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The Deming cycle or Plan Do Check Act, abbreviated as PDCA, is a simple and efficient method for continuous improvement in any field. The Deming Cycle is named after Dr. William Edward Deming (1900-1993), an American management consultant and professor of statistics. Deming introduced this method in the 1950s in Japan to improve quality in industry and to demonstrate the importance of the Deming cycle in industrial maintenance and repair. This method consists of four main steps: planning, doing, checking and acting. By using this cycle, problems can be identified, solutions can be designed and tested, results can be evaluated and corrections can be applied. The Deming cycle has something to say not only in industry and production, but also in personal life. In this article, for a better understanding of this issue, first, examples of the application of the Deming cycle in life and industry are given, and then the application of this cycle in maintenance and repair management is discussed.
Application of the Deming cycle in personal life
The Deming cycle can help you better define your goals, formulate appropriate plans to achieve them, monitor and evaluate your performance, and identify and improve your strengths and weaknesses. To better understand this issue, consider this example, suppose you plan to learn a new foreign language. Using the Deming cycle, you can do the following:
Planning: In this step, define your goal. For example, you want to reach an intermediate level of English within 6 months. Determine the resources and methods needed to learn the language. For example, you can use books, software, videos, podcasts, and online classes. You also need to consider your time and budget. For example, you can take three 90-minute online classes a week and devote half an hour to self-study every day.
Do: In this step, you need to put your plan into action. That is, continue to learn the language with persistence and motivation and use the selected resources and methods. During the program, try to maintain your order and balance and do not expect too much from yourself.
Review: In this step, you should evaluate your performance. That is, by using different tools, measure your progress in language learning and compare it with your goal. For example, you can use online tests, class grades, feedback from professors and classmates, and your ability in conversation and writing. At this stage, you should identify your strengths and weaknesses and analyze the reasons for your success or failure.
Action: At this point, you should apply the necessary improvements. That is, according to the results of the review, revise your plan and make appropriate changes in your resources, methods, time and budget. For example, you may want to add a new resource to your resources, try a new way of learning a language, devote more or less time to self-study, or increase or decrease your budget.
By repeating the Deming cycle in your personal life, you can get closer to your goals and experience continuous improvement. We can implement exactly the same process on a larger scale in the industry.
Application of Deming cycle in industry
The Deming cycle in industry helps to improve processes and products as well as in personal life. By using the Deming cycle, it is possible to optimize the performance of organizations, reduce costs, increase quality, attract customer satisfaction and promote innovation. For example, suppose you are active in a clothing manufacturing company. Using the Deming cycle, you can do the following:
Planning: In this step, identify and understand your problem or opportunity. For example, your problem may be a low sales yield. Then use the necessary resources and methods to solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity to improve your activity. For example, your opportunity may be high market demand for a certain type of product. Then set your goal and criteria. For example, your goal might be to increase sales by 20% in the next three months. Then, design and plan the solutions and actions necessary to achieve the goal in internal organizational meetings. For example, you can implement new methods to produce these special clothes, communicate with your customers and stakeholders and receive surveys and feedback, etc.
Do: In this step, you need to implement your solutions and actions. That is, with commitment and cooperation, carry out your activities in order to reach the goal and record and follow their results. During the implementation, try to use the right resources and tools and deal well with the challenges and obstacles.
Review: In this step, you should evaluate the results of your performance. That is, by using data and evidence, measure the extent of addressing your goals and criteria and compare them with the opinions and expectations of customers and stakeholders, or even with the key indicators of Net. At this stage, you should identify and analyze the factors affecting your success or failure.
Action: At this point, you should apply the necessary improvements. That is, according to the results of the review, review your activities and make appropriate changes in methods, processes, products, resources, marketing, communication and other factors.
By repeating the Deming cycle in the industry, you can achieve sustainable improvement of your activities and be innovative.
Deming cycle in industrial maintenance and repairs
In order to continuously improve the maintenance and repair system (net) and to improve the level of equipment net management, an effective cycle must be designed in the heart of the net system, so that the flow of operations and information are permanently placed in predictable and certain channels, and the problems and weaknesses of the system It should be revealed in time by appropriate indicators and corrective actions should be taken after determining the logical solutions.
This cycle is one of the keys to the success of industries in all matters, especially in maintenance and repairs.
A CMMS software, or Computerized Maintenance Management System, is an efficient and useful tool for improving the performance and efficiency of industrial equipment and processes. By using a CMMS software, you can optimize your maintenance and repair activities in the following ways:
Deming cycle in maintenance and repairs
The stages of maintenance and repair knowledge management cycle can be implemented as the following steps in the maintenance and repair management system of a dynamic organization:
Maintenance and repair process planning (Danesh Net planning)
Gathering sources and equipment references (maps, catalogs, documents, etc.) (Gathering Net knowledge)
Modifying and updating the organization’s current net guidelines (acquiring net knowledge)
Standardization of maintenance and repairs (creating Danesh Net)
Planned maintenance and repairs (data storage)
Registering the above information in the Net software (maintenance and repairs bank / Net archive – Danesh Net knowledge storage)
The level of public access to the maintenance and repair bank (Daneshnet sharing)
Implementation of the maintenance and repair management system (Implementation of Daneshnet)
Monitoring the key performance indicators of the Net process (Evaluation of Net knowledge)
Improvement and modification of the maintenance and repair management system of the organization (updating and upgrading Danesh Net)
We know that the Deming cycle or PDCA is a simple and efficient method for continuous improvement in any field. This method consists of four main steps: planning, doing, checking and acting. By using this cycle, problems can be identified, solutions can be designed and tested, results can be evaluated and corrections can be applied. The maintenance and repair platform of Kavash Sanat Company is an efficient and useful tool for improving the performance and efficiency of industrial equipment and processes. Using this platform, you can optimize your maintenance and repair activities in the following ways:
Facilitating the process of planning the calendar of routines
Immediate notification
The possibility of checking and verifying input data by operators semi-automatically
Access level control and folder management based on user group
Monitor employee performance
Creating various functional and cost reports