Introduction
PDCA cycle allows any organization to improve continuously. The SMEs are operating, but they require competent guidance to enhance their productivity and the quality of their products. Proper planning is critical for the success of any organization. Following that, one must carry out the plan, i.e., execute. Following implementation, the gap between the actual and implemented components must be examined, and corrective measures must be taken to benefit SMEs. Small manufacturing businesses play a significant role in emerging countries. It is a highly labour-intensive enterprise. Because of globalization and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies by national and multinational corporations, SMEs face stiff competition. However, they lag in product quality and performance (Pereira, Silva, Domingues & Sá 2019).
Microbusinesses are also a source of skilled labour and play an essential role in developing a competitive industrial base. The steps in the PDSA cycle were as follows: Plan- Plan a change or test to improve. Do- Put the test into action, ideally on a modest scale. Research- analyze the findings (Pereira, Silva, Domingues & Sá, 2019). Act- Adopt the change, forsake or repeat the cycle. PDSA cycle evolved from the original Stewart process, which was launched in 1950 and consisted of three steps—specification, Manufacturing, and Inspection. Because of the following procedures, the cycle evolved into the Deming Wheel.
CASE STUDY
In this context, an automobile manufacturing company in the United States is supplying. The car parts supplier sector was selected as a case study because it is obligated to establish an ongoing development strategy and utilize it to ensure continuous improvement for all operations within the organization (Gomes & Romão, 2018).
METHODOLOGY
Before performing the research, a research protocol was created that included the main questions for the interviewees. In this situation, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interview questions focused on understanding the application of the PDCA cycle and were answered by design and engineering professionals, project management, and certification assurance. Because the company in this research is committed to the cycle of PDCA, the investigations focused on implementation, performance, and challenges linked to using this method (Gomes & Romão, 2018). The instances were investigated more completely by direct observation, casual discussions, attendance at meetings and events, and analysis of archive sources to enable deeper study and guarantee the trustworthiness of the data from the interviews.
ANALYSIS
An organization’s management can be separated into several different levels. However, there is an utmost degree of strategic management and the lowest operational management level. Operational management focuses on the daily execution of strategic decisions, often within a year, whereas strategic management places more emphasis on the long term with fundamental and directed strategic decisions. The numerous organizational subunits or departments and both points of view should be coupled or integrated into a sound corporate strategy.
The case study results show that the cycle of PDCA, which is the companies formally stated quality assurance system and uses the PDCA method, is only occasionally followed properly. They created an internal procedure that takes a short period and is powerful enough to accomplish the desired outcomes. The PDCA method is no longer employed because of this (Gomes & Romão, 2018). The businesses have not given the PDCA method a fair opportunity and have little experience with it.
PDCA CONCEPT IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH
The steps of the following PDCA model assume that by testing only one intervention, a single underlying or root reason will be addressed. The team may address numerous root causes and test numerous remedies when using the PDCA technique to highlight a root cause. In these situations, it is crucial to gauge how each solution is affecting the underlying issue it is plotted to address.
Plan: This phase aims to examine the current situation, understand the nature of any problems that need to be fixed, and propose workable solutions that will be tested.
Identify and prioritize quality improvement possibilities: When evaluating programs or processes, a team will typically discover several faults or opportunities. A prioritizing matrix can assist you in deciding which to choose. When the possibility for standard improvement has been identified, formulate a good problem description. As one moves through the planning process, revisit and, if necessary, amend the problem statement (Soliman, 2020).
Create an aim statement that addresses the following questions: What is the intended audience? What is one hoping to achieve? What precise numerical measure(s) is the company aiming for? The quantifiable improvement objective is essential to the overall quality process for improvement. Quantifying the improvement you want to accomplish is crucial. Furthermore, as you advance through the planning stage, the target statement has to be reviewed and revised.
Explain the present procedure: on the issue to comprehend the process and identify places to be improved. Value stream mapping and flow charts are two approaches for accomplishing this.
