We live in a world where time, money and resources are scarce. A world where we have to set ourselves on the path of continual improvement and strive to be the best we can possible be. The Akshaya Patra Foundation embraces this concept wholeheartedly through the implementation of its Akshaya Pragathi Program.
In a structure such as The Akshaya Patra Organisation where every hard earned rupee from our generous donors has to be put to the maximum possible use, reaching out to over 1.3 million children, we understand that it is imperative to have a streamlined process for constant development and improvement in place.
Within the program, Akshaya Patra has adopted three parallel methods to strive for a system of best practices and complete efficiency.
akshaya-patra-blog-in-search-of-excellenceUnder the Kaizen (Kai=continual, Zen=improvement) system, the focus is on making creative investments to solve as many small problems as possible, thereby contributing to the greater whole. By reducing waste across areas like inventory, waiting time, transportation, over production etc., and improving on space utilization, product quality, use of capital, employee retention and production capacity etc., the Kaizen method provides immediate results that streamline processes and boost employee morale.
A simple to implement yet highly effective check on processes is the PDCA Cycle. By following a simple series of steps from Plan, Do, Check and Act, issues that can be easily overlooked are addressed in a quick and efficient manner.
To complement the immediate nature of the Kaizen approach is our long term Six Sigma approach. This is a statistical measurement of the performance of a process, intended to assist us in our goal of achieving lasting business leadership and world class performance. The Six Sigma system follows a simple five step DMAIC process of Define what’s important, Measure how you are doing, Analyse what is wrong, Improve by fixing what is wrong and Control to guarantee performance.
Using these three systems The Akshaya Patra Foundation aspires to improve across every strata of its functioning to achieve not just its goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020, but to build a foundation that will stand the tests of time.
