Handbook For Basic Process Improvement Page 21
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40Handbook for Basic Process Improvement
Step 3: Flowchart the current process
Before a team can improve a process, the members
must understand how it works. The most useful tool for
Step 2
studying the current process is a flowchart . This tool is
explained in the Basic Tools for Process Improvement.
Draw a flowchart of exactly
To develop an accurate flowchart, the team assigns
what happens between the
one or more members to observe the flow of work
starting and stopping points
of the process
through the process. It may be necessary for the
observers to follow the flow of activity through the
process several times before they can see and chart
what actually occurs. This record of where actions are
Does the
taken, decisions are made, inspections are performed,
Yes
team agree that the
and approvals are required becomes the “as-is”
flowchart is
flowchart. It may be the first accurate and complete
correct?
picture of the process from beginning to end.
No
As the team starts work on this first flowchart, they
need to be careful to depict what is really happening in
Observe the work as it is
actually performed
the process. They don’t want to fall into the trap of
flowcharting how people think the process is working,
how they would like it to work, or how an instruction or
manual says it should work. Only an as-is flowchart
Using the observations,
modify the flowchart to
that displays the process as it is actually working today
reflect reality
can reveal the improvements that may be needed.
Step 4
When teams work on processes that cross
departmental lines, they may have to talk to people at
all levels across the command who are involved in or
affected by the process they are working on. It is even
more important to get an accurate picture of these cross-functional processes than those
whose boundaries are inside a work unit or office.
As an example, “launching a helicopter” is a cross-functional process involving contributing
processes performed by bridge personnel, controllers in the CIC, firefighting teams, the
fueling team, engineers, the cargo handling team, flight deck personnel, and others. Each
of these contributing processes has to be accurately flowcharted and clearly understood
before the larger process can be improved.
The goal of this step is for the team to fully understand the process before making any
attempt to change it. Changing a process before it is fully understood can cause more
problems than already exist.
17
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