Why do we need continuous improvement ?

Our business processes are constantly exposed to changes in the environment. These changes impact and deteriorate the effectiveness our company's processes. I like the analogy of a spider web: constant exposure to wind and rain causes filaments to break. (1)

Without continuous improvement.
If our staff is not trained on properly addressing the changes and their impact on our processes, they may not take any action or at best create workarounds to fix the problems (instead of addressing the root causes). Over time, problems and/or workarounds accumulate with increasing complexity and decreasing overall process performance as a result. It becomes more and more likely that another 'improvement project' will be required. Back to the analogy of the spider web: if the spider fails to repair the broken filaments frequently and systematically, big wholes will emerge in the web which render the web useless and leave the spider without food.

With continuous improvement.
Now take the scenario where staff is trained in continuous improvement and supported by their manager to address these problems on a daily basis. First, problems caused by changes in the environment will surface earlier because staff has 'learned to see' problems and is supported by visual management tools (e.g. visual process adherence, visual process performance). Second, the continuous improvement mindset encourages staff to bring up problems. ( cf. mental model "problems are gold" ) Thirdly, staff will address the problems using structured problem solving ( cf. A3 Thinking ). Not only will they identify and fix root causes, but also implement improved standards and monitoring. These problem solving activities can take place during stand-up meetings, quality circles and individual coaching by supervisors. Here's how continuous improvement fits the analogy of the spider: she repairs broken filaments on a daily basis to ensure that the quality of her food collection process is maintained. Last but not least, by implementing a system of continuous improvement, the performance of processes will not just be maintained to but also improved.

A spider repairs broken filaments in her web on a daily basis to ensure the quality of her food collection process is maintained

(1) Source of this analogy: "The Remedy", Pascal Dennis