A Culture of Continuous Improvement

A formal practitioner of Continuous Improvement (CI) since 1991, Hixson has developed a sophisticated CI management system focused on improving operational performance and establishing Hixson as a great place to work. Using a holistic approach, the goal of Hixson’s Continuous Improvement is to establish a culture of quality throughout the firm, at all levels. Hixson supports this goal by investing 4,000 hours annually on CI efforts and through specific practices such as:

• Creating clear responsibilities for quality planning and improvement at all levels within the firm.
• Following Lean principles, practices and tools, such as defining value from our clients’ perspectives, making value flow without interruption, the relentless pursuit of perfection, and more, are taught to associates and incorporated into our project approaches.
• Employing a full-time Director of Continuous Improvement who supports the work of CI teams by providing facilitation, data analysis, and training on CI tools as needed.
• Focusing resources on the firm’s most important improvements through the creation of an annual Hoshin Plan, a Lean tool for setting and executing strategic objectives.
• Applying systematic, proven problem-solving methods for corrective and preventive actions.
• Capturing client feedback, lessons learned, technical knowledge, and other data for ease of re-use on future projects and to leverage improvements firm-wide.

For our clients, Hixson’s CI approach results in exceptional value for Hixson’s services and better quality of design solutions, among other benefits. To learn more about Continuous Improvement at Hixson, and how it can benefit your next project, contact us today.