Many countries are reflecting on its continuous improvement strategies. It is important to make modification which are both specific and measurable .Continuous Improvement, if carefully planned, will remove waste in any existing process, and prevent waste in future procedures.
To know more, please read the article by Rhea Haley (News journalist at Gasworld)
http://www.gasworld.com/air-products-sa-rolls-out-continuous-improvement-programme/2010050.article

Teaching profession is facing lower job satisfaction, unclear idea related to a particular subject. Inaccurate teaching processes are generating slack in the education industry. To manage such issues we can use big data as used in famous movie "Moneyball". It can predict the future outcome by using simple statistics and work according to forecasted outcome. Proper mining could help us to find undervalued personnel with higher potential to attain a high success rate. So in educational context we can segregate major characteristics. These attributes can be:

1. High level of optimism, enthusiasm, sense of humor

2. High standard of expectation from their students

3. Continual self-evaluation

4. Self-criticizing, understanding and updating.

These attributes can be well observed if a bigger pool of educators is created and their continual behavioral attributes are analyzed. In this way future prospective educator’s list can be predicted and deploy them in proper institutional scenarios.

To read, follow: : http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/brown-center-chalkboard/posts/2016/02/03-teacher-moneyball-big-data-analytics-murray

Learning and Development experts believe that the process of learning and remembering can be broken down into four basic stages:
§ Sensory Memory
§ Working Memory
§ Long-term Memory
§ Transfer to Job Memory
Lean Principles are applied to these stages of learning for a more effective training in the following ways:
• Lean Training Techniques for Sensory Memory – The basic motive of the trainer in this stage is to remove any distractions from the room and add things that draw the trainee’s pre-conscious attention to the training.
• Lean Training Techniques for Working Memory – Better training materials with working memory on mind can be done in the following ways:
1.)  Creating a set of “Learning Objectives” and including only training materials that support those objectives.
2.) Breaking down the training into small “chunks” and organizing those in such a way that it helps in learning..
3.) Keeping it Simple and Short
4.) Keeping the training active
5.) Providing job aids when it is not necessary to memorize.
• Lean Training Techniques for Long-term Memory – When information is moved from the working memory to the long term memory, it is stored in little “packets” of related information called “schemas”. Hence it would be helpful if new information is introduced relating it to the information already known by the trainees.
• Lean Training Technique for Transfer to the Job – The final step of any training is transferring information from training and applying it on the job. This can be done by:
1.) Explaining workers how it will benefit them.
2.) Providing sufficient hands-on exercises.
3.) Providing work in real work environment.
4.) Providing realistic simulations in training when possible.
5.) Testing workers at the end of the training to see if they can satisfy learning objectives.
Read more at: http://www.industryweek.com/lean-six-sigma/applying-lean-manufacturing-principles-job-training

Businesses have made use of data for operations management, for decades now. Data being used for operations management involve continuous flows of information and mining of data. Such data are handled and untangled using advanced and unique storage, management, analysis and visualization techniques. Big data analytics is usually dependent on extensive storage capacity and quick processing power. Insightful data can be gathered from various sources like web, social media etc. Big data is now being used to predict customer purchase decisions. Big data when linked with production applications and timely operational processes enables continuous improvements. Organizations are now realizing that data can bring value through continuous improvement in their operations. Thus, data needs to be collected, filtered and analyzed. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/big-data/crunching-big-data-operations-management-01255094

Lean Manufacturing is a business improvement philosophy which focuses on the needs of customers. Lean Manufacturing originated from the Toyota Production System. When a company reduces wastes, many other benefits are achieved. One of the basic advantages of implementing lean is that it helps in getting more work done with less people.
Lean manufacturing helps to reduce costs, eliminate waste, increase productivity, maintain high levels of quality and thus increase profit.
Read more at: http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/lean-six-sigma-business-transformation/articles/why-does-your-business-need-lean/

Lean Thinking is a form of structured thinking that aims to provide a new way to think about organizing processes to deliver benefits to the organization while eliminating waste. Understanding this concept forms a base for deciding what actions to take, what to change, what to do. 

Pascal Dennis, in his book Getting the Right Things Done, has easily explained lean thinking in 10 words:

· “What should be happening?”

