Comments on: Discontinuous Improvement at the Expense of Continuous Improvement

By: John Taylor

John Taylor — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:42:22 +0000

It is true that some have lost sight of innovation but much of the past innovation is haphazard or hit and miss, quanity instead of quality. If the focus is on innovation with an eye toward manufacturablility where the process has quality “built in” the gains from process improvment will be less because there is less waste to carve out from the begining. What I have seen from companies is the failure to have an innovative engineer work with a knowledgeable quality engineer that fosters the innovation of the engineer and secures the robustness of the design.

By: Debora Demers

Debora Demers — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:32:02 +0000

Mike and others,
Change and innovation via connection with the outside environment and learning is one of the cornerstones of a learning organization. The literature addressing organizational learning / learning organization / knowledge management is so ubiquitous it’s disappointing that many organizations don’t realize the need for innovation. Continuous improvement, and associated tools/practices certainly are important and have a place in business and manufacturing but as you have all said – it’s not the means to the end.

By: David Vranson

David Vranson — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:19:33 +0000

Mike, you are right-on with what you said. Many companies have seen marked improvement with the implementation of lean methodologies. So much so…in some cases…that the success blinds them to market competition. Staying reliant on existing products with some age on them, and focusing on leaning the hell out of the process to get them to market, will keep you focused on the wrong thing. Lean is a good thing for removing waste wherever you find it, but it’s a bad thing when you use it to Band-Aid an inefficient-to-manufacture design. Use the last product, and its inherent manufacturing inefficiencies as a springboard to your next effort and take a lesson! If your competition is doing this and you are not, you’d better be content on letting them take the lead.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:31:19 +0000

I see your point Mike. Continuous improvement is a tactical approach and works well at improving existing practices and processes. The focus on lean / six sigma improvements assumes that the market and products to serve it are the same as they were three years ago and we can do what we have always done, just do it better. This does not prepare a firm for the future by creating new markets and innovating. My niche is strategic planning and how to link your vision of the future with business process improvements that make it possible to achieve. Organizational development is very important in this economy, especially the ability to move quickly and flexibly to where the demand is.