Continuous Improvement Flashcards

In the PDCA cycle, during which phase does a reliability team compare pilot results against the expected outcome?

Answer: Check

The Check (or Study) phase evaluates results of the trial against the predicted outcome.

A maintenance team runs a successful pilot of a new lubrication route and now wants to make it the standard across all plants. Which PDCA phase is this?

Answer: Act

The Act phase standardizes successful changes or adjusts the approach before the next cycle.

What is the primary purpose of the 5 Whys technique in a reliability improvement effort?

Answer: To drill past symptoms to an underlying cause

Repeatedly asking why helps move from the visible symptom toward a root cause.

Which term describes small, incremental improvements made continuously by everyone in the organization?

Answer: Kaizen

Kaizen means continuous incremental improvement involving all employees.

A reliability leader notices the same pump bearing fails every few months despite repeated replacements. What does this most strongly indicate?

Answer: The root cause has not been addressed

Recurring failures after like-for-like repair signal that only the symptom, not the root cause, is being fixed.

Which type of metric tells you an improvement is likely to succeed before results such as reduced downtime appear?

Answer: Leading indicator

Leading indicators, like PM compliance or schedule compliance, predict future performance.

Why is standardizing work considered essential to sustaining continuous improvement?

Answer: It creates a stable baseline from which future improvements are measured

Standard work provides a known baseline so variation can be reduced and improvements measured.