In the race to digitise, manufacturing leaders who embrace a culture of continuous improvement will not only drive productivity and operational excellence but will ultimately fast track their Industry 4.0 journey entirely. However, much like the story of the tortoise and the hare, while speed is critical, a steady will help you win the race and ensure long-term success.
While a tangible finish line doesn’t exist in the realm of continuous improvement, research suggests that manufacturing businesses that embrace a constant cycle of improvement will remain competitive and meet business objectives while elevating productivity levels.
According to McKinsey and Co., Industry 4.0 refers to the current era of connectivity, advanced analytics, automation, and advanced manufacturing technology that has been transforming global business for years. While it has been the talk of the industry for some time now, according to the firm’s research, only 30 per cent of organisations are successfully adopting and sustaining digital improvement.
Yet, the same report uncovered organisations mastering digital gains can unlock improved productivity of 25 per cent or more by blending continuous improvement with innovation (like transformation-enabling digital toolkits and diagnostic tools) and engaging in “rapid experimentation”.
With over one-third of large organisations undergoing some form of transformation, the Harvard Business Review demands that leaders take a “fresh approach”, like a robust top-down, continuous improvement mindset, which is better aligned to meet the demands of a modern, persistently evolving landscape. Take note leaders and business owners: adopting this mindset has the power to transform your organisations into high performing, innovative and future-proof machines!
A continuous improvement foundation to address modern manufacturing challenges
All leaders, including manufacturing leaders, have competing priorities and operational issues to address while steering the ship toward digitalisation transformation and beyond. While continuous improvement should be a core principle, adopting it presents challenges.
Leaders often face internal resistance to change, requiring a more flexible mindset from employees, limited resources, difficulties sustaining long-term momentum, aligning best-fit approach with organisational goals, and trouble measuring progress.
Yet, once continuous improvement is embedded into a company’s DNA, manufacturing businesses can go from merely surviving in a challenging marketplace to thriving. In manufacturing, Gartner defines continuous improvement as a “methodology used to improve overall quality by continuously increasing precision in parts specification,” but it’s much more than that.
Continuous improvement in manufacturing is a mindset that fosters ongoing, incremental enhancements in processes and operations. It empowers manufacturers to adapt to evolving demands, optimise workflows, and achieve sustainable success.
It takes a village and a company-wide culture within manufacturing businesses that prioritises collaboration and mutual respect for people to succeed in the modern digital world. This is rooted in the manufacturing-focused Lean Six Sigma principles, where respect for people is a core value.
Continuous improvement predates these principles and is the overarching philosophy that inspired the development, but the people-centric Lean Six Sigma methodology supports a modern, top-down leadership approach.
This new mindset that prioritises continuous improvement will support leaders in engaging their teams to drive and support meaningful and sustainable change, whether through the adoption of new practices, innovation, or digital tools that enhance performance.
The role of digital tools in driving measurable progress through continuous improvement
It is critical that leaders continue their continuous improvement journey with the support of their employees and managers while actively engaging them on the journey and listening to their suggestions. Listening should not be a one-time event but an ongoing commitment, featuring open dialogues where employees bring not only problems but solutions, including best-fit digital solutions.
Digital solutions, specifically AI-powered, can support a continuous improvement strategy by detecting inefficiencies and root causes of process issues. According to Ernest and Young, roughly 45 per cent of advanced manufacturing CEOs say, “AI is a force for good that can have a positive impact on business efficiency and innovation.”
In the same study, more than 60 per cent of the CEOs say they have a strategic focus on advancing technology, promoting sustainability, and driving innovation, showing that there is momentum that requires AI-powered digital tools.
A continuous improvement approach supported by digital solutions and toolkits drives measurable gains and can uncover actionable insights through performance tracking and analysis, highlighting areas of opportunity centred around efficiencies and improvements.
From strategy to action: building a culture of continuous transformation
The art of continuous improvement is not abstract, but it is subjective. It requires a tailored approach and top-down leadership to drive the adoption of a continuous improvement culture. There is an art to this, and leaders must take great care in bridging the gap between theory and action by leveraging innovative digital tools that can translate insights into actionable results.
With well-established principles, like Lean Six Sigma, providing its structure, continuous improvement demands a commitment to innovation supported by cutting-edge digital solutions to transform organisations into innovation machines capable of withstanding the next decade of challenges and changes.
INCIT’s Prioritise+ Marketplace empowers manufacturing businesses by identifying key transformation opportunities while connecting them to the right partners and solutions.
After a manufacturing business completes one of INCIT’s prioritisation index assessment(s), like a Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) or Consumer Sustainability Industry Readiness Index (COSIRI), manufacturers can use Prioritise+ Marketplace to plug gaps and achieve goals by helping them locate digital toolkits and/or solutions that address specific challenging areas of the business based on their transformation roadmaps.
At its core, Prioritise+ Marketplace is a dynamic matchmaking platform designed to connect manufacturing leaders with innovative startups.
INCIT’s latest solution offers not only a unified approach guaranteeing that every recommendation helps achieve meaningful, results-driven outcomes but it also unlocks the ability for manufacturers and stakeholders to make data-driven decisions to achieve impactful, long-term results.
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