PDCA – Plan, Do, Check, Act
Also
Presented as “The Deming Wheel” or “The Shewhart Cycle” or
“PDSA: Plan Do Study Act”
Background
PDCA’s were first described
by Walter A Shewhart as Plan, Do and See in 1939 in his book, Statistical
Method from the Viewpoint of Quality Control2 which is rooted in the scientific method (Francis Bacon 1620). The
scientific method can be written as
"hypothesis"–"experiment"–"evaluation" or plan,
do and check. Shewhart’s protégé W.
Edwards Deming modified the cycle to Plan,
Do, Study, Act and put the
concept to work. Deming was an American
Statistician who couldn’t get buy-in from his American counterparts in the
post-war era. Japan, however, welcomed
him and he is associated with the invention of Total Quality Management (TQM)
and the rise of Japan as a manufacturing nation. In Japan, Deming taught about the use of
statistics and the PDSA cycle. Within 50 years, attributable in part to Deming
and his wealth of knowledge, Japan went from manufacturing cheap products to
manufacturing some of the highest quality products in the world. In 1960 Deming was given a medal by the
Japanese Emperor for his service to the country’s industry.
PDSA
Cycles are related to Kaizen thinking.
The term Kaizen is derived from two Japanese characters; kai,
meaning “change” and zen meaning “continuous improvement.” Eliminating
waste in the value stream is the goal of Kaizen. Alternatively, Six
Sigma programs utilize the notion of PDSA cycles in their DMAIC
strategy-"define, measure, analyze, improve, control".
Plan-do-check-act (PDCA
cycle)
One method for implementing and sustaining continuous
improvement involves a useful tool called the 'plan-do-check-act' cycle or
PDCA.
The PDCA cycle may be used to implement improvements and to
ensure that improvements are sustained in all critical areas of the business
such as safety and environment, quality, morale, delivery and cost.
The environmental management system detailed in the
ISO 14004:2004 International Standard follows a PDCA management model.
PDCA is an ongoing,
iterative process that enables a business to establish, implement and maintain
and continually improve its environmental policy.
The PDCA cycle is a checklist of four stages you must go
through, from identifying the area for improvement through to the improved work
area. It emphasises and demonstrates that improvement programs must do the
following:
1.
Start with careful planning.
2.
Result in effective action.
3.
Check the results.
4.
Move on again to careful planning in a continuous cycle.
The four stages are illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The PDCA cycle
The plan stage is performed throughout the planning and implementation
of improvement solutions.
During the check stage the team collects data and
checks whether the solutions are producing the expected improvements.
During the act stage the team monitors the process
to identify further improvement opportunities and takes action to introduce
them.
However, the improvement
process does not stop here. As continuous improvement is never-ending, the PDCA
cycle continues. PDCA is what drives continuous improvement.
Here is a guideline to the
plan-do-check-act cycles.
Plan
Establish an ongoing
planning process.
Describe the results you
want to achieve.
Identify and monitor
applicable legal requirements, policy objectives and other commitments.
Set internal performance
criteria where appropriate (operating standards, timeframes, quality control,
cost considerations).
Clarify the standards (time,
quality, cost etc).
List all activities required
to achieve the results.
Prioritise the activities.
Determine the timing and
duration of each.
Prepare a diagram to
illustrate the activity sequence.
Allocate people and
resources.
Set objectives and targets
on what should be measured, where and when it should be measured and what
methods should be used.
Develop and use performance
indicators.
Do
·
After the planning stage,
the plan needs to be implemented.
·
Assign roles and
responsibilities.
·
Maintain operational control
and emergency response.
·
Provide all adequate
resources including the implementation of document control.
·
Provide training to relevant
staff.
·
Establish processes for
internal communication.
Check
·
You need to evaluate and
measure the results.
·
Complete a systematic
approach to monitoring and measurement activities that ensure compliance by
identifying the key characteristics through a process approach.
·
Progress is compared against
key performance indicators and set targets from the planning stage.
·
Identify nonconformity and
take corrective and preventive actions.
·
Manage records.
Act
·
Review and take action to
improve the company's operations. Identify areas for improvement and make recommendations.
·
Here you need to improve the
process further. For example, if results achieved are as planned against the
targets set, the current method is captured in a new or revised standard
operating procedure (SOP) to ensure future success.
·
When results are not as planned,
the PDCA cycle is repeated on the same business activity with recommendations
on what went wrong detailed for part of the next planning cycle.
·
An essential element of
continuous improvement is aiming higher next time so that the review stage sets
higher targets than previously recognised.
·
When results are successful
the PDCA cycle is completed on another area of the company for continual
improvement.
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