Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Printing Industries of America has added another program, The Seven Basic Tools of Process Improvement, to its growing series of online continuous improvement programs. The courses are contained within the association’s Integrated Learning Center.

The seven tools covered in the 75-minute program, from Pareto diagrams to run charts, serve as foundation knowledge for anyone troubleshooting quality issues. A high percentage of a company’s problems can be improved using these tools, and they’re basic enough that anyone should be able to use them with a modest amount of training. Taken together, the seven tools help companies collect data in a systematic manner, define key metrics to avoid confusion, identify where process improvement efforts will be most beneficial, monitor the performance of processes, and determine the root cause of problems. The course reviews each tool using examples from the printing industry.

The program was authored by John Compton, a Printing Industries of America consultant specializing in operational excellence and Lean manufacturing. He is a former quality executive with Fort Dearborn Company and Vertis Communications, and professor emeritus of the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he taught quality systems and process improvement while serving as director of the Center for Quality and Productivity in the Graphic Arts.
 
Other online courses in the continuous improvement series are Introduction to Lean Manufacturing, 5S and Teams, Makeready Reduction, and Standard Work and Total Productive Maintenance.  A Visual Management and Kanbansprogram will be available this June. All were developed specifically for the printing industry.
 
Integrated Learning Center courses are low cost (especially for association members), available anytime, and can be taken by individuals at their own pace. Quizzes at the end reinforce the learning. There are a variety of courses on sales, marketing, and technical topics. More information can be found at ilearn.printing.org.