Continual Improvement Continual Success

CREATING AND MAINTAINING AN IMPROVING BUSINESS ENVIORNMENT

When asked ‘how your business is doing?’ ‘Improving’ is probably not what you would immediately offer in response. However, continual improvement is a vital objective for any management system and should be the company’s primary goal. Implementing and maintaining processes for identifying risks and opportunities for Improvement, and resolving non-conformities, along with measuring and monitoring performance all assist in ways to improve. Improvement will make the business more efficient, profitable, and engaging to customers.

The foundation of continual improvement is an open and honest business environment. The business should strive to provide a world where; issues can be identified and openly discussed, staff have a voice and a mechanism to introduce ideas and change, where change is embraced as a positive and finally where improvement has internal stakeholder buy-in. Continual Improvement should be presented as, a change for the good and benefits need to be clearly articulated and feedback on improved performance communicated relating to previous change.

Businesses should avoid and challenge a ‘change for change’s sake’ mentality to avoid a resistant stakeholder culture. Having an agile and effective Audit System with the business is one of the most effective tools for Continual Improvement. However, Audits are not just about identifying issues they are about identifying cause and completing and verifying corrective actions.

Ceterus Consultants Ltd works with businesses to provide tailor made Quality Systems solutions.