Creating a "Kaizen Culture" Through "Six Sigma" Processes

Even when vision is clear, strategy well articulated and management inspired, organizations much too often fail to serve what they aspire to deliver; even when some are able to meet competitive standards of efficiency, quality and timeliness, they find it difficult to sustain their competitiveness long-term.

The Productivity Improvement and Quality Awareness (PIQA) module helps management create a company-wide culture which continually through formal and informal processes seek  

higher standards of efficiency, quality and  timeliness,  and for all interfaces within the company and with the outside world. Through direct problem solving experience with firms in Japan, U.S. and EC we have developed this module as a next generation concept of Total Quality Circle / Management, termed "Total Quality (quality if efficiency, quality of timeliness and quality of management thinking and development) Culture."

  • In Phase 1, an in-depth gap analysis is conducted to compare the current performance standards and relative to the "core benchmarks" *  for cost, quality and time dimensions for each of the key processes across the business system. Accordingly opportunities for improvement are identified.

  • Phase 2 involves a series of brain storming sessions which utilize several analytical frameworks to prioritize available opportunities and develop a change management schedule.

  • In Phase 3, the change process is initiated through multiple small Group Activities (SGAs) or circles. Each group comprises of people from different levels of the organization and works with PIQA modules along preprogrammed schedules.

In order to ensure that the new culture is firmly rooted in the company, we encourage a large degree of worker participation during each step, while simultaneously ensuring that senior management is in close touch with the conduct of the study.

PIQA is an effective management exercise for a range of situations from companies wanting to turn around eroding performance, to companies seeking excellence in facing up to global competition in state-of-the-art markets.

PIQA requires sustained commitment from top management to ensure that all SGAs are completed with uncompromising standards of devotion and dedication. Our experience with PIQA indicates that it is very effective in building sound fundamentals for a company so as to ensure substantive long-term gains.

*Core benchmarks are defined based on the principle of zero loss of "time, material, human inputs and perfection" as the ultimate target for an ideal conversion process.