| Course | APS-4020 Applied Quality Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: continual improvement methods |
| Length | About 451 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | B.S.B.A. in Operations Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for APS 4020 Module 8
Load by Route, Leave on Time: One Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle at a Wholesale Bakery
Student Name
B.S.B.A. in Operations Management, Thomas Edison State University
APS-4020: Applied Quality Management
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Load by Route, Leave on Time: One Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle at a Wholesale Bakery
The Problem
The Pareto analysis in Module 6 showed that late deliveries caused 39 percent of returned orders. Trucks are scheduled to leave between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m.; over four baseline weeks, 21 percent left more than fifteen minutes late. The cause-and-effect diagram pointed to loading: products are loaded as they finish baking, so drivers wait for the last item on their route while racks for other routes block the dock.
Plan
Deming (1986) described the improvement cycle as plan, do, check and act, a sequence for testing changes on a small scale before adopting them. The plan: stage finished products on racks labeled by route rather than by product, bake the products needed for the earliest routes first and set a loading order posted at the dock. The measure: share of trucks leaving more than fifteen minutes late, recorded by the dispatcher. The prediction: late departures would fall below 10 percent.
Do
The change was tested on weekdays for four weeks with the night crew, after a short meeting where bakers, packers