Application
This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to introduce, review/adjust and institutionalise continuous improvement and breakthrough improvement processes in an organisation.
This unit applies to an individual responsible for the introduction of, or ongoing implementation/improvement of improvement systems across an organisation. The systems will include a continuous improvement system sometimes also known as kaizen, and breakthrough improvement sometimes known as kaizen blitz.
The continuous improvement (kaizen) system consists of strategies for continuously monitoring for and implementation of incremental improvements to processes, operations and products. Breakthrough improvement ‘events’ (kaizen blitz) covers the identification of improvement opportunities that are best undertaken in a single exercise.
This unit primarily requires the application of skills associated with teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, and planning and organising skills in order to identify, implement and institutionalise kaizen activity. Communication skills are required to gather information and consult with team members and other stakeholders. This unit also requires aspects of self-management and learning to ensure feedback and new learning is integrated into continual improvement.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. | ||
1 | Prepare for improvement systems implementation/ adjustment | 1.1 | Determine scope of improvement systems. |
1.2 | Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for inclusion in improvement systems. | ||
1.3 | Prepare operating instructions and other required documentation for continuous and breakthrough improvement systems. | ||
1.4 | Ensure compliance with health, safety and environment (HSE) and other regulatory requirements are addressed in improvement instructions. | ||
1.5 | Identify and brief implementation team. | ||
1.6 | Prioritise areas operation, or processes requiring early action. | ||
1.7 | Prepare communication strategy for employees and other stakeholders. | ||
1.8 | Make infrastructure and support arrangements for improvement systems. | ||
1.9 | Obtain required approvals for commencement of improvement systems. | ||
2 | Implement/adjust improvement systems | 2.1 | Arrange for initial/update training in continuous improvement (kaizen) and related competitive systems and practices for employees. |
2.2 | Facilitate the development of operating protocols for continuous improvement at the team level. | ||
2.3 | Establish decision making mechanism for system level continuous improvement. | ||
2.4 | Invite suggestions for breakthrough improvements. | ||
2.5 | Establish mechanism for prioritising breakthrough improvements. | ||
2.6 | Establish breakthrough teams and implement priority breakthrough events. | ||
2.7 | Clarify points of disagreement/uncertainty over improvement systems implementation through consultation and, where required, by reference to procedures or other relevant authority. | ||
3 | Monitor implementation/ adjustment of improvement systems | 3.1 | Consult stakeholders on processes and perceived success of early implementation of continuous and breakthrough improvement events. |
3.2 | Analyse processes and operations to quantify variations in KPIs over early period of implementation of improvement systems. | ||
3.3 | Identify and solve ongoing performance issues. | ||
3.4 | Negotiate any differences between problems and proposed solutions. | ||
3.5 | Develop plans and obtain agreements to implement further improvements. | ||
3.6 | Implement improvements. | ||
3.7 | Measure changes and calculate benefits. | ||
3.8 | Complete all relevant documentation. | ||
3.9 | Communicate achievements to stakeholders. | ||
4 | Institutionalise continuous improvement | 4.1 | Arrange for regular reviews of improvement systems. |
4.2 | Integrate improvement system reports with other reporting processes, including visual management systems. | ||
4.3 | Arrange for regular reporting of improvement system results to customers and other critical stakeholders. | ||
Evidence of Performance
Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and include the ability, across an organisation or department/section, to:
interpret operations, processes and products in terms of customer features/benefits and then set appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs)
prepare appropriate documentation for continuous and breakthrough improvement processes
establish decision-making processes for considering system level continuous improvement suggestions
encourage and lead others in implementing/adjusting continuous improvement system
problem solve implementation issues with continuous improvement system
lead and motivate others in planning, implementing and sustaining improvements.
Evidence of Knowledge
Must provide evidence that demonstrates sufficient knowledge to interact with relevant personnel and be able to implement improvement systems, including knowledge of:
continuous and breakthrough improvement (kaizen and kaizen blitz) philosophy and process
competitive systems and practices in own organisation
types of KPIs and their impacts on performance
improvement processes, including implementation, monitoring and evaluation strategies.
Assessment Conditions
The unit should be assessed holistically and the judgement of competence shall be based on a holistic assessment of the evidence.
The collection of performance evidence is best done from a report and/or folio of evidence drawn from:
a single project which provides sufficient evidence of the requirements of all the elements and performance criteria
multiple smaller projects which together provide sufficient evidence of the requirements of all the elements and performance criteria.
A third-party report, or similar, may be needed to testify to the work done by the individual, particularly when the project has been done as part of a project team.
Assessment should use a real project where the introduction of improvement systems occurs across an operational workplace.
Knowledge evidence may be collected concurrently with performance evidence or through an independent process such as workbooks, written assessments or interviews (provided a record is kept).
Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.
Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications associated with this unit.
Foundation skills are integral to competent performance of the unit and should not be assessed separately.
Assessors must satisfy the assessor competency requirements that are in place at the time of the assessment as set by the VET regulator.
The assessor must demonstrate both technical competency and currency.
Technical competence can be demonstrated through:
relevant VET or other qualification/Statement of Attainment AND/OR
relevant workplace experience
Currency can be demonstrated through:
performing the competency being assessed as part of current employment OR
having consulted with an organisation providing relevant environmental monitoring, management or technology services about performing the competency being assessed within the last twelve months.
Foundation Skills
This section describes those required skills (language, literacy and numeracy) that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.
Range Statement
This field allows for different work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. | |
Competitive systems and practices include one or more of: | lean operations agile operations preventative and predictive maintenance approaches statistical process control systems, including six sigma and three sigma Just in Time (JIT), kanban and other pull-related operations control systems supply, value, and demand chain monitoring and analysis 5S continuous improvement (kaizen) breakthrough improvement (kaizen blitz) cause/effect diagrams overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) takt time process mapping problem solving run charts standard procedures current reality tree. |
Scope of improvement systems includes one or more of: | target divisions, operations, work processes, products and sites that stakeholders want included in a particular improvement system levels of targeting for the continuous improvement system, including the system level focusing on the value stream and the overall achievement of customer defined features/benefits process level focusing on individual processes, teams and team leaders. |
Relevance of KPIs includes one or more of: | appropriateness (did they lead to/encourage desirable performance?) currency (are they still encouraging desirable performance?) unintended consequences (do they lead to outcomes which are not desirable – even if some performance is desirable?) signal/noise (is the balance between desirable and undesirable outcomes strong and positive?). |
Instructions for incremental or breakthrough improvement processes include one or more of: | methods for employees to suggest incremental or breakthrough improvement criteria for identifying a breakthrough improvement need approval processes monitoring and reporting processes. |
Procedures (written, verbal, visual, computer based, etc.) include one or any combination of: | work instructions standard operating procedures (SOPs) safe work method statements formulas/recipes batch sheets temporary instructions any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant. |
Solving performance issues includes one or more of: | generating improvement ideas (brainstorming/asking experts) selecting most appropriate improvement ideas to proceed with conducting experiments where required to test idea making final selection of improvement ideas determining most appropriate improvement strategy (i.e. incremental or breakthrough (kaizen blitz) improvement). |
Sectors
Not applicable
Competency Field
Competitive systems and practices