Continuous Improvement Plan for Precision Engineering Works

This paper analyses the root cause of project failure and develops a continuous improvement plan for Precision Engineering Works. Tools such as control charts, histograms, and cause and effect diagrams are used. The plan is developed using the PDCA cycle and focuses on managing risks and identifying uncertainties.

Project Management

Executive summary:
The PEW company is planning for analysing the root cause of the project failure and
developing the continuous improvement plan for emphasising the growth of the company.
Several tools are used for analysing the root cause such as praetor analysis, scatter diagram,
histogram, control charts, checklist, data tables, and others. The proactive identification of the
uncertainties helps in managing the risks effectively. The business strategy for developing
continuous improvement plan is described in five phase processes of Six sigma lean project
management principles. It can be concluded that the complexities of the PEW organization
can be effectively resolved by deploying the principles of lean six sigma project
methodology.
1

Contents
1. Introduction...................................................................................................................................4
2. Project aim.....................................................................................................................................4
3. Project Objectives..........................................................................................................................4
4. Identification of the root cause.....................................................................................................4
Application of tools and technologies...............................................................................................5
Assumptions....................................................................................................................................10
5. Continuous improvement plan....................................................................................................10
Problems Identified.........................................................................................................................11
Actions Taken..................................................................................................................................14
Resources Required.........................................................................................................................16
Follow up action and status.............................................................................................................17
6. Competencies..............................................................................................................................20
Business and strategic management...............................................................................................20
Technical Management...................................................................................................................20
Leadership.......................................................................................................................................22
7. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................22
8. References...................................................................................................................................22
9. Appendix:.....................................................................................................................................24
List of Figure
Figure 1.................................................................................................................................................4
Figure 2.................................................................................................................................................5
Figure 3.................................................................................................................................................6
Figure 4.................................................................................................................................................7
Figure 5.................................................................................................................................................7
Figure 6.................................................................................................................................................8
Figure 7...............................................................................................................................................20
List of Table
Table 1.................................................................................................................................................10
Table 2.................................................................................................................................................11
Table 3.................................................................................................................................................14
2

Table 4.................................................................................................................................................16
Table 5.................................................................................................................................................17
Table 6.................................................................................................................................................20
3

1. Introduction
Precision engineering works private limited (PEW) is the manufacturing company which
focuses on developing the plastic parts required for the telecommunication industry. The
increasing rate of new suppliers has affected the profit earned by the enterprise. The company
is not able to manage their existing contracts and developing new contracts because the
market competitors are providing the equipment and tools at lower price than the PEW
organization. The top executives of the organization are looking forward to improve the
business operation plan with the aim of increasing turnover and profitability of the enterprise.
2. Project aim
The aim of this paper is to analyse the root cause of the project failure and developing the
continuous improvement plan for emphasising the growth of the company.
3. Project Objectives
The objectives of the project are as follows:
 Identification of the root cause for the decreasing rate of product sale
 Development of the continuous improvement plan
 Analysis of the risks associated with the project
 Management of the required resources
 Forecasting the success matrix of the proposed project
4. Identification of the root cause
The identification of root cause helps in developing the effective plan for increasing the
profitability of the enterprise. The evaluation of the case study focuses that the PEW
Company is not having effective marketing tools and technologies to explore the features of
their product in the eyes of the customers. The company is not indulging communication
tools and technologies for managing the good and healthy relationship between the internal
and external stakeholders. The limitation of the communication tools and incorporation of the
social media platform for marketing and managing flow of information is the major cause of
the project failure. The market is changing with the involvement of the new trends and
technologies. The customers get attracted towards the companies which are using new
technologies. The emergence of the new suppliers increases the level of competition for the
4

PEW organization because the newer suppliers make use of advanced technologies to
develop new contracts and attracts customers. The PEW Company is working on the old
platform of communication. The organization has no tools and technologies to know the
changing requirement, feedback and review of the customers. The market analysis is not
conduct by the organization to analyse the difference in the cost which occurred in the price
of the PEW products and the newer supplier products. The price of the product should be
fixed after analysing the quality and market price of the similar equipment. Some of the
major root causes of the project failure are highlighted below:
 No means of technologies for promoting the features and quality of the equipment
developed by the organization
 Inefficient communication system between the internal and external employees.
 No analysis of the market price of the developed equipment
 No good and healthy relationship with the customers
 No analysis of the feedback and reviews of the customers on the quality of the
equipment (Rabechini, and Carvalho, 2013)
 No program for identifying the new technologies and marketing trends incorporated
by the competitors
 No tools for promoting the equipment in the eyes of the customers
 No development of the recognised brand name for the manufactured equipment
Application of tools and technologies
The tools and technologies which help in identifying the problems, gaps, and issues existed
with the current working structure of the PEW organization are as follows:
Control Charts: The control charts are prepared for analysing the change in process with the
passage of time. The average is drawn from analysing the upper and the lower limit of the
control structure used for developing the process control block (Rauber, 2014). The control
charts are developed for analysing and monitoring of the quality. The behaviour of the
process can be effectively noted down from the developed process chart. The efficiency of
the manufacturing process can be analysed by the control charts.
Figure 1
5

(Source: Rabechini, R., and Carvalho, M. (2013). Understanding the impact of project risk
management on project performance: an Empirical study)
Data Tables: The data tables are prepared for division of work between the internal and
external stakeholders to effectively achieved the project goal and objectives.
Histogram: The histogram is used for analysing the numerical data of the process. The
histogram is used for analysing the continuous data to identifying the gaps and flaws in the
process structure.
Figure 2
6

(Kharaiweish, (2013). Project Monitoring and control measures)
Cause and effect Diagram: The cause and effect diagrams are prepared for analysing the
effect on the project goal and objectives by the amalgamative contribution of process, people,
machinery, and technology on the development process cycle.
Figure 3
(Moujib and Aziz. (2017). Lean Project management)
7

Pareto Analysis: The pareto investigation is used for analysing the supply chain management
system undertaken by the organization for managing the flow of inventory.
Figure 4
(Source: Jovanovic, F., Milijic, N., Dimitrova, M., Mihajlovic, I. (2016). Risk management
impact assessment on the success of strategic investment projects.
Check Sheet: The check sheets are prepared by reviewing the requirement specification plan
developed by the project owner for the improvement of the project working operational plan.
It helps in analysing the status of the process control block developed for achieving the
project goal (Andrades, Barco, Serrano, and Oliver, 2016).
Figure 5
8

(Otieno, F. (2014). The role of monitoring and evaluation in projects)
Scatter Diagram: The scatter diagram is used for analysing the profit earned by the
organization with the deployment of change management strategy.
Figure 6
(Source: Google Image)
9

Assumptions
The following table shows the assumptions which are made for the successful
implementation of the social media platform in the working curriculum of the enterprise.
Table 1
Assumptions Description
Knowledge, skills, and expertise of the
working staff members
It can be assumed that the working
employees of the company are having
expertise in managing the communication
and operational plan of the project
No training and Development program
required
. No extra cost is incurred on managing the
training and development program for the
working employees
No Resistance from the employees It can be assumed that the employee put no
resistance for bringing change in their
working tactics. The employees happily
accepted the implementation of continuous
improvement plan for the betterment of the
company
No effect to the employees capability It can be assumed that the capabilities of the
employees will not be affected by the change
in technology and working structure
Completion of the project within the
approved cost and time
Working curriculum of the continuous
improvement plan should be completed
within the approved cost and time
(Source: Created by author)
5. Continuous improvement plan
The continuous improvement plan is the set of activities which helps in providing effective
solution to the top executives for increasing the profit of the enterprise. The focus should be
given on analysing the problem domain in the implementation of the social networking
communication platform within the working structure of the enterprise (Yang, Yu, Ma,
2008). The proactive mitigation plan should be developed for promoting and managing the
complexities of the undertaken project in the project initialization phase so that the
10

uncertainties associated with the project can be significantly minimized and the project can
be successfully completed within the given time and cost framework. The continuous
improvement plan is prepared by undergoing the PDCA cycle which focuses on four tasks
which are classified as plan, do, act, and check (Ren, Ling, Wei, Fan, 2015). The PDCA cycle
development for the project is shown below:
Plan Do Act Check
Identification of
problems
Systematic review of
business problem
Analysis of gaps and
flaws
Development of
business strategy
Management of risks
identified
The follow-up of
action plan should be
developed for
managing the
problems effectively
and resolving the
issues of
complexities
Quality control and
checklist should be
prepared for
monitoring the
project completion
with the expected
outcome
Problems Identified
The implementation of the social networking platform in the working environment of the
enterprise is comprised of various risks, complexities, uncertainties, and issues. The proactive
identification of the uncertainties helps in managing the risks effectively. The focus should be
given on analysing the risks severity and risks likelihood to set priority and associated
ranking of the risks so that the measure of impact on the working process can be analysed and
systematically mitigation plan can be prepared effectively. The table below shows the
identified risks with its related severity, likelihood, ranking, and impact on the business
performance.
Table 2
Problems
Identified
Problems
Severity
Problems
Likelihood
Problems
Rankings
Problems
Impact
Description
Inefficiency of
the employees
in adopting the
social
networking
3 2 5 Medium The employees are not
having required skills,
talents, and expertise
in dealing with the
program of social
11

platform for
managing
communication
networking program
for managing
operational plan of the
enterprise
Resistance
from the
employees in
changing their
existing
working tactics
4 4 8 High The employees are not
ready to change their
traditional way of
working. The
capabilities and
throughput of the
employees get affected
with the deployment
of new technologies
(Krahn, and Hartment,
2006)
No proper
training
program
2 1 3 Low The good and efficient
trainer is not available
to guide the epmoyees
for using the social
networking platform
Overrunning of
the project cost
due to the
training and
development
program
3 2 5 Medium The deployment of the
training and
development program
for the employees can
increased the
estimated cost of the
project
Technical Risks
(Failure of
hardware,
software, and
network)
3 3 6 High The failure of the
hardware, software,
and network
connectivity will
slower down the
process of
manufacturing
12

because it can resist
the exchange of
information between
the working units of
the organization
Social risks 4 3 7 High The employees waste
their crucial working
time in doing informal
communication
through the use of
social networks which
can affect their
performance and
completion of the
project on time
Time
management
risks
2 3 5 Medium The project is not
completed on time due
to the inefficiencies of
the employees in
doing their given tasks
on time
Confidentiality
risks
3 1 4 Medium The loss of
confidentiality is the
major risks in
deploying the social
network because the
third party or the
hacker can hack the
confidential
information of the
organization
(Kharaiweish, 2013)
Loss of data 2 4 6 High The failure of the
hardware, software,
13

and network
connectivity can result
in the loss of data if
the backup support of
database is not
maintained by the
organization
Loss of
reliability and
accuracy of
information
3 4 7 High The information
exchange between the
employees can be
modified and
manipulated which
can results into the
reliability and
accuracy of the
information
Employee
throughput
The capabilities and
throughput of the
employees get affected
with the deployment
of new technologies
which can have a
direct impact on the
business operational
plan and
manufacturing process
of the product
(Source: Created by author)
Actions Taken
Table 3
Problems Identified Action taken
Inefficiency of the employees in adopting the The training and development program
14

social networking platform for managing
communication
should be arranged for the existing
employees so that they can improve their
skills and expertise according to the
requirement of managing communication
through the social networking platform
(Moujib and Aziz, 2017)
Resistance from the employees in changing
their existing working tactics
The employees should be motivated and
guided for using the new trends and
technologies to improve their skills according
to the rising demand of the market (Otieno,
2014)
No proper training program The trainee from the external environment
should be hired which have a deep
knowledge of social networking environment
(Jovanovic, Milijic, Dimitrova, Mihajlovic,
2016)
Overrunning of the project cost due to the
training and development program
The development of the budget should
include the cost of training and development
program arranged for the employees
Technical Risks (Failure of hardware,
software, and network)
The backup database should be managed for
resolving the complexities of technical failure
hardware, software, and network connectivity
program (Gegana, and Agirachman, 2017)
Social risks The employees should be guided for
following ethical code of conduct in the
working environment. They should not waste
their crucial working hours in carrying out
informal conversation with the colleague
(Lindh, 2012)
Time management risks The project manager should estimate correct
duration for completing the task within the
given specified time (Kharaiweish, 2013)
Confidentiality risks The network security procedures and
methods of cryptography should be used for
15

encrypting and decrypting the message at the
sender and receiver end for maintaining the
confidentiality of the information
Loss of data Backup database should be managed for
overcoming the complexities of data loss.
The cryptographic procedures should be laid
down for preserving the data loss during the
message transfer between the sender and
receiver
Loss of reliability and accuracy of
information
The third party can manipulate and modifies
the data which can affect the reliability and
accuracy of the information
Employee throughput The employees capability can be improved
by giving training and development program
(Source: Created by author)
Resources Required
The resources required for the project are described in the table below:
Table 4
Resources No. of units
Hardware 20
Software According to the requirement
Network connectivity According to the requirement
Project Manager 1
Project Designer 1
System Analyst 1
Technical assistant 1
Project Sponsors 1
Communication manager 1
Financial Manager 1
Quality Manager 1
(Source: Created by author)
16

Follow up action and status
The follow up action plan should be prepared for analysing the completion of the project
activities according to the requirement of the project. The following table shows the follow
up action plan:
Table 5
Stakeholders When How Whom Status of the
activities
Project Manager During the
project
initialization and
planning phase
Email
Formal
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Project Owner
Project Partners
Project Sponsors
Completion of
the project
schedule,
resource
management
plan, and
communication
plan (Bergmen,
Fundin,
Gremyr, and
Johansson,
2002)
Project Designer During the
project design
phase
Email
Formal
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Project Manager
System analyst
Completion of
the project
design for the
implementation
of social
networking
project
System Analyst During the
project design
Email
Formal
Project Manager Completion of
analysis report
17

and execution
phase
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Technical
assistant
of system
requirement
Technical
assistant
During the
project
execution phase
Face to face
Email
Telephonic
conversation
System analyst Completion of
analysis report
of technical
system
requirement
Project Sponsors During the
project initiation
phase
Email
Formal
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Project Manager
Project Owner
Successful
provision of
funds and
budget
Communication
manager
Through the
project
Email
Formal
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Project Manager Successful
management of
the
communication
18

Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Financial Manager During the
project initiation
and planning
phase
Email
Formal
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Project Manager Complete, In-
process, and
Processed
Quality Manager During the
project
implementation
phase
Email
Formal
Meetings
Round table
Conversation
Audio and
Video
conferencing
Newsletters
Telephonic
conversation
Project Manager Meet the
quality
standard or not
(Source: Created by author)
6. Competencies
Business and strategic management
The innovative change in the business environment can be deployed in the working
curriculum of the enterprise by implementing Six sigma lean project management principles
19

(Bejesthani, 2010). The business strategy for developing continuous improvement plan is
described in five phase processes of Six sigma lean project management principles which are
classified in the table below:
Table 6
Lean Six Sigma project
process
Description
Define The problems identified in the existing structure of the PEW
company should be clearly defined to take effective decision
for improving the curriculum of the enterprise
Measure The impact of the risks identified should be measured for
setting priority to the action plan
Analyse The efficiency of the mitigation plan should be forecasted so
that the areas of improvement can be noticed for managing
the uncertainties of the project
Improve The areas of improvement should be given privilege for
developing for improvement plan so that the project can be
successfully completed
Control The control measures and principles should be developed for
the systematic flow of information between the different
units of the project
(Source: Created by author)
Technical Management
The technical management plan should be prepared for systematic implementation of the
social networking platform in the existing architecture of the company (Thamhain, 2011). It
focuses on the following areas:
 Exploration of the concept
 Managing technical framework
 Managing system requirement
 Optimizing component level design
 Development of software coding
 Development of validation strategy
20

 Analysis of system verification plan
 Development of unit testing plan
 Upgrading the required changes
 Reviewing technical performance (Kolibacova, 2014)
The following figure shows the detailed structure of the technical management plan
implemented by the PEW organization for improving the current working structure of the
enterprise:
Figure 7
(Source: Krahn, J., and Hartment, F. (2006). Effective project leadership: A combination of
project manager skills and competencies in context)
Leadership
The leadership plays an important role in managing coordination, collaboration, and
communication in the work flow architecture of the team members (Singh and Singh, 2014).
The leadership quality of the project manager provides following benefits:
 Helps in managing grievances of the employees
 Manage coordination
 Manage cooperation
 Manage Collaboration
21

 Focuses on quality standard
 Managing communication
 Take effective decision in complex situation
 Active participation of the employees
 Flexibility in adapting changes in the project plan
 Increasing efficiency and throughput of the employees by positive motivation
(Marion, Richardson, Earnhardt, 2016)
7. Conclusion
The uncertainties and complexities of the PEW organization are resolved by identifying the
root cause of risks. The assumptions should be made by analysing the operational working of
the enterprise. The deployment of Lean project methodology and the systematic approach of
PDCA cycle helps in achieving the project successfully.
8. References
Andrades, A., Barco, R., Serrano, I., and Oliver, P. (2016). Automatic root cause analysis
based on traces for self-organizing networks. International conference on wireless
networks, 23(3). Retrieved from
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7498071
Bejesthani, H. (2010). Project suggestion planning process.International conference on
education and management technology . Retrieved from
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5657655
Bergmen, B, Fundin, A., Gremyr, I., and Johansson, P. (2002). Beyond root cause analysis.
International conference on annual reliability and maintainability. Retrieved from
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/981632
Gegana, A., and Agirachman, F. (2017). File and team management on remotely worked
building information modelling project. International conference on research and
innovation in information system. Retrieved from
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8002446
22

Jovanovic, F., Milijic, N., Dimitrova, M., Mihajlovic, I. (2016). Risk management impact
assessment on the success of strategic investment projects. Journal of springer, 13(5).
Retrieved from
https://www.uni-obuda.hu/journal/Jovanovic_Milijic_Dimitrova_Mihajlovic_69.pdf
Kharaiweish, M. (2013). Project Monitoring and control measures. International Journal of
computer science and information technology, 5(5). Retrieved from
http://airccse.org/journal/jcsit/5513ijcsit03.pdf
Kolibacova, G. (2014). The relationship between competency and performance. International
journal of management, Vol. 62. Retrieved from
https://acta.mendelu.cz/media/pdf/actaun_2014062061315.pdf
Krahn, J., and Hartment, F. (2006). Effective project leadership: A combination of project
manager skills and competencies in context. International conference on new
direction in project management. Retrieved from
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/leadership-project-manager-skills-
competencies-8115
Lindh, C. (2012). How does information technology impact on business relationships? The
need for personal meetings. 1st ed. [ebook]. Retrieved from
https://www.impgroup.org/uploads/papers/6732.pdf
Marion, J., Richardson, T., Earnhardt, M. (2016). Project execution: A Research agenda to
explore the phenomenon. International journal of modern project management, 4(1).
Retrieved from http://www.journalmodernpm.com/index.php/jmpm/article/view/177
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https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/lean-project-management-7364
Otieno, F. (2014). The role of monitoring and evaluation in projects. 1st ed. [ebook].
Retrieved from https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB8942.pdf
Rabechini, R., and Carvalho, M. (2013). Understanding the impact of project risk
management on project performance: an Empirical study. Journal of technology
management and innovation, Vol. 8. Retrieved from
https://scielo.conicyt.cl/pdf/jotmi/v8s1/art06.pdf
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Rauber, J. (2014). A Critical analysis of quality management. 1st ebook. Retrieved from
http://www.ijmp.jor.br/index.php/ijmp/article/view/121/379
Ren, M., Ling, N., Wei, X., Fan, S. (2015). The application of PDCA cycle management in
project management. International conference on computer science and applications.
Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7810878
Singh, S., and Singh, H. (2014). Case study based software engineering project development:
State of art. International journal of scientific research in computer science and
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https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1306/1306.2502.pdf
Thamhain, H. (2014). Emerging project management techniques: A managerial assessment.
International conference on management on engineering and technology. Retrieved
from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/808260
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structure of project based on PDCA. International conference on service operations
and logistics, and informatics. Retrieved from
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4686414
9. Appendix:
PDCA Cycle:
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25