An Empirical Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Continuous Improvement Techniques
Abstract
An organization's commitment to continuous improvement is key for their long-term health. The principles, practices, and techniques embodied within continuous improvement form a comprehensive organizational philosophy that strives to effectively fulfill customers' needs. Within continuous improvement efforts, learning is driven by the use of scientific methods (i.e., tools to monitor and analyze work processes such as control charts and Pareto charts). Within continuous improvement projects, various techniques (e.g., flowcharts, brainstorming, cause-and- effect diagrams, etc.) are used to help teams effectively utilize their collective knowledge to develop shared understandings and solve problems. Today, organizations often use Lean, Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophies to improve operational performance and quality, which has been well documented across a variety of industries. This paper addresses the effectiveness of specific Lean and TQM techniques and tools based on the experiences and insights obtained through a survey administered to practitioners working in a variety of industries. The objective of this research is to assess and understand the performance of continuous improvement philosophies based on the specific techniques used, as well as the methods used to implement these techniques, and to evaluate the reasons they have or have not been effective. The results of this survey were analyzed using a variety of statistical techniques.
Recommended Citation
E. A. Cudney et al., "An Empirical Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Continuous Improvement Techniques," Proceedings of the 60th Annual Conference and Expo of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (2010, Cancun, Mexico), Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), Jun 2010.
Meeting Name
60th Annual Conference and Expo of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (2010: Jun. 5-9, Cancun, Mexico)
Department(s)
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
Second Department
Business and Information Technology
Keywords and Phrases
Flowcharting; Philosophical aspects; Surveys; Work simplification; Continuous improvement project; Continuous improvements; Lean; Operational performance; Organizational philosophy; Six Sigma; Statistical techniques; Total quality managements (TQM); Total quality management
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
978-1-63266-305-4
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2010 Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jun 2010
