Continuous Improvement

You might implement a successful Continuous Improvement project. You might be able to point to the raw data that shows that the project has achieved, or even exceeded, its objectives. Is this enough?

Unless your project brings about a cultural change within your company, it has not been a total success. The Continuous Improvement ideas and practices need to become an integral part of ongoing company operations. A Continuous Improvement project can only be as successful as the commitment to change that motivates it. And this motivation must extend from the project team to transform the company culture.

The project team must promote the benefits of the change. Senior management must visibly support the change. Employees must feel empowered by the change. And customers must see the benefits of the change.

Our services help clients to implement transformational programs that lead to cultural changes and robust, sustainable improvement systems. These services include Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Variation Reduction, Standardised Tasks, 5S, Employee Empowerment, Continuous Process Flow, Visual Control, Cultural Assessments, Statistical Process Control (SPC), Just in Time (JIT), Pull Systems, Poka Yoke, RCA, Vendor Management and SMED.

Alora provides an extensive range of Project Management services.

Opportunity Assessments

We help clients select the Continuous Improvement projects that will be most beneficial to them. Our four-step Opportunity Assessment program enables clients to identify and prioritise improvement opportunities in all areas of the business.

The four steps are:

• Identification of Improvement Ideas
• Prioritisation of Improvement Ideas
• Resource Management
• Project Execution

Identification of Improvement Ideas
We assess clients’ key business processes and value levers, using tools such as process mapping, data collection and analysis, gap analysis, brainstorming and idea generation.

Prioritisation of Improvement Ideas
Having identified improvement ideas, we work with clients to prioritise these ideas, based on the clients’ business strategies. These ideas can then be categorised as a Just Do It (JDI) idea, DMAIC idea or Kaizen idea.

Resource Management
When we have identified and prioritised the ideas, we match them against the resources required to implement them. The client then selects the most beneficial ideas and we begin work on converting them to projects.

Project Execution
After the projects have been identified, we develop a project charter and project plan to set up the project. The project team is then launched and the project is executed. We monitor the progress of the project and assess its success when it has been completed.

Project Portfolio Management

Some clients might need to run several Continuous Improvement projects simultaneously. We help our clients to manage a multiple project portfolio. This service includes compiling progress reports at predefined periods, coaching and mentoring project leaders, implementing individual projects and creating a project pipeline.

At Alora Consultants, we believe that any Continuous Improvement initiative – whether it is based on Lean Thinking, Lean Six Sigma or Change Management – requires an integrated approach in order to be effective. The components of the initiative are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle – no one individual piece will solve the puzzle; it takes the sum of the pieces to form the jigsaw and solve the puzzle. In a Continuous Improvement initiative, no one component will solve all your problems. You need to ensure that all the components complement each other in the overall solution.

A Continuous Improvement initiative involves many different components, such as tools, methodologies, philosophies and best practices. However, all these components can be grouped together into four major areas:

• Strategy Management
• Knowledge Management
• Transformational Program Management
• Project Management

In order for your Continuous Improvement project to be successful, you need to develop a strategy. And this strategy must align closely to your overall business strategy. Remember, your Continuous Improvement program must help you to achieve your business objectives!

At Alora Consultants, we work with our clients to develop an appropriate Continuous Improvement strategy that helps them to achieve World Class Organisation status. We outline the short-term, medium-term and long-term objectives of the project. This strategy becomes the roadmap that ultimately leads to Continuous Improvement practices becoming a core part of business operations.