IMPQI248 – Analyse current improvement practice in food operations

Overview 

This standard is about the skills and knowledge needed for you to analyse current improvement practice to support your organisation's drive to improve food operations. This is important in increasing productivity and success of manufacture, processing and supply within the food supply chain. Analysing current practice may involve the use of one or more improvement techniques to support analysis, measurement and reporting.

You will need to show and understand how you prepare and carry out the analysis of process operations and business activity to assess their effectiveness and efficiency in your area of responsibility. You will need to accurately present findings of analysis to relevant people within the organisation, including management colleagues. You will need to comply with your company policy for improvement, take responsibility for your actions, and refer any issues outside of the limit of your authority to others.

This standard is for you if you analyse current improvement practice working in food or drink operations including manufacturing, processing, packing or supply chain activities. You may have responsibilities for aspects of organisational improvement in a team leadership or management role.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

Prepare for analysis

  1. confirm and agree the defined scope of analysis with the relevant personnel
  2. identify improvement techniques to be used to support analysis in accordance with the improvement plan
  3. obtain information, documentation and resources necessary to support the selected improvement techniques in accordance with procedures

Carry out analysis of improvement practice

  1. apply selected improvement techniques to collect performance data on improvement practice
  2. analyse and evaluate performance data using selected improvement techniques to report on current improvement practice

Report current improvement practice

  1. present findings of analysis in accordance with procedures
  2. specify improvement opportunities and targets in accordance with the improvement plan
  3. report on current improvement practice to the relevant personnel

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

  1. your organisation's improvement vision, strategy, objectives and the reasons for the implementation of improvement programmes
  2. why it is important to work proactively to analyse current practice within the overall improvement programme
  3. the role of analysis techniques in determining improvement opportunities and setting process and business targets
  4. the main features and benefits of the techniques used in analysis
  5. how to use improvement techniques to collect and analyse performance data
  6. how to obtain the information, documentation and resources that are needed to support the analysis of work activities
  7. how to use basic statistical analysis
  8. the use of statistical measurement and meanings, abbreviations and symbols in the collection and analysis of performance data
  9. how to use graphical data representation in data analysis
  10. how to interpret and evaluate data
  11. how to use data to identify improvement opportunities and targets
  12. how to motivate staff to maintain ongoing participation in improvement activities
  13. the formal and informal communication channels used

Keywords: Food operations; Manufacturing; Excellence; Improvement; Organisational development; Change; Management; Analysis