Skip to main content
Version: 0.0.1

Network

Layer: Operational | PDCA: Check & Act | Duration: 3–5 hours | Frequency: Monthly or bi-monthly

Participants: Progress Leader, Team Leaders, HSEQ Leaders

The Network synchronizes improvements across processes. It collects all active improvements, checks for overlaps and dependencies, and ensures that process-level changes are coherent across the value stream.

Inputs​

  • Circle results from all teams (T3.3)
  • Active improvements by process
  • Resource constraints and shared dependencies

Outputs​

  • Synchronized improvement schedule
  • Validated improvements (no conflicts, no rework)
  • Aligned process changes fed back to Circles (T3.4)

Key Principles​

  • Synchronization prevents one team's improvement from becoming another team's problem
  • The Network thinks in processes, not in departments
  • Resources shared across teams are allocated here, not negotiated bilaterally

PDCA Steps​

StepPDCADescription
S3.1CheckAll improvements are collected by process and reviewed for overlaps and dependencies
S3.2ActImprovements are synchronized to avoid rework and optimize resources

Connections​

  • Circle to Network (T3.3 → S3.1) — Circle results feed the Network
  • Network to Circle (S3.2 → T3.4) — Synchronized improvements return to Circles

Anti-pattern: The Departmental Silo​

The Network organizes improvements by team instead of by process. Each Team Leader presents what their team is doing, but no one maps improvements to shared process steps. Overlaps go undetected. Dependencies are discovered only when they cause failures.

How to detect: The Network agenda is organized by team name, not by process name. No one has a cross-process view of active improvements. Two teams discover they are improving the same process step only after both have implemented conflicting changes.

How to recover: The Progress Leader must restructure the Network around processes, not teams. The Workflow artifact is the key — it maps improvements to process steps. If the Workflow is not being maintained, the Network cannot fulfill its purpose.