What is Continuous Improvement?

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced in partnership with Beth Pipe FCIPD of OnLive Learning
Practice notes

What is Continuous Improvement?

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Produced in partnership with Beth Pipe FCIPD of OnLive Learning

Practice notes
imgtext

This Practice Note provides a brief overview of Continuous Improvement (CI) and covers the following areas:

  1. •

    what is CI

  2. •

    is it relevant to Life Sciences

  3. •

    what is lean six sigma

  4. •

    the continuous improvement triangle

  5. •

    value added v non-value added work

  6. •

    the statistical background

CIContinuous Improvement

What is CI?

The definition of CI is often over complicated and buried in jargon, but it means exactly what it says: continually looking for ways to improve processes, methods and procedures.

Improvements do not have to be major changes; a number of small but effective changes soon add up.

CI tools and methods can help you fix process that are no longer effective and allow you review processes that currently appear to be working but could still be improved to deliver greater efficiencies and cost savings.

Above all CI is about engaging with individuals and pooling ideas, challenging the existing habitual ways of doing things and identifying a method of measuring the success or failure of new initiatives.

Is

Beth Pipe
Beth Pipe, FCIPD

Learning & Development Specialist/Director, OnLive Learning

Beth is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and has spent over 25 years specialising in Learning and Development. During that time she has worked across a broad variety of different industries and has, for the past 15 years, worked closely with a number of well known law firms; this has involved putting in to place systems and structures to encourage, enable and track the effectiveness of learning activities. 

Adept at face to face course delivery, and always enjoying excellent feedback, Beth is also accomplished at online delivery and created OnLive Learning in response to the challenges presented by the 2020 Covid-19 restrictions.

Beth has written extensively for LexisNexis on subjects such as Performance Management, Managing Change and Stress Management.

Away from her training delivery she is a published author writing about local history, hiking, wildlife and the outdoors and is currently working on her eleventh book. She is also an experienced radio presenter hosting two shows each week on Lake District Radio.

Read moreRead more
Powered by Lexis+®
Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
CI definition
What does CI mean?

Conventional Island: That part of a nuclear plant that does not form part of the nuclear island. The conventional island is sub-divided into the turbine generator (i.e. the plant that converts the nuclear steam into electricity) and everything else that needs to be designed, constructed and tested to complete the conventional island i.e. the balance of conventional island.

Read more readmore

Popular documents

Scotland—the process for applying for sequestration

Scotland—the process for applying for sequestrationSequestration in Scotland is the legal process by which an insolvent debtor’s estate is gathered in, realised and then distributed among their creditors by a trustee appointed for that purpose. The process requires that a formal award of

Micklefield clauses

Micklefield clausesWhat is a Micklefield clause?It is common for employee share plans to provide that, on termination of employment (or when an employee is given or receives notice of termination of employment), subsisting share awards will be forfeited and subsisting share options will lapse.It is

Late payment penalties—inheritance tax

Late payment penalties—inheritance taxWhile interest often accrues on overdue tax, the late payment of certain taxes may also attract a penalty. For information on the interest accruing on overdue tax, see Practice Notes: IHT—payment deadlines on death—Interest on IHT and Interest on late paid

Where are misrepresentations made? Jurisdictional traps for the unwary (Bellmare Holdings Ltd v Wells)

Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court has provided concise guidance as to how misrepresentation should be analysed when considering jurisdictional gateways. Under Article 5(3) of the Lugano Convention, in negligent misstatement cases, the place of the event giving rise to damage is normally