What is PDCA? 4 Steps to effectively apply the PDCA process in your business

1. Overview What is PDCA?

1.1.  What is PDCA?  Origin of the PDCA.

PDCA is a method of quality management and improvement developed by American businessman Walter A. Shewhart in the 1930s and further developed by W. Edwards Deming. The PDCA cycle is designed in the form of a continuous loop without stopping, including 4 stages: Plan - Do - Check - Act, demonstrating the process of continuous improvement in operational activities, with the spirit of " change to be better". Therefore PDCA is also known as the continuous improvement cycle.

PDCA is a popular method representing the philosophy of Lean Manufacturing - a modern production model towards streamlining operational processes, minimizing waste and enhancing operational efficiency production and business activities. The PDCA cycle is an important tool in quality management, widely applied in many different fields such as manufacturing, project management, service, education, healthcare, etc.

1.2.  What are the 4 main stages of the PDCA model?

The PDCA continuous improvement cycle consists of 4 basic steps, equivalent to 4 representative letters:

- Plan: Set goals, determine the activities to be done to achieve the goal, establish the implementation schedule and evaluation criteria.

- Do (Implement): Implement the plan, collect data and information to evaluate results.

- Check: Evaluate results against goals, compare with standards and collected data.

- Act: Summarize results, draw lessons learned, suggest improvements, and plan for the next PDCA cycle.

2. Benefits of applying the PDCA model

The PDCA model was once considered the secret behind the rapid growth of Japanese businesses. So what made the leap in operation thanks to the application of PDCA?  What are the benefits of implementing the PDCA model? Basically, the PDCA process focuses on addressing the following three aspects:

Optimizing production processes

PDCA helps businesses optimize production processes by providing specific plans, conducting implementation, testing and providing continuous improvement. From there, through each cycle, the operation process will be more perfect and streamlined, so businesses can achieve higher efficiency, reduce production costs and increase operational efficiency.

Improve product and service quality

PDCA helps businesses improve the quality of products and services by finding problems and weaknesses in the production process and providing solutions to overcome. When the quality of products and services is improved, businesses can strengthen their competitive position in the market, attract new customers and retain existing customers more effectively.

Reduce waste and save production costs

PDCA helps businesses reduce waste and save production costs by using resources efficiently and streamlining the production apparatus. When waste and production costs are reduced, businesses can increase profits.

3. 4 steps to apply PDCA process in business

Step 1: Make a plan

This step focuses on goal setting, planning, and preparation for the improvement process.  First, businesses need to define their goals, including factors such as products or services, markets, customers, etc. Then, businesses need to make a standard plan based only on the principles of planning. Plan to achieve those goals by identifying activities to be performed, resources used, time, costs, etc.

Key activities in this phase include:

- Identify the problem to be solved or the goal to be achieved.

- Collect information and data to assess the status quo.

- Analyze information and data to find the root cause of problems or ways to achieve goals.

- Set specific, measurable goals and deadlines for achieving them.

 Plan improvement activities.

Step 2: Do 

In this step, the enterprise will proceed to implement the working process according to the plan made in the previous step. This is the actual step to test the plan and check if it works as intended. Businesses should ensure that all activities are followed in the correct sequence and exactly as planned.

Main activities include:

- Implement the improvement activities planned in step 1.

- Ensure that activities are carried out on time and meet business performance and quality standards.

Step 3: Evaluate (Check)

This step will focus on evaluating the results of the activities carried out. The business needs to collect, analyze and evaluate the results to see if the PDCA process is meeting its goals. The business metrics that need to be measured will be compared with the target milestones set at the planning stage. If the results do not meet expectations, businesses need to find the cause and provide solutions to improve.

Step 4: Action (Act)

In step 4, the business will focus on adjusting and improving operations to achieve better results. After checking the results and making analytical assessments, the business will propose improvement options to improve its operations. Improvements can include changing processes, technologies, or improving the quality of products or services.

Main activities include:

- Develop solutions to solve existing problems.

- Establish a plan to implement improvement solutions.

- Implement the solutions established in the previous step to improve business quality and efficiency.

- Re-evaluate results after implementing improvement solutions.

- Iterate the PDCA process to continue to improve and enhance the quality and performance of the business.

After completing step 4, the PDCA process will be repeated to continue to improve and to improve quality and business efficiency. The implementation of PDCA requires the active participation of the members of the organization. Managers need to ensure that the PDCA process is implemented rigorously and continuously, and provide appropriate, practical solutions to thoroughly solve the problems raised.