Process Improvement
Process Review Guide
A guide for identifying bottlenecks, rework, missing visibility, downtime causes, and workflow improvement opportunities.
Purpose
- Process improvement starts by understanding how work actually happens, not just how it is supposed to happen.
- This guide helps identify practical improvement opportunities.
Current Process Review
- What are the main steps?
- Who performs each step?
- Where does information come from?
- Where does information go?
- What tools, machines, or software are involved?
- Where are decisions made?
- Where does work wait?
Common Improvement Areas
- Manual data entry
- Repeated paperwork
- Unclear pass/fail criteria
- Missing production counts
- Slow changeovers
- Frequent no-read or rework conditions
- Untracked downtime
- Too much reliance on memory or tribal knowledge
Data to Collect
- Cycle time
- Downtime reasons
- Scrap or rework counts
- Operator notes
- Bottleneck locations
- Quality escapes
- Manual entry points
- Current reports or logs
Potential Solutions
- Simple fixture or tooling updates
- Barcode scanning and verification
- Dashboards or production counters
- Improved work instructions
- Sensor or PLC logic changes
- Better fault messaging
- Maintenance tracking improvements
