicate clear expectations, delegate effectively, and provide the necessary resources can drive significant improvements in efficiency and outcomes. Conversely, leaders who micromanage, fail to communicate effectively or do not provide sufficient resources can hinder progress. It's essential for leaders to not only talk the talk but also walk the walk when it comes to continuous improvement.

Il est indéniable que l'un des plus grands obstacles aux initiatives d'amélioration continue est le manque d'engagement réel de la haute direction. Cet engagement ne se limite pas à mettre un département Amélioration continue.. Il repose également sur des actions essentielles, telles que : - Offrir des formations à l’équipe : Il est crucial que la direction facilite l'accès à la formation en ajustant les horaires de travail, afin que les membres de l’équipe puissent participer pleinement aux sessions proposées par l'entreprise.

Continuous improvement programs often feel like one more thing being added to the list of employee responsibilities. If you want employees to be engaged, it's important to clearly explain what the CI program is, what the goals of the effort are, and what each employee's role will be. You can reduce barriers by freeing-up employee capacity by eliminating non-value-added responsibilities from the employee's plate. If they see positive outcomes early, they're much more likely to buy in to the effort.

Manter funcionários engajados é uma ciência que merece atenção. Não é possível reproduzir elementos para todos, se faz necessário pensar nas individualidades, seus propósitos, sua maneira de trabalhar de forma autônoma e sua maneira de se desenvolver. Ao entender esses três elementos é possível iniciar um processo de engajamento, aliando-se a motivadores extrínsecos e intrínsecos. Ainda assim depender uma maturidade na gestão de mudança, pois pessoas altamente engajadas podem querer manter o status quo.

- Lack of time & resources: Employees may feel overwhelmed by daily tasks & deadlines, & may not have enough time or resources to devote to improvement projects. - Lack of support & recognition: Employees may not receive adequate support or recognition from their managers or peers for their improvement efforts, which may reduce their motivation & commitment. - Lack of skills & knowledge: Employees may not have the necessary skills or knowledge to identify, analyze, & solve problems, or to implement & sustain improvements. - Lack of communication & collaboration: Employees may not have effective channels of communication & collaboration with other teams or departments, which may limit their access to information, feedback, & best practices.

Um processo de melhoria contínua em uma organização só decola quando os programas estão estabelecidos conectados à estratégia e, quando dizemos dessa forma tem tudo a ver com: . O que queremos estabelecer como um programa de melhoria contínua . Como queremos estabelecer . Onde queremos . Qual o papel e responsabilidade de cada liderança nesse processo . Desdobramento a toda organização alinhando propósito e expectativa . Um comitê para dar todo apoio nesse desdobramento . Um plano de capacitação . Campanhas educativas . Agendas de avaliações das melhorias propostas . Abrangência a processos semelhantes . Eventos de reconhecimento Tudo isso é característico de uma organização paltada de uma cultura bem enraizada e muito forte

An effective way to engage employees in continuous improvement initiatives is through a culture of empowerment. When employees feel that their ideas and contributions are valued, they are more likely to take ownership of their work and seek ways to improve. This supports a sustained culture of improvement. It goes beyond temporary incentives such as pizza parties and gift cards (although those are nice to have). It's also important to provide employees with the necessary training and tools to identify and implement improvements, turning them into active participants in the process.

Risk aversion and possessiveness are bad for innovation because they create a culture of fear and short-termism. Risk aversion means that companies are less likely to take risks and experiment. Possessiveness can lead to an unwillingness to collaborate with external or internal partners and a reluctance to share knowledge, resources, and ideas within the org. Both can lead to a lack of trust and openness, both of which are necessary for creativity and innovation. Such a culture creates a mindset where failure is unacceptable and experimentation is discouraged. This lack of communication and trust can be a major impediment to innovation. In this environment employees may be afraid to take risks or to share their ideas in a culture of fear.

The biggest enabler of continuous improvement is the employee culture. Are employees driving improvement at the lowest levels? Can they see opportunities? Can they have open conversations about what’s going well and what isn’t? Are they comfortable with metrics?

- Clear vision & strategy: Having shared understanding of goals & direction of the organization, aligning the improvement initiatives with the strategic objectives. - Customer focus: Listening to the VOC, using data & feedback to identify their needs, expectations & satisfaction levels. - Employee engagement: Empowering & motivating the employees to participate in improvement process, & providing the necessary skills, tools & resources. - Performance measurement: Establishing relevant & meaningful metric, indicators to monitor & evaluate the progress & outcomes of the improvement. - Continuous learning: Encouraging a culture of experimentation & learning from failures. Sharing best practices & lessons learned across the organization.