· “What is actually happening?”

· “Please explain.”

      To know more, read this article by Mark Rosenthal: http://theleanthinker.com/2015/02/13/lean-thinking-in-10-words/

Stephen Covey, the renowned management thinker, said, “Start with the end in mind.” Every organization aims at meeting few common ends i.e. safe workplace, save money, save space, save time in launching new processes, and increase flexibility. The means to achieving these ends is designing the process in such a way that it is lean as well as waste is minimized. If done at the starting stage, this will be more useful in cost reduction as per the Rule of 10.Robert H. Simonis, senior consultant, KCE Consulting LLC in his article in IndustryWeek, talks about how reducing different types of wastes bring benefits to the organizations. 

Read more at: http://www.industryweek.com/lean-six-sigma/design-out-waste-and-build-lean

According to Sorcha Corcoran(Managing Editor at Whitespace Publishing Group), around eight years ago a division within Irish Life in Dublin decided to embrace Six Sigma which turned out to be a key driver of innovation. Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools required for process improvement.The company found Six Sigma training useful because they came up with loads of fresh ideas.  Opportunities and problems are then picked up by the innovation team. This combined with market and customer research has helped them to drive specific innovations. Read more at: http://www.isixsigma.com/share.php?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessandleadership.com%2Fleadership%2Fitem%2F47367-six-sigma-driving%2F

By now, several of us are beginning to hear about Lean Six Sigma and are wondering what this is all about? Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a unique analytical business process available to facilitate continuous process improvement (CPI) which includes Champions, Black Belts and Green Belts that enables companies to drastically improve their profitability by monitoring everyday business activities minimizing waste and inefficiencies. CPI program tends to improve the operational, administrative and support functions of the company. Many successful companies, such as Motorola, use Six Sigma. Ranging from customers, stockholders, employees to suppliers all benefit from this business process. The following factors make LSS achieve its success: 1) Leadership commitment 2) Focused resources. 3) Common tools and language 4) Disciplined project approach 5) Bottom-line business measures. Improvements are made by working to reduce waste through a five-step process: 1) Identifying customer value  2)Mapping the value stream  3)Creating flow 4)Seeking perfection 5)Pulling based on demand. Read more about this aspect at George Aslinger's article link: 

http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/lean-six-sigma-business-transformation/articles/continuous-improvement-with-lean-six-sigma-for-beg/

5S is a methodology used initially to organize workplaces to be more efficient and streamlined thereby consistently striving for more outputs, lower costs and less waste. So in essence, as this is what Continuous Improvement is mostly about, 5S is one of the commonly used Continuous Improvement tools. 5S is widely believed to have originated or least initially widely used in Japan and the term 5S is derived from 5 Japanese words- seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke which loosely translated into English stand for: sort, simplify, shine, standardize and sustain. The principle activities taking place at each of the stages are: Sort - All unnecessary items, parts, files, supplies are removed from the area

Simplify – (or Set in Order) – A place is created for everything and everything is stored in its place

Shine – (Sweep) – Clean up the area

Standardize – Apply the same standard throughout (to other similar areas)

Sustain – Maintain the new standard and avoid slipping back to old habits

To know about practical recommendations to make 5S a key part of the Continuous Improvement machinery, regardless of the type of business visit:http://smallbizkaizen.com/index.php/2010/08/5s-business-benefit

The service sector constitutes 62% of the world’s total GDP. It has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades. The service sector employs around 40% of the global labour force. The four unique features of services are Intangibility, Inseparability, Perishability and Variability. Service operations are often labour intensive and susceptible to variations. These variations often lead to complexities and customer dissatisfaction. The big challenge is to deliver consistent quality of services across all platforms.  Demand Planning is another big challenge. Services are dynamic and perishable in nature and this can often lead to instances of idle capacity or opportunity loss. Further, the quality in service environment is an experience and not just a measurement against specification so defect definition can tricky. To overcome these challenges, as in other industries, the service industry needs to innovate and continuously improve its processes. Here are four suggested process improvement techniques for services industries:

