If many companies explain, how they have implemented Continuous Improvement with Lean management or others systems…very few have really succeed to do so, and why?

Because it is much more complex to design an efficient workflow to daily manage improvement ideas that to run a one-shot Hoshin or SMED workshop.

Continuous improvement is of course a way to improve company results but it is first a way to motivate operational team and sustain their enrolment.

From my point of view, Continuous Improvement can be managed at a central level but may also be initiated by a local manager.

The first step before to launch these kind of approach is to size the budget (in time and/or euros) that you can allocate to manage and realize new ideas. It will be always a blocking point if not well defined and communicated to the team.

Then regarding budget constraint you will have to determinate how many new ideas you can realize per week/month and clearly monitor this KPI on team board. Also be very rigorous to explain people why their idea has not been validated: it may be because of the idea quality or because of the budget. Be fair with people and try to realize one idea for each member of the team (Motivation!).

Generally there are too much ideas and you have to post pone some of them OR there is not enough new idea.

For the second situation (not enough idea), you can manage a kind of brainstorming to “open “the flow…

You will find above a Visual support I have used during the “Retrospective” step (Agile approach) with a developers team to manage continuous improvement during a 9 months MES implementation project.

“Retrospective” step is a very important routine after a 2 weeks Sprint. It is an opportunity for the team to analyze what have been done and what could be improved for the next Sprint. Every 2 weeks the team members know that they will meet to share feedback and they can be prepared.

After the “load sizing”, the “quality of the communication” I would say that this third aspect is also one of the key criteria for the success of a Continuous improvement policy, I mean “Routine”.

Improvement idea may be managed once per team, per day, per week… but on a regular base to impulse a rhythm…that will help you and the team a lot as you will be able to anticipate and prepare this Rendez-vous.

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