Action Plans within the PDCA
The Action Plan is a document created based on advance planning of what we intend to do to achieve certain results or solve certain problems.
Introduction
In quality improvement processes, within the PDCA cycles, we have the planning phase. Before taking any action, we need to plan, after all, when we act reactively, that is, without planning, we are acting on impulse and not rationally. Conceptually, planning means developing and organizing a script; programming actions and tasks, plans, plans, in short, designing something. An action plan is an execution script, thought out in advance to structure and chain actions in order to meet a certain objective. The PDCA must "pivot" so that there is continuous quality improvement. The initial phase of a PDCA is planning, and at the end of the PDCA we have the “input" for the beginning of the next PDCA cycle. Then we plan, execute, collect data, act and use the collected data to make the next planning. And so on.
Within the quality improvement processes, we use action plans to plan the activities that will be carried out, both to improve quality, as well as in the audit process itself. Quality improvement processes can include various techniques and tools, the Action Plan itself, Brainstorm for collecting suggestions and maturing ideas, auditing tools and the creation of Schedules commonly used in projects, with resource management, activities , Gantt Charts, etc. To place the Action Plan within the PDC, we will first unfold these concepts:
PDCA
Acronym that corresponds to the words Plan, Do, Check, Act, which correspond respectively to the words Plan, Make, Check and Act. It consists of a four-phase continuous quality improvement technique, where PDCA itself is a cycle, which must be repeated continuously. The expected result is that with each PDCA, the quality and sense of organization gradually improves.
Action plan
Document created based on advance planning of what we intend to do to achieve certain results or solve certain problems.
Brainstorm
Group discussion technique that uses the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all participants, with the aim of solving a problem or conceiving a creative work.
Timeline and Gantt Chart
The Schedule is a document with the chain of tasks that will be performed based on what was planned, with responsibilities, start and end dates and even the way in which we will evaluate the execution progress. A Gantt Chart is a more user-friendly, visual representation of the Schedule itself.
Brainstorm and its Importance
Brainstorm is the sharing of ideas to solve a problem, its use within quality improvement processes should be encouraged for important reasons, such as: You may not know everything about how a department works, why things are done that way and which lessons learned were used to define a particular procedure. Those who participate in Brainstorm can contribute the true nature of the problem and ideas for solving it. Involving team members also helps with commitment to 5s Programs and others. Another important point is that those involved may even have knowledge of how to solve certain problems through lessons learned in companies they have worked at, this way we avoid "reinventing the wheel".
The Schedule and its Importance
problem whose solution requires planning, necessarily, at the end of that planning, must contain some type of Schedule. No matter how simple the Schedule is, without listing what needs to be done, there is no way to share the sequence in which the actions will be carried out among everyone involved. Worse still, there is no way to manage this planning, control progress, deadlines and even costs. However, it is important to note that a Schedule alone does not guarantee the success in executing an action plan, because those responsible must monitor whether what was planned is being executed and cover those responsible, if necessary. Certainly, the absence of a Schedule greatly increases the probability of failure of an action plan.
The Gantt Chart and its Importance
Gantt Chart is, in fact, a simplified, graphical representation of the Schedule itself. It is a graphical representation of tasks, on a timeline, with progress indicators and signs of delay or not. Charts are best understood in presentation and committee meetings, as it is clear where and when "things need to happen" and when the plan needs to be completed.
Putting It All Together
If we put everything together, we have that an action plan is a document produced with the participation of those involved, who provided suggestions, data, dates and knowledge, and which resulted in a Schedule of tasks to be performed, with responsibilities, dates, instructions and cost . All within the continuous improvement process, PDCA.
good action plan starts with responses following the 5W2H standard, and yes, the cost is also important because the funder of the quality improvement process is the one who will pay for what will be done. Everything has a cost, including employee hours spent on actions. An action plan is always best presented when accompanied by a Gantt Chart, as committee meetings are where action plans will be approved and prioritized.
PDCA Tools
We explained the concept of an Action Plan and also techniques that enable PDCA, now we will discuss tools. Despite the existence of a fine line between techniques and tools, the techniques describe the procedures within the PDCA phases, while the tools must enable such procedures. A common example is that we need to develop a Schedule, which is the technique. A spreadsheet can be a simple tool for creating this same Schedule.
Investing in tools that enable PDCA will allow you to not only improve the creation and management of action plans, carry out audits, collect information and analyze it, but you will also save, among other costs, the time of your resources. Remember: TIME IS MONEY.
The different scenarios with quality teams within organizations are defined by their size, abundance of resources and how committed and aware management is of the importance and benefits of quality management.
good example of a quality team scenario within organizations is where there is a team dedicated to planning, training, compiling information and other quality tasks. But it is important to remember that the monitored areas do not always have dedicated staff. It is common for quality tasks to be divided among department members. A PDCA tool should help everyone in collecting information, compiling results, putting together action plans and in the general productivity of continuous improvement processes.
Required Tools
At this stage you must decide how you will record the measurements. Whether in spreadsheets, emails, printed or electronic forms, etc.
There are tools on the market with ready-made models that facilitate the implementation and execution of quality improvement plans.
To carry out a 5s inspection with Infocapta , simply select the ready-made model, which has the 5 senses with all related indicators and distributed between the sections.
The ready-made model already has an initial section where you can record the date of the inspection, the manager and also the departments in your company where you intend to carry out the verification. The departments, as well as the indicators and scores, are customizable and you can also create your own model, suited to your needs.
You will be able to mark whether the items are in compliance, take photos of conflicting items as proof and make observations of details that you observe. Everything will be recorded in the departmental 5s report. Still as a plus , the tool allows different analyses, tabulation of results, presentation in graphs and visualization of audited units on geographic maps.
More than a simple 5s questionnaire, Infocapta provides the possibility of creating several checklists necessary in the checking and evaluating phases of PDCA results. It also opens up the opportunity to replace printed forms in all areas of the organization, bringing tasks that were previously performed with paper and pen to the palm of their hands, on employees' devices.
Tool Highlights
- Organizational Structure and Departments;
- Customizable electronic checklist ;
- Records photographic evidence;
- Register comments and pending issues;
- Action Plans;
- Collect electronic signature;
- Issues report with photos, observations and compliance;
- Analytical Artificial Intelligence;
- Graphs and reports;
- Spreadsheets;
- Activity in Offline mode;
The tool helps managers monitor PDCA cycles, automatically sending checklists to auditors, transforming PDCA cycle checking tasks into a continuous process.
The auditor can customize several checklist approaches , with data types ranging from simple text to multiple-choice answers. The answers have weights, which in turn generate audit scores. The results are transformed into indicators that can feed the planning and checking processes in the PDCA cycles.
The auditor can also collect evidence of problems through photos that make up the audit report and everything will be recorded for later analysis and comparison.
In addition to these features that are so important in quality processes, it includes the convenience of analyzing indicators in graphs and even viewing them on geographic maps, a very useful feature for organizations that have units distributed in different cities, states or regions.
To use the application, you must create an account and install the compatible app on your cell phone or tablet . There are accounts suitable for the size of your company and you can do a tasting, without obligation.
You can learn more about the benefits of Infocapta here
Conclusion
In this matter, I sought to contribute to clarifying what Action Plans are and how they are used within the PDCA cycle. If you found this article useful, consider sharing it on social media. Thank you very much and until next time.