Collect baseline data on the present process: To better understand the process and create the framework for measuring improvements, baseline statistics that depict the current condition are essential. Various tools, such as Pareto charts, histograms, run charts, scatter plots, and control charts, can collect and analyze the process data. The information gathered must align with the measurements specified in the target statement (Soliman, 2020).
Determine the root cause of the problem by identifying all possible causes. Even though various causes will become apparent while reviewing the quality improvement opportunity, it is crucial to accurately identify the underlying or root cause of the problem to decide on the best course of improvement or intervention. For finding the genuine underlying cause, a cause-and-effect diagram, fishbone diagram, and the five whys are sufficient, and brainstorming is an excellent tool for identifying likely reasons.
Decide which potential remedies to test for the underlying issue. After determining the improvement, carefully analyze any unexpected consequences from executing the change. This step allows you to modify the improvement and implement countermeasures to mitigate potential unexpected repercussions. The target statement needs to be reviewed, and the quantifiable improvement goals need to be updated.
Develop a theory of improvement. A statement describing how you anticipate the improvement will impact the issue is known as an improvement theory. Writing an improvement theory makes clear what you want your intervention to accomplish. It shows how the improvement you wish to evaluate and the quantifiable improvement target are related (Soliman, 2020).
Do: Make an action plan that outlines what should be done, who is in charge of it, and when it has to be finished. All of the elements of the technique to evaluate the changes should be included in the plan’s specifications, including the data that will be collected, how often it will be collected, who will collect it, how it will be documented, when it will be collected, and how the findings will be evaluated.
Study: The effectiveness of the intervention is assessed throughout this phase. To establish whether an improvement was made and whether the goal statement’s measures were satisfied, compare the new data to the baseline data. Pareto charts, histograms, run charts, scatter plots, and control charts can all be useful for this investigation.
Act: This phase aims to put what was learned throughout the planning, testing, and analysis stages into practice to determine whether the objective statement’s stated improvement goal was attained. Several choices consist of Adopt: If the quantifiable target in the goal statement has been achieved, standardize the improvement. To ensure that improvements are maintained, it is necessary to provide a system for those who are putting the new process in place to regularly monitor and analyze benchmarks. A couple of examples of performance monitoring tools are run charts and control charts. The team may repeat the test, gather new information, change the intervention, or revise the test design to adapt. This might occur if inadequate information was gathered, circumstances (such as environment, staffing, policy, and resources.) changed, or test results fell just short of the measurable improvement target. Change the action plan as necessary in this situation, then carry out the Do phase again (Soliman, 2020).
Abandon: Review the lessons learned from the initial test and return to the planning phase if the process improvements did not improve (Soliman, 2020). The team may now investigate potential alternative solutions, perform a root cause analysis to identify any further underlying issues, or even reevaluate the objective statement to determine its viability. The team must go through the Plan cycle to create a new action plan and proceed to the following phases, regardless of where they start.
CONCLUSION
SMEs can expand greatly if adequately supported, employing the pragmatic and dynamic PDCA cycle technique. A proper strategy must be created to enhance operations that identify the issues and offers a workable solution. They first implemented modifications to tackle problems on a small or experimental scale, employing small-group management strategies (Pereira, Silva, Domingues & Sá 2019). This will reduce disruptions to the department’s usual work. Then, in the case of minor scale adjustments, essential success factors, key performance variables, and key performance indicators must be confirmed to get the desired results. The necessary actions must be evaluated regularly to assess the quality and identify potential issues.
Reference
Gomes, J., & Romão, M. (2018). Information system maturity models in healthcare. Journal of medical systems, 42(12), 235.
Pereira, A. M., Silva, M. R., Domingues, M. A., & Sá, J. C. (2019). Lean six sigma approach to improving the production process in the mould industry: A case study. Quality Innovation Prosperity, 23(3), 103-121.
Soliman, M. H. A. (2020). The Toyota way to effective strategy deployment: how organizations can focus energy on key priorities through Hoshin Kanri to achieve the business goals. Journal of Operations and Strategic Planning, 3(2), 132-158.
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