Deming Circle: What Does This Business Strategy Consist Of?
Within the business world there are many techniques and strategies to follow to seek success and maximum efficiency.
One of those resources is the Deming circle a method that we will explore in this article to understand its characteristics in depth, and what makes it a method to take into account to achieve the goals that our organization sets for itself.
The Deming circle, or Deming cycle, is a business strategy whose objective is to constantly improve all productive and organizational processes through a circular plan of four phases: first, plan, then do, then check and finally act, to return again to the first, and so on. It is also known as the PDCA cycle, since these are the acronyms of the four phases in English (plan, do, check, act).
The name Deming Circle comes from its creator, American statistics professor Edwards Deming. However, in some manuals the term Deming-Shewart circle can be found, since Edward Deming’s mentor, Walter A. Shewart, was the one who devised the bases of this mechanism, although it was the student who developed it in depth later, and was initially exported to Japan, throughout the 1950s.
The key to the success of the Deming circle is that It is a system based on self-assessment, to find the strengths and weaknesses of the organization itself , so that we can preserve the strong ones and at the same time design a plan to improve those in which we are currently weaker, so that in each cycle of application of the program an improvement should be experienced with respect to the previous experience. That is why this strategy is also known as a continuous improvement spiral.
Phases
We have already stated that the Deming circle is made up of four different phases, which occur cyclically, so in reality The process never ends, since you can always improve a little more , although it is increasingly difficult or the improvement is smaller, logically. Let’s see each of these phases in detail.
1. Plan
This is the initial phase of this process. The first thing we must do is plan, and to do this we have to identify all those procedures that we believe are not completely optimal and therefore can be improved It is also the time to set some goals that will guide the process, as it will be the final objective that we want to achieve. Likewise, we have to be clear about the methods we will follow to reach that goal we have set.
To identify the possible improvements that we can make, different paths can be followed. One of them is through different work teams. Another would be to find alternatives to the methodology currently used, in search of more efficient ones. It will also be essential to take into account both the requirements imposed by our clients and our organization’s own policy, since both entities will mark the red lines within which we must move.
In this phase it is important to use some planning tool, in order to establish a methodology to follow during our production , in addition to designing the processes taking into account the demands we saw. Some of the most used planning tools in the Deming circle are simple brainstorming, the Poka-yoke method (Japanese method to avoid errors), the Gantt chart (which shows the forecast time that tasks will take).
The QFD method, or quality function deployment, could also be used , another method that seeks to maximize the quality of the final product taking into account a series of parameters. Likewise, it is also common to rely on failure or effects modal analysis, or FMEA, another methodology that is based on finding possible errors that we may be making in the production process. These are just several examples, as there are many techniques that can be used.
2. Do
The next phase of the Deming circle is foreseeable, since It consists of carrying out everything we have planned in the previous point , so we would go from theory to practice. It is important to apply the measures that had been decided, verifying that this is being done and collecting all the data on the procedures, as they are required for the subsequent phase. Sometimes it is convenient to start with a series of small changes, or in a specific sector of the organization, to test their effectiveness.
Although this would be the most optimal methodology, as it allows us to verify if the proposed changes are in line with what we are looking for and show a successful trend, this is not always possible and, depending on the characteristics of our company, sometimes we will have to impose the changes in the complete set of procedures, so we will have to adapt to those modifications that are feasible. If the test can be done, it must be representative, to be able to extrapolate the results
Once the changes we had initially set have been applied, it is time to check if they have generated the results we had anticipated or if, on the contrary, we have achieved different ones, whether worse or better. That is why the data collection that we aimed at in the previous phase is necessary. In order to evaluate whether the results fit the forecasts, we can use different tools, according to our needs.
The simplest is the checklist (the classic check-list) The Ishikawa diagram, or fishtail diagram, could also be used because of the shape it generates. It is a Japanese method to graphically show the analysis of a problem and its solution. You can also choose a correlation diagram to connect some variables of our processes with others. The Pareto diagram or ABC distribution is also frequently used to establish the importance of different elements.
Another method would be the chart or dashboard , where different indicators (or KPIs, by their name in English, Key Performance Indicators) would be shown, so that visually it is easier to analyze the different variables and thus be able to decide between different alternatives. As was the case in the first phase, all of these are some of the possible tools that we can use, but always keeping in mind that there are more and that we must choose the one that best suits our needs.
4. Act
We have already drawn up a plan, we have carried it out and we have verified its effectiveness. There would be one last phase to close the Deming circle, and this is none other than acting. This means that, once the changes have been implemented and the results have been analyzed, Those that we have proven to be effective should be established, taking into account those that have not had the success we expected facing the next cycle of the Deming circle, since we have already seen that what is sought is continuous improvement.
Other authors refer to this as the adjustment phase, and in fact, what we must do at this point is adjust the strategies that we had established, in order to continue optimizing the processes and thus achieve the best results each time. The important thing is to distinguish this phase from the second (make), since in that one the changes were applied, and in this one the circle is closed, after having verified the results of said changes.
In order to make improvements, We can help ourselves with tools such as the affinity diagram , whose objective is to compile those elements that have a common denominator in order to organize ourselves in a more efficient way. Another method is value analysis, which helps us discern the value of a certain component. We can also count on the Kaizen method, a Japanese formula that seeks improvement through small changes. As always, these are just a few examples, as there are more alternatives.
Advantages
Thanks to the Deming circle, the industry that applies it can achieve a series of advantages that make the choice of this methodology worthwhile.
The first of them would refer to production times which should generally be reduced, having improved a series of chain procedures, which allow the same product to be achieved using less time than before.
Likewise, we would improve the quality, by eliminating different errors that contaminated our production process.
The third advantage, equally or more important than the previous one, is that manufacturing costs will have been reduced , since the Deming circle seeks to increase efficiency in each cycle in which we apply it, so that once the four phases are completed we should be able to generate our product or service in a more profitable way than at the beginning. All of them are compelling reasons to decide to apply the Deming circle in our company.
