AAOM Handbook

INTERNAL

Select Controls Improvement opportunities are delivered through changes to:  The design of a process,  The production or service strategies adopted for the process,  The preparation, organisation and execution of activities involved with the process, and/or  The cost effectiveness of resources employed in the process. In a relatively stable process that has been performing to the required specification, but has drifted away from specification, the appropriate control action may be well understood and defined. This is a situation where standard trouble shooting guides and procedures can be used to help workers quickly and accurately select the correct control action. When a process exhibits recurring failures, or must perform to specifications that it has not consistently met, it is likely that new controls must be devised. There may be many potential changes, or combinations of changes, that could produce an effective control. The objective is to develop the broadest range of options, from which the most effective and economical can be selected. In cases where controls are novel it is generally advisable to validate them through tests or trials before full implementation. Implement As with any task, success in implementing a control action will depend on how well it is specified, prepared and executed. This might be achieved through the application of standard tasks and procedures for common control actions, through to the development and delivery of a substantial change project for a significant shift in process performance. The key is to plan, schedule, resource and manage the control action to the level of detail that will provide the required confidence of achieving the outcome. Validation The final step after implementing any control action is to return to the measure(s) that initiated the Analyse and Improve process to confirm that either:  The desired outcomes were achieved and the performance is stable and capable, or  The desired outcomes have not been achieved, and hence we need to return to the analysis of the cause, or the choice of control. Purpose To use information created from performance measures to improve the process. Quantity One process to guide the systematic and objective analysis and improvement of performance.