Process Management and Continuous Improvement

Synopsis

The global environment has made every industry a highly competitive one. It is a given that we have to satisfy our customers, irrespective whether they are industrial customers or individual consumers in the three aspects of price, quality and on-time delivery. The brutal fact is that our past performance is not an acceptable standard now and certainly will fall short of acceptable in the future.

The only safe assumption to make about competition is that they are working just as hard or even harder than us to improve their products and services. The message is therefore obvious—WE CANNOT STAND STILL AND HAVE TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE to remain competitive.

Many organisations focus on developing new products and services, penetrating into new markets and mergers to enhance their competitive position. This is necessary and good and yet we observe many organisations overlooking at internal factors that need improvement. We are referring to the internal processes and the need to have continuous improvement. Rather than going for a 100% improvement in 1 % of the things we do, we need to also look at improving 1% in 100% of the things we are doing (which statistically shows is more effective).

This training programme is designed to impart the essential competencies to manage processes effectively and to aim for continuous improvement.

Learning Objectives

To provide participants with a clear appreciation on the impact internal processes have on our competitive position
To introduce participants to the systems concept and process mapping
To relate key principles and techniques relevant to these changes to an organisation’s strategies and operations; viz., process analysis, measuring (internal & external) customer needs & satisfaction, and design control
To train participants in specific techniques for analysing and enhancing processes and systems

To provide guidelines on the interpretation of the principles in relation to an organisation’s needs, i.e., in terms of processes, procedures, documentation, etc.

Key Topics

The Business Case for Process Management and Continuous Improvement

Who are our actual customers and why it matters to know?
Satisfying customers on price, on-time delivery and quality
Factors affecting supplier-customer relationships
How internal processes affect our competitive position?
Sharing of real-life examples of how process management and continuous improvement have enhanced organisations’ competitiveness

The Systems Concept and Theory of Constraints (TOC)

Fundamental tenets of the Systems Concept and Systems Thinking
Link between Systems Concept and process management and continuous improvement
Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints and its relevance
Having a paradigm to develop the self-ability to continuously improve matters
Application to micro and macro processes from workstations to supply chains

Interpretation of Quality Requirements and Their Relationship to Work Practices

Universal responsibility of managers is to develop synergistic relationships and to manage them continuously
Relationship between Quality, Service and Productivity
Kaizen and its implications
Managing Quality, Service and Productivity as an interactive whole rather than by its components
Vicious cycle of poor quality and how high quality reduces cost and increases revenue

Process Mapping and Analysis

Role of process mapping and analysis in process management and continuous improvement
The different techniques for process representation, analysis and design
Use of the critical path analysis and network diagrams
Typical functional/process layouts and their advantages and disadvantages
Application of the techniques to different situations

Process Verification and Process Validation

The concept and definition of value
Components of value and value added
How processes affect value and value added?
Value and high prices versus value and low prices
Identifying Non-value added processes
Tools for verifying and validating the effectiveness and efficiency of the new or improved process

Design Control (Process Optimization)

Issues relating to development of new processes and modification of existing ones
Using a structured approach to deal with the issues effectively
The five-step model for process improvement
The relevance of flow time versus cycle time
Line balancing procedure—balancing loss which is the proportion of time invested in processing the product or service which is not used productively
The use of work breakdown structures and Gantt Charts
Sharing of real life examples

Group Exercise: Applying the learning into own real-life situations

Linkages Between Measurement (Collection of Data), Analysis, and Improvement, Design and Product Development, Auditing, Training and Development

Techniques for collection and development of data
Techniques for data analysis
The need to see the broader picture of systems analysis
Testing the results of the process and systems analysis in the real world
Ensuring we go through all the inter-related steps
Sharing of real life examples

Programme Leader

This programme will be conducted by:

MAH Kong Howe specialises in training and consulting in project management, business process improvement, kaizen, internal quality auditing, FMEA, and safety management in the ASEAN region. He has worked on research and development projects in Australia as well as projects and quality assurance (ISO 9000 and QS 9000) in the Malaysian automotive parts manufacturing industry. These experiences allow him to impart the practical competencies to his clients who come from a variety of service and manufacturing organisations.

Kong Howe, as he is fondly known has a Bachelor in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) and a Graduate Diploma in Biomedical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and a Master in Business Administration (General Business Management) from the University of Hull, U.K. He is a qualified Lead Assessor in Management Systems and has completed a Certificate in Quality Assurance from the Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University), U.K.

In 2005, after having taken his professional examinations, he received the prestigious Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the USA.

He has presented papers at national and international management conferences and seminars. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies with research interests in TQM, systems science, project management, and business ethics. He is a regular course leader in Diploma, Bachelor, and MBA programmes in several other leading institutions and a supervisor of dissertations at the Masters’ level thus allowing him to have both practice and theory.

His clients which comprise SMEs, public listed companies and multinationals say that the unique value that they receive from Mah’s training and consulting is that the inputs are practical and can be applied in the work place.

Venue	The Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur
Duration	Two Days
Time	0900 to 1730
Fee	RM2, 279 per person for local delegates and US$730 per person for foreign delegates [price is inclusive of 6% GST, programme documentation, tea breaks and lunch]
Enquiries	+603-27131165
Email	info@pkmh.com or pkmh.training@yahoo.com