What refers to making consistent updates and enhancements to processes to increase overall efficiency?

The concept of continuous improvement is centered around the ongoing effort to enhance processes within an organization. This approach involves regular updates and enhancements aimed at increasing overall efficiency, effectiveness, and quality. The idea is that by consistently evaluating and refining processes, a business can adapt to changing conditions, eliminate waste, and improve the value delivered to customers.

Continuous improvement methodologies, such as Kaizen and Lean, emphasize small, incremental changes rather than large-scale transformations. These small changes accumulate over time, leading to significant improvements in efficiency and productivity. This is why continuous improvement is often seen as a fundamental principle in quality management and operations management.

While quality control focuses more specifically on maintaining standards and preventing defects in output, and process optimization seeks to make a specific process as effective as possible at a given time, continuous improvement encompasses a broader philosophy of ongoing assessment and modification. Operational efficiency pertains to the management of resources to achieve maximum output but does not inherently imply the regular incremental enhancements characteristic of continuous improvement. Thus, the notion of continuous improvement aligns perfectly with the concept of making systematic updates and enhancements to increase efficiency.