Element 1: Contribute to Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes
Charette Procedure: The Charette Procedure is a technique used to generate and prioritise ideas within a group environment. The great thing about this process is that it enables you to work on a number of different problems all at the same time. It is also very interactive, getting multiple people all working on the issue at once. Essentially the process boils down to breaking the issue down into small parts and having groups work on these – then bringing everything back together to look at the big picture. Story Boarding: Story Boarding involves problem solving using visual information. You use cards and paper to create diagrams of the issues at hand and then place these around the room to get an idea of the issue under consideration. You can then begin investigating the root cause of the issues that are causing concern to you.
Lack of Participation Inequality of Contribution It is often the case that contributions by team members are not equal. That is, one member of a team is more likely to be involved in a meeting than other team members. In these cases, it is important to ensure that you allow for all team members to contribute. Actively seek the opinions of those who are not active, and encourage a supportive team atmosphere.
Foundering Foundering is essentially the sinking of a meeting. It takes its name from the definition ‘sinking of a ship’. A meeting can be likened in many ways to a ship. If a correct course is not steered, the ship can run aground and be sunk. So, foundering is where the meeting has gone so wrong that nothing is achieved. The most effective means of overcoming this obstacle is to ensure you stay on course. Staying on course means staying focussed on objectives. You will have already taken the step of determining the objectives for the meeting at an early stage, which is determining what you hope to achieve during the meeting. These objectives must be planned in advance, so that you are aware of what needs to be achieved and you can keep control of the discussion during the meeting. It is vitally important that you do not move off the key topics for the meetings and move into discussing other problems, or just general ‘chit-chat’. It is likely that most meetings will last only an hour or two in length. Therefore you need to ensure that the meeting is as productive as possible. Meeting participants are unlikely to want to stay in the meeting beyond its set time frame; therefore you need to ensure that you stay focussed on the problem at hand. Charette Procedure or Story Boarding are vitally important in achieving this aim. They keep focus on specific topics, and provide guidelines for what should be discussed and what shouldn’t. As the team leader it is your job to keep the meeting on track. Gently guide the discussion, without ever exerting too much pressure on the participants (you want to encourage, not discourage participation).
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Trainer Manual BSBFLM309C Support Continuous Improvement Systems and Processes © Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd