Australian Hardware: Continuous Improvement Strategies Report

This report focuses on facilitating continuous improvement within Australian Hardware, a large hardware retailer. It explores various methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, Total Quality Control, and the Theory of Constraints. The report identifies key areas for improvement, including transportation, inventory, and processing inefficiencies, and outlines the five systems considered under lean manufacturing. It details the three steps of lean implementation: acceptance, technical, and sustainment stages. Benchmarking approaches, including internal, competitive, sector, and external benchmarking, are also discussed. Furthermore, the report delves into the Six Sigma approach, specifically the DMAIC methodology, and emphasizes the importance of value stream mapping, affinity diagrams, and strategies for developing participation within individuals and teams. It also covers building ownership and work culture, knowledge management (both hard and soft), and approaches to meeting sustainability objectives. The report concludes with sections on developing coaching, training, and mentoring processes, establishing objectives and KPIs, and ensuring legislative compliances, providing a comprehensive overview of continuous improvement strategies for the organization.

FACILITATE CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
AUSTRALIAN HARDWARE

INTRODUCTION
• Australian Hardware is a well-known hardware retailer in Australia,
headquartered in Sydney, NSW.
• The organization owns 138 stores and approximately 10,000 staff across
the whole country.
• Australian Hardware was listed on Australian Stock Exchange in 1982
and was offered to public in a share float.

METHODOLOGIES
• Lean
• Six Sigma
• Total Quality Control
• Concept of Management
• Breakthrough Thinking
• Theory Of Constraints

LEAN MANUFACTURING
• The waste to be controlled
are:
In transportation
In inventory
Defects
Motion
Over-production
Processing inefficiency
• The five systems
considered under lean
manufacturing are:
Inventory control
Quality improvement
Maintenance improvement
Set-up improvement
Productivity improvement

Lean implementation includes three steps:
Acceptance stage- Usually this step involves a trained
Lean Facilitator in order to lead the change and improvise
in the continuous improvement system.
Technical Stage- This stage involves an event for example
process mapping in order to identify wastage and bring
opportunities for change.
Sustainment Stage- This stage involves the training,
communication and integration of the process which is
changed in the workplace culture and the way thing are
executed.

BENCHMARKING
The four approaches included in company benchmarking are:
Internal benchmarking- This approach has a narrow scope, the business
departments and functions undertaken for comparison process is wither
within the multiple locations or one geographic location.
Competitive benchmarking- This approach focuses on the major players in
the market that is competitors within the sector. This type of
benchmarking is relatively simple ad easy due to the similarity in issues
between the business as being benchmarked.

Sector benchmarking- This approach of benchmarking is quite
broader type of benchmarking which makes availability data of
benchmarking in all the sectors. The sector benchmarking data
makes its easy for so a to identify general industry trends between
the business as being benchmarked.
External benchmarking- The external benchmarking seeks at
identify and adapting the best practice against the location or the
sector. This type of benchmarking is broad and hence has the
potential to for stimulating the radical change. It holds the
capability of innovations and discoveries through the comparison
with the world’s best practice.

SIX SIGMA APPROACH (DMAIC)
Define Measur
e Analyze
Implem
ent Control

The six sigma follows the DMAIC methodology and has the following key
concept:
The process ha both inputs and outputs and substantial changes in the
inputs add value to the customers.
Each and every process possess measurable characteristics.
Customers have distinguished expectations of the process performance.
The three sigma is generally the most accepted across the industries.
The normal distribution curve has 99.74%.
Three sigma is applied to high-volume and continuous process but still
observed to have failed expectations.
Six sigma is more of a philosophy than a methodology, implementation
of six-sigma mean affecting culture and perceiving quality in a different
perspective persuading in the organization.

VALUE STREAM MAPPING

PROCESS MAPPING

AFFINITY DIAGRAM