CHOOSING BETWEEN INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS & INNOVATIONS

By Jerry Senk, President of Equipment Manufacturers International, Inc. 

ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS:

• Drive innovations with incremental improvements
• Keep the focus on what works

Innovation and improvement are two concepts that may differ in focus and goals. Improvements aims to identify inefficiencies and areas of the process inefficiencies in established systems and practices, leading to greater productivity and cost savings. Innovation can be a paradigm shift, out of the box approach or it can be an iterative process developed from improvements that centers on creating something entirely new, whether a product, service, or process

How best to gain the knowledge for the best improvements? Easy, turn to what matters most. Focus not on the newest design, but rather on what truly works in the field.

All improvements or innovations need to address a data-based deficiency or efficiency issue of the current process. As you attempt to climb to the design summit of a machine, you can’t reach the top of a tree without a strong foundation to set your ladder on.