“Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit”. This quote, ascribed to Aristotle, is a good summary of the focus of the 20 Keys for Operations Improvement System, an ongoing focus on improving operations, in all functions, by involving employees from all organisational levels in the organisation.
At the basis of operations improvement is a simple, but powerful approach for managing the process of identifying improvements, and effectively implementing actions. Many organisations have achieved significant improvements in terms of key performance indicators like quality, cost, productivity, delivery, service, safety, motivation, and morale, by applying the CAPDo cycle. When the CAPDo cycle is kept rotating, there will definitely be improvement!
The CAPDo Cycle is a four-step process for continuously evaluating and improving key operations performance indicators, and the underlying people, process, and technology practices.
CAPDo stands for:
1. Check – Monitor performance against the plan, best practices, or defined KPIs, to assess whether defined objectives are being achieved.
2. Analyse – Analyse any deviation for root causes, and define corrective actions. Gather information in the workplace, where the work is done, with the people, and where the real data exists.
3. Plan – Draw up an action plan, clearly indicating actions, responsible people, targets, and deadlines.
4. Do – Implement the plan, and communicate changes to all relevant stakeholders. Update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), where relevant.
5. Start the cycle again at Step 1, now also incorporating checking the progress with updated/new actions.
All four steps of the CAPDo cycle need to be effectively working, then there will definitely be improvement, the speed of it determined by how fast the CAPDo cycle is rotating. The important part is to ensure that a proper analysis (A) is done. This step is often skipped by going directly to the doing part (Do), or it is not done properly.
The CAPDo cycle can be used for any of the following:
- Solving a specific problem (such as a quality, productivity, cost, delivery problem).
- Implementing an improvement theme (such as increasing the availability of a machine, or reducing the cost of an operation).
- Implementing a project (such as installing a new machine, or implementing a new procedure).
C stands for CHECK
CHECK means to monitor current performance against the plan, best practice, or performance indicators, and to check the current state against the desired state, for example:
- Monitor performance, as indicated by QCDSM operations graphs.
- Check the current SOP against best practice.
- Check progress with action plans.
Visual management of information makes it much easier to Check, as information against target and trends are easy to observe, at a glance. The cycles of doing reviews need to be short; this shortens the time-to-detect an issue, where after it is also important to quickly address the issue, by having a short time-to-correct.
A stands for ANALYSE
ANALYSE means to:
- Identify corrective actions, if the defined objectives are not achieved.
- Analyse reasons for below standard performance, and identify root causes, and corrective measures.
- Analyse deviations from current SOPs (this should never be allowed, as any deviation from the current SOP will result in waste; in terms of one of a few, or all of quality, cost, productivity, delivery, service, safety!).
- Gather information in the workplace, where people, equipment, process, and data interact.
The analysis part is key in terms of ensuring that the time-to-correct is fast. If a proper analysis is not done, or skipped altogether, the probability is high that the issue will reoccur, resulting in waste. Doing effective root cause analysis is a key part of ensuring that the identified issue is addressed quickly.
P stands for PLAN
A good action PLAN contains the following information:
- What should be done (action); a clear concise statement.
- Who should do it (responsible person).
- Indication of the objectives to be achieved, and when it should be completed (target completion date).
- An indication of progress (not yet started, in process, completed).
D stands for Do
If actions are not done, the CAPDo cycle is not rotating, therefore, no improvement is possible.
- Display the plan.
- Communicate the plan to all who need to know.
- Encourage responsible persons to ask for advice and support.
- Do coaching.
- Update the plan, based on progress with actions.
Celebrate when there is progress!
Give recognition for progress and results achieved; it is always appreciated, and motivates people to participate again, and to put in even more effort next time.
Also:
- Take before and after photos, where relevant.
- Write articles for the company newsletter.
- Invite teams to present to management, or at conferences.
- Take visitors to the area, and ask people to explain what they have achieved, and how they approached it.
One of the major reasons for continuous operations improvement not taking place, or not being effective, is that there is not a proper system in place for checking, analysing, planning, and tracking the doing part. All the parts of the CAPDo cycle need to be working effectively; only then will the whole cycle be rotating, guaranteeing improvement.
We need to strengthen the organisation culture of thinking and learning, by people at all
levels of the organisation, and in all functions; the CAPDo cycle is an important part of
achieving that.
Authors : Johan Benadie & Erica Hesse