WHAT IS THE PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT (PDCA) CYCLE?

The Plan-do-check-act cycle (Figure 1) is a four-step model for carrying out

change. Just as a circle has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated again
and again for continuous improvement. The PDCA cycle is considered a project
planning tool.

Figure 1: Plan-do-check-act cycle

WHEN TO USE THE PDCA CYCLE

• Starting a new improvement project

• Developing a new or improved design of a process, product, or service
• Defining a repetitive work process
• Planning data collection and analysis in order to verify and prioritize problems
or root causes
• Implementing any change
• Working toward continuous improvement

The Plan-do-check-act Procedure

1. Plan:

• Recognize an opportunity and plan a change.

2. Do:

• Test the change.

• Carry out a small-scale study.

3. Check:

• Review the test, analyze the results, and identify what you’ve learned.

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4. Act:

• Take action based on what you learned in the study step.

• If the change did not work, go through the cycle again with a different
plan.
• If you were successful, incorporate what you learned from the test into
wider changes.
• Use what you learned to plan new improvements, beginning the cycle
again.

PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT EXAMPLE

The PDCA model was the basic structure for the district’s:

• Overall strategic planning

• Needs analysis
• Curriculum design and delivery
• Staff goal-setting and evaluation
• Provision of student services and support services
• Classroom instruction

Figure 2 shows "Approach to Classroom Success." This is a continuous cycle

of designing curriculum and delivering classroom instruction. Improvement is
not a separate activity—it is built into the work process.

Figure 2: Plan-do-check-act example

Plan

• The approach begins with a "plan" step, which the school district calls
"analyze."
• In this step, students’ needs are analyzed by examining a range of data
available in electronic data "warehouse."
• The data reviewed includes everything from grades to performance on
standardized tests.

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 • Data can be analyzed for individual students or stratified by grade,
gender, or any other subgroup.
• Because PDCA does not specify how to analyze data, a separate data
analysis process (Figure 3) is used here as well as in other processes
throughout the organization.

Figure 3: Analysis Process

Do

The Approach continues with two "do" steps:

1. The "align" step asks what the national and state standards require and how
they will be assessed. Teaching staff also plans curricula by looking at what is
taught at earlier and later grade levels and in other disciplines to ensure a clear
continuity of instruction throughout the student’s schooling. Teachers develop
individual goals to improve their instruction where the "analyze" step showed
any gaps.
2. The "act" step is where instruction is provided, following the curriculum and
teaching goals. Within set parameters, teachers vary the delivery of instruction
based on each student’s learning rates and styles.

Check

Formal and informal assessments take place continually, from daily teacher
assessments to six-week progress reports to annual standardized tests. Teachers
also can access comparative data on the electronic database to identify trends.
High-need students are monitored by a special child study team.

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Throughout the school year, if assessments show students are not learning as
expected, mid-course corrections are made (such as re-instruction, changing
teaching methods, and more direct teacher mentoring). Assessment data become
input for the next step in the cycle.

Act

In this example, the "act" step is "standardization." When goals are met, the
curriculum design and teaching methods are considered standardized. Teachers
share best practices in formal and informal settings. Results from this cycle
become input for the "analyze" phase of the next Approach cycle.

Total Employee involvement through Quality circles and Kaizen Circles

can take organization to World Class levels.

• For organizations to prosper, constant attention must be paid to quality

control.
• This has become a well-known fact.
• The basic idea of quality control has been spread to all, but the
implementation of it has not.
• The Japanese believe that caution is required for progress, but one who is
overly cautious can never become a top manager.

Quality circles, if implemented correctly, can encourage and enable people at

all levels of an organization to play meaningful roles in their organizations,
hence improving the quality of their work.
• The concept of the quality circles was gotten from the Japanese, who
believed that implementation of quality circles enabled problem solving
at the front lines of their organizations.

What quality is and how to achieve quality?

Quality has been described by many people as many different things, but in
reference to quality circles, quality is the state in which the entitlement of value
is realized for both the customer and the provider in every aspect of the business
relationship without majorly affecting the environment or the society.

To achieve quality, all levels of the organization must have the responsibility to
maintain quality and must be responsible for the job assigned to them. To
control and achieve quality, Statistical Quality Control gives the first approach.
Statistical Quality Control has five stages of statistical integrity, each one
sharing equal importance regarding achieving Statistical Quality Control.

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Statistical quality control

• Statistical Quality Control is an all-pervasive function to achieve

quality control, but Statistical Process Control (SPC) aims at increasing
knowledge and awareness about Statistical Quality Control and steers a
process to behave in a particularly desired way.
• SPC measures, analyzes and controls variations in process through the
application of statistical techniques.
• It aims to increase the output produced from a given amount of resource
input.
• When implemented correctly, SPC reduces cost and increases profits
majorly, though depending on the market, product and customer needs in
many ways.
• SPC also serves as a strategy for defect prevention in organizations.
• Total Quality Control -TQC is proven system for quality development,
maintenance and improvement efforts and integrating various groups in
an organization to enable production and service at the most economical
levels.
• This in-turn allow the customer full satisfaction.
• TQC understands the necessity and importance of quality control by
everyone in the organization being engaged in it.
• TQC requires the participation of all divisions in an organization.
• Though TQC is perfectly functional by itself, the involving of the
Japanese did improve TQC by quite a bit.
• The Japanese began using SQC after the 2nd World War.
One could easily see that quality has always been an important element of
competitive success. The initial approach for quality was final inspection and
postproduction adjustment.
Total Quality Management (TQM)is a new approach to improve quality and
customer satisfaction on a continuous basis by restructuring traditional
management practices.

Quality Circle
• A Quality Circle had been described by professionals as a small group
that voluntarily performs Quality Control within the same
workshop/workspace for self-development, mutual development, control
and improvement using Quality Control techniques with all the
members participating equally and in harmony.
• The concept of Quality Circles has been spread in more than 130
countries, though it is mostly used in Asian countries such as Japan,
South Korea, Taiwan, China and others.

For effective functioning of a Quality Circle, the following instructions must be

strictly followed by the organization implementing it:
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• The upper management’s conviction and leadership for quality
• Continuous education on developments taking place
• Annual Quality improvement plans
• Annual cost reduction plans and their implementation.

Implementation of this process shall bring about not an evolutionary change, but
a revolutionary change in the functioning of organizations.
The Quality circle is the best path towards the development of human resources.
The Quality circle is not only a means of bringing about efficiency in a given
organization, but also encourages employees at all levels to think about
themselves, their families, associates and loved ones for improvement, as ‘the
best help is self-help.

To see whether the company needs the Quality Circle to increase the quality of
the products, they should be clear about the following:
• Whether they need such an introduction in their company,
• Whether they are having the required conditions for such an introduction
and
• How they should introduce the Quality Circle in their company.

To smoothly introduce the Quality circle into their organization, the following
steps must be followed.
• Initiating an exposure program to senior executives,
• Forming a Quality Council / steering committee and selecting a co-
coordinator,
• Working out an action plan,
• Finding qualified trainers and facilitators,
• Initiating an exposure program for workers and staff members

All together leading to successful quality circles.