A practical checklist of common failure points when factories try to improve performance without enough structure.
Most failed improvement programmes don't fail because the ideas were wrong. They fail because of a handful of structural mistakes that show up again and again: starting with tools instead of priorities, running improvement as a side project, and declaring success the moment a pilot works.
Other common traps include improving a process that isn't the real constraint, leaving no one accountable for holding the gains once consultants or project teams move on, and underinvesting in leadership and supervisor capability - so improvement depends on a handful of champions rather than the system itself.
The final, and most common, mistake is treating improvement as a project with an end date rather than a permanent capability. Gains made without a control routine to protect them tend to erode within months as old habits return under pressure.
Avoiding these traps usually comes down to sequencing: get clarity on the real priority first, build capability in the team doing the work, and put control systems in place before declaring the job done.