Page 350 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

The objectives of the Improve/Design stage include (Keller, 2011a):

• Propose one or more solutions to sponsor; quantify benefits of each;
reach con sensus on solution and implement.
• Define and mitigate failure modes for new process/design; define
new operating/design conditions.

The Improve stage involves the deployment of methods to close the
gap between the current process state and the desired state. Methods
implement ed must also be verified in this stage to ensure that the desired
effects are achieved and can be maintained.
This stage is where the rubber meets the road, as it defines the improve­
ments and cost reductions that sustain the program. As such, it is usually the
make or break point, forcing the team to consider the un­considerable and
become true agents of change. Management support at this point is critical.
At the business level, system­wide change results. This could include
changes in policy, deployment of customer feedback mechanisms, changes
to accounting systems to track quality costs and benefits of improvements,
implementation of computerized systems to manage orders, and even
elimi nation of complicated systems that promised improvement but
delivered increased cycle times and/or costs.
At the process levels, designed experiments are conducted to determine
process factor settings that improve process capability, resulting in a reduc­
tion in defects and increased throughput yields. Processes are redesigned,
some times even eliminated, in the quest for improved performance in
quality, cost, and scheduling.
At any level, the best and longest­lasting improvements are achieved
when factors are identified that predict future outcomes. These critical fac­
tors can then be controlled to prevent problems before they occur.

Define New Operating/Design Conditions
The flowcharts and process maps introduced in the Define stage are useful
now to develop the flow and responsibilities for the new process. Addi­
tional experimental designs can also be conducted to determine optimal
operating conditions that maximize or minimize the response (as desirable).
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