Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)

A key management system concept

The Purpose of any Management System is to enable a company to understand its actual performance and then be able to effectively take action to improve. Improvement is achieved by properly understanding and utilizing the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. This means that a company must establish efficient and effective procedures/processes/policies (Plan), implement those “plans” (Do), monitor the resulting data (Check), and take appropriate action to improve, correct, and prevent problems (ACT).

With this PDCA cycle in mind, Clydesdale works with its clients to analyze their processes and seek to eliminate activities that do not aid the company in its ability to Plan, Do, Check, or Act. Such activities are, by definition, non-value-added.

The PDCA cycle also has meaning to projects, and as such the Accelerated Registration Program itself moves through each of these Four Phases.