Process improvement & quality

01

Find where the problem shows up

When someone tells me a process is slow, I want to walk through a recent example. Where did it stop? What was someone waiting for? I look at the records and talk through what happened with the people doing the work.

I compare that with how the process is supposed to run. The difference can explain why a team keeps running into the same issue, even when everyone is following the instructions they were given.

02

Check the explanation against the records

I’ve worked on root-cause investigations where understanding the failure mattered as much as resolving the immediate issue. I want an explanation that accounts for what happened and can be checked against the evidence.

I look for what supports that explanation and what might contradict it. If the same problem keeps returning, I go back through the assumptions behind the earlier corrective action.

03

Make the change people will use

I’ve developed SOPs and KPIs, built systems, and helped establish how departments work. Those experiences shape how I approach an improvement. The people carrying it out need to know what changes, who owns it, and how they’ll know it’s working.

Some problems call for a change in how work moves between people. Others need a better way to capture information or software that removes repeated handling. I choose the approach based on what the investigation shows.

04

Check what changed

I decide how to measure the change before it goes into place. Then I compare the result with the original problem. I check whether the delay or error has actually been reduced and whether the change has created extra work somewhere else.