A study into continuous improvement initiative sustainability

The idea of continuous improvement is familiar to most managers and there are many examples of how its use can increase a company’s overall performance. However, while numerous companies have adopted the approach, very few have seen the long term sustainability of such programmes. This paper reports on research that was carried out into the sustainability of continuous improvement initiatives. A case study was carried out in a manufacturing company that had been using the approach for five years. The case study identified several factors that helped to sustain the initiative but it also revealed some elements that had a negative impact.