Chapter 9 – Selling Continuous Improvement

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on keys for the successful implementation of an improvement program. Improvement is prevented due to adversarial relationships between the functional areas of the plant. These relationships include the friction between management and the hourly labor force, and between production and the maintenance department. Almost all functional groups in the plant have less-than-adequate relationships with all other groups. Selling the plan to at least four levels must be accomplished for a program to succeed: corporate management, plant management, division management, and the hourly work force. Without a good plan, most programs fails within the first year. The plan must include well-defined goals and objectives. Most companies cannot afford to make the major capital investments that are required by improvement programs. Therefore, the program should use a phased approach. Specific tasks should be defined in a logical sequence that will minimize investment and maximize returns. Return-on-investment (ROI) must be the driving force behind time line and implementation approach.