Continuous Improvement Getting the Order Wrong "Are high-impact fixes always your top priority?"

When starting continuous improvement, how does your workplace set priorities?

In consulting, we often hear: "We set priorities based on the size of the loss in each process--in other words, the expected results."

Naturally, a larger loss promises a bigger achievement when fixed. It gives the team a strong sense of accomplishment. However, the true goal of continuous improvement is simple: maximise throughput across the entire plant. From this perspective, the loss size of an individual process is not the top priority.

Consider a similar mistake. On factory floors, we often see days of work-in-progress (WIP) sitting between operations. Managers proudly explain: "We persuaded our executives to buy this equipment. Look at the production speed!"

Yet this ignores total throughput. Increasing capacity in one isolated process is useless if it exceeds the bottleneck. Excess capacity creates waste--or worse, obsolete inventory.

The Trap of Local Optimisation Why do companies focus on local losses and mismatched investments?

Because they lose sight of total optimisation. Their teams lack a framework to achieve plant-wide success. When roles are split strictly by department, teams fall into siloed thinking: "That is their job, this is ours."

Holistic Thinking and Cross-Functional Action The solutions lie in two words: holistic and cross-functional.

To maxmise throughput, look at plant operations as a whole rather than focusing on individual stages. Executive leaders and factory managers must work together to build cross-functional improvement teams.

First, train your people to see the big picture. Mindset changes take time, but without them, progress fades.

In our consulting practice, we always ask: "Will this activity continue after the consultants leave?"

Technique alone is not enough. Mindset is what lasts. External advisors leave; internal culture remains.

To build this mindset, master the Theory of Constraints (TOC). TOC identifies the main bottleneck blocking your goals, then focuses effort to fix it quickly and protect profit.

Key Principles of TOC:

• Balance total flow (throughput), not individual process capacity.
• Schedule non-bottleneck processes based on the bottleneck state, not their own capacity.
• Higher process utilisation does not equal higher throughput.
• One hour lost at a bottleneck is one hour lost for the entire system.
• Saving one hour at a non-bottleneck is merely an illusion.
• The bottleneck dictates both total throughput and inventory level.

Combining TOC techniques with a holistic mindset helps teams escape local optimisation.

Cross-functional work requires executive leadership. Senior managers must lead the charge and set up a neutral Project Management Office (PMO) to prevent teams from slipping back into siloed habits.

Once this structure is ready, set priorities based on total optimisation and execute your plan.

Summary: Five Rules for Effective Improvement

1. Always keep total optimisation in mind.
2. Start with people. A broad perspective sustains long-term activity.
3. Learn TOC to keep throughput at the core of your strategy.
4. Connect executives and factory leaders to build cross-functional teams.
5. Establish a neutral PMO to prevent siloed thinking.

Choosing total optimisation over local comfort is hard. Department heads naturally defend their own turf. Yet that is precisely why holistic improvement yields extraordinary results. Remove constraints continuously--it is the fastest way to real value.