The attached slides summarize my approach to continuous improvement. It borrows concepts from Lean, Six Sigma, and other improvement methodologies, as well as my 25+ years of experience.

1. What is an effective continuous improvement approach?

2. Process Improvement Approach
The following slides summarize my approach to continuous improvement. It borrows concepts from Lean, Six Sigma, and other improvement methodologies, as well as my 25+ years of experience.
Contact Information:
Richard Skiff
richard_skiff@Hotmail.com
270-304-6075
www.LinkedIn.com/in/RichardSkiff
My LinkedIn profile contains summaries of some of my projects.

3. Value Added Activity:
1)The Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
VALUE
The Key to Success is providing Value.
Everything else is secondary to providing Value.

4. Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
VALUE
Who Defines Value?

5. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
THE CUSTOMER!

6. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
Who is the Customer?

7. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
VALUE
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
Often overlooked, but very importantfactor.
Your product may provide excellent value to the customer, but if the process to get that value is too painful, the customer may seek to obtain it from someone else.
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?

8. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
This is related to the “hassle factor”
The Value must be delivered both Effectively AND Efficiently.
They are NOT the same thing.
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?

9. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
To continue to be able to provide value to the customer, the Provider must also be able to produce that value effectively and efficiently.
The cost of delivering that value must be less than what the provider is being “paid” to deliver that value.

10. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
Remember, the customer defines the value.

11. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
Determine the process that delivers that value, in sufficient detail to be able to see where things are “not the way they should be.”

12. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
Every process has waste.
Peopleare NOTwaste; the processes that they have to work with have waste in them.

13. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
These categories help to identify waste.
It doesn’t matter what bucket the waste goes into; waste is waste.

14. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
By continuously identifying and removing waste, you can design your process to flow smoothly from point to point, without delays or buildup between steps of the process

15. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
“You will never reach perfection. But by pursuing perfection, you can catch excellence.”
Vince Lombardi (Paraphrased)

16. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
You cannot improve a process sitting by a desk. You need to go to where the value is being produced to make improvements.
Be respectively critical as you observe the process. Continually ask why, using the expertise of those trying to deliver value until you drill down and fully understand how and why each step of the process works.

17. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
The Lean Process uses a variety of tools and techniques
to approach the problem, including:
-Value Stream Mapping-Process Mapping
-Level Loading/Work Balancing-5 Why; Root Cause Analysis
-5S and Visual Management-Critical to Quality/Driver Diagrams
-Standardized Work-Just in Time
-PDCA Cycles; Kaizen-Failure Mode Effects Analysis
If Variation in a process is the issue (or if a deeper dive into data analysis is called for), then another approach may be needed, such as 6 Sigma.
6 Sigma DMAIC Process
1)Define: What is “not the way it should be”
2)Measure: How will I measure success? How good is my measurement?
3)Analyze: What are the key factors that are driving this result?
4)Improve: What needs to be done to “fix” the problem?
5)Control: How can I make sure that the improvements made “stick?”
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Customers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently
There are a number of methodologies that can help you figure out how to deliver Value to the customer.
Leanand Six Sigma are two effective frameworks to help.
Remember, the focus of any improvement effort should be on delivering value, not implementing a methodology or using an improvement tool.
To do otherwise could cause more long term harmthan good.

18. Customer (Including Internal Customers)
Value Added Activity:
1)Customer must be willing to “pay” for this value
2)The activity must change the “item” in some way
3)It must be done right the first time
The Customer Determines the Value!
Effectively and Efficiently
The customer is the one whose evaluation of your delivery of value is critical to your ability to continue to deliver that value.
(i.e. he decides whether he will continue to use you)
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OVERVIEW
The Lean Process uses a variety of tools and techniques
to approach the problem, including:
-Value Stream Mapping-Process Mapping
-Level Loading/Work Balancing-5 Why; Root Cause Analysis
-5S and Visual Management-Critical to Quality/Driver Diagrams
-Standardized Work-Just in Time
-PDCA Cycles; Kaizen-Failure Mode Effects Analysis
If Variation in a process is the issue (or if a deeper dive into data analysis is called for), then another approach may be needed, such as 6 Sigma.
6 Sigma DMAIC Process
1)Define: What is “not the way it should be”
2)Measure: How will I measure success? How good is my measurement?
3)Analyze: What are the key factors that are driving this result?
4)Improve: What needs to be done to “fix” the problem?
5)Control: How can I make sure that the improvements made “stick?”
What hassles does the customer go through to obtain this value?
PROCESS*
1)Define the value to be delivered
2)Map the Process that delivers that value.
3)Determine and remove the waste in delivering this value
•Defects
•Overproduction
•Waiting
•Non-efficient use of people
•Transportation
•Inventory
•Motion
•Excess Processing
4)Make the value flow
5)Pursue perfection
* Key Elements
•Go See
•Ask Why
•Show Respect
Provider
(Including Internal Providers)
VALUE
Effectively and Efficiently