About Advanced Operational Excellence in Continuous Improvement
This course helps professionals drive measurable performance improvement through performance measurement, benchmarking, and continuous improvement strategies. It focuses on identifying the KPIs that actually matter, understanding what your data is telling you, and integrating that insight with Lean and Agile methods to sustain results over time.
You'll start with the fundamentals of performance measurement and why it's the starting point for improvement, then move into using measurement data to drive continuous improvement, including understanding variation and control charts. From there, the course covers Lean and Agile tools and techniques, how to use benchmarking to identify causes and solutions, and finishing with how to plan and run a successful benchmarking project.
By the end, you'll have practical strategies for turning performance data into measurable operational gains.
Expected Outcomes
The course is structured around five stages — from performance measurement fundamentals through to running a full benchmarking project — so each skill connects directly to measurable results. By the end, you'll be able to:
- Explain the benefits of performance measurement, continuous improvement, and benchmarking
- Identify and implement the "vital few" performance measures that drive real results
- Understand variation and use tools like control charts to interpret performance data
- Apply Lean and Agile tools and techniques to optimise processes and projects
- Use benchmarking to identify causes of problems and potential solutions
- Plan and run a successful benchmarking study from scoping to execution
- Connect employee engagement with process excellence for sustained improvement
Training Method
The course begins with the fundamentals of performance measurement, including how to select the vital few measures that matter and use data constructively. It then moves into using that data for continuous improvement, covering variation, control charts, and how to systematically improve a process.
From there, you'll explore Lean and Agile tools and techniques and how to apply them in practice, followed by using benchmarking to identify the causes of problems and demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships. The course closes with practical guidance on scoping, planning, and running a full benchmarking project, and integrating it with Lean and Agile methods. Throughout, you'll work through tutor-led facilitation, group discussions, real-world case studies, and practical exercises, so you leave with strategies ready to implement immediately.
