Exploring Patterns of Process Improvement with a Generic Model

摘要

Building upon previous work in the field of system dynamics, a generic model of multiple improvement initiatives is outlined. The current model structure incorporates empirical data gathered by the author. The empirical data is taken from a large international survey of manufacturing plants and serves as calibration sets for several program implementation patterns. Statistical analyses and simulation experiments revealed noticeable preliminary results: (i) plants should strive for balanced implementation patterns that focus on multiple programs instead of favoring a single program, (ii) Plants should balance their implementation patterns according to the organizational and technological complexity of the improvement programs, i.e. that comparatively more efforts should be spent on more challenging improvement efforts. The value of the conducted approach lies (i) in the explicit investigation of the impact of different improvement programs (e.g. TQM, TPM, process automation, training) and (ii) in the integration of empirically gathered data.