Many companies have learned from the success of the Japanese Kaizen methodology, and have introduced it into their operations in the form of a continuous improvement process (CIP). In order to achieve lasting success, CIP needs standards and tools to support implementation of new practices, as well as long-term commitment and discipline.

The CIP Guide provides support for all the departments involved in the improvement process: the project team, which executes changes, the CIP coordinator, who plans and controls the process, and management, who need to make decisions about the project and analyze its profitability.

CIP projects are run according to the Deming method using PDCA cycles. In practice, several projects are often running at the same time. This means it is very important to reduce the administrative burden on the CIP coordinator and the project teams. The CIP Guide can give an overview of the current project status and history at any time.

Managers want to know the return on investment (ROI). The CIP Guide enables a quantitative analysis of the expense incurred and savings achieved in each project. It generates statistics on how many suggestions have been made and how many of them have been implemented. If you are using a bonus system, you can set the amount of the bonuses as a fraction of the profit generated by the project, and calculate the share for each project team.

In manufacturing plants, the CIP Guide can automatically evaluate improvements in the equipment productivity.

The CIP Guide can be used in all kinds of companies and organizations. The software is multilingual and runs on common databases such as Oracle and SQL Server. A free business intelligence software module can be used to generate customized reports and analyses.