• Develop a Process Manual

• Automate Processes

• Reduce Failure Demand

• Conduct a Service Blueprinting exercise

To know more about the four suggested process improvement techniques visit:

 http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/innovation/articles/four-key-process-improvement-techniques-for-servic/

Continually changing markets affect all industries; sooner or later the world will move on. Any product or service will eventually become obsolete if it is not refined to keep up with these ever-changing market demands. Staying still is not an option. A good Continuous Improvement process will deliver rapid evolution into any business. If one can improve faster than their competitors then they will be able to secure more of the market in future. The four basic requirements needed to develop a flourishing Continuous Improvement culture are stating your intention to improve, harvesting opportunity ideas i.e. initiating a continual improvement process, empowering the workforce i.e. deploying a continuous improvement culture, which is easy where the staffs are empowered to improve and measuring the improvement culture by the number of identified success and celebrating the success. To know more about these four requirements go to:

http://adaptivebms.com/How_to_establish_a_Continuous_Improvement_Process/

Construction managers are looking for increasing efficiency and reducing costs. In a construction company there is a need for good project management software for contractors to cut costs on some areas and make products affordable. But, there are so many packages that it is difficult to choose. In this article, Jenifer Whitmire (a professional web content writer) writes how to choose good project management software for contractors. Please go through the link for more details: http://www.manufacturing.net/articles/2012/04/wrongly-doing-design-for-six-sigma

To transform the customer experience from traditional methods to better and newer methods, business authorities are relying on agile technology development. When Capital One started using agile development in 2011, Rudy Wolfs, Senior VP of Card IT at Capital One said, it amounted to only 1% of software that was delivered. Today, 85% of softwares are delivered by the agile development method. Also with agile, Capital One now also releases approximately 400 products a month, which has reduced the delivery times to three to six months while "cutting costs significantly," and finds 95% of products meet expectations on the first release. Presently, Capital One has more than 3,000 developers and business users trained on the agile methodology to get a better product. To know more kindly refer to the below mentioned link: http://www.banktech.com/channels/capital-one-delivers-85-of-software-thro/240166887?_mc=MP_IW_EDT_STUB

To transform the customer experience from traditional methods to better and newer methods, business authorities are relying on agile technology development. When Capital One started using agile development in 2011, Rudy Wolfs, Senior VP of Card IT at Capital One said, it amounted to only 1% of software that was delivered. Today, 85% of software’s are delivered by the agile development method. Also with agile, Capital One now also releases approximately 400 products a month, which has reduced the delivery times to three to six months while "cutting costs significantly," and finds 95% of products meet expectations on the first release. Presently, Capital One has more than 3,000 developers and business users trained on the agile methodology to get a better product. To know more kindly refer to the below mentioned link: http://www.banktech.com/channels/capital-one-delivers-85-of-software-thro/240166887?_mc=MP_IW_EDT_STUB

Maintaining the quality of a project is a cumbersome job because while maintaining the quality we must also take into account cost and time consumed for it. Proper planning at the beginning of a project is an absolute necessity. Well established and distinct communication system is also crucial for quality management of the project.  Please go through the link for more details: http://www.pmhut.com/five-steps-to-quality-management-of-your-project

To successfully complete a project, a line must be drawn reaching which a project can be declared as complete. All obligations and requirements from the client must be checked and taken care of. Most importantly every project makes a contribution to the project management team as a lesson; good or bad. The team must take some positive feedbacks from every project and move on to the next one. Please go through the link for more details: http://www.pmhut.com/5-ways-to-end-projects-well

Validating assumptions for a project is an important criteria which should be done carefully and upgraded timely. New assumptions are also very important during various phases of a project. Tracking and defending assumptions during implementation of a project is extremely crucial for a project to see the light of success. To know more, kindly refer to the below mentioned link: http://www.drharoldkerzner.com/the-need-to-validate-project-assumptions/

Sometimes certain phrases spoken by senior executives or managers/team leaders can create confusions among employees of the company. Hence, managers/senior executives should be highly cautious about what they are saying because their words can be a reason of dissatisfaction or sending a wrong message to employees. To know more, kindly refer to the below mentioned link: http://www.drharoldkerzner.com/nine-often-misused-cliches/