Change Management Using PDCA–The Check Step | Operational Excellence Quick Hits

Speaker 1: (00:05)
In last week’s session, we talked about change management and using the plan-do-check-act cycle as a supporting element of the change management process. We talked about the importance of the do step. So today’s session we’re going to talk about the check step.

Speaker 1: (00:23)
So the check step is in place to ensure that when we implement our countermeasures, that they actually solve the problem or achieve the objective that you defined in the planning step. So when you’re in the plan step, of course, you’re going to use data to support your argument, support your problem, support your current situation. And when we implement the countermeasures, of course, we expect the current situation to become better. So if it’s continuous improvement, problem solving, doesn’t matter what the effort is. We want to gain something more from the process.

Speaker 1: (01:05)
So the check step we’re checking. So it’s an important element of the PDCA cycle, that we check to see if we achieved the results that we were planning in the plan step. So of course, in the plan step, what we’re defining as the improvement needs to be measurable. So if it’s not measurable, how do we know that we achieved the results? So if we have the measurable objectives in the plan step, we implement the countermeasures, which means we’re doing something different than we did before. We’re going to get different results. We’re checking those results and making sure that the objective was obtained.

Speaker 1: (01:45)
If not, we need to go back to our planning step and understand what went wrong and recalibrate so that we get the results that we were looking for. And again, one of the biggest issues that we see in the check step, is we don’t get buy-in from everybody when we implement the countermeasures. So we have people doing the process the new way, some doing it the old way. And of course, we’re not going to get the results.

Speaker 1: (02:12)
So important part of the check step is to make sure that the solution is permanently implemented and everyone’s doing it the same way. And we define the one best way, and make sure that everyone’s following that process. Once that’s in place, then we can do the check. This plan-do-check-act cycle again is an important part of the change management process to ensure that the company is moving forward. And these results that we’re getting are actually moving the needle on the key performance indicators. If it’s not moving the needle on the key performance indicators, then it’s not a holistic solution. It’s just a point solution that’s not translating into improved business performance. So in our definition, you’re really wasting your time working on those types of initiatives. If it doesn’t move the needle on the KPIs, you need to reconsider whether you’re going to do that activity or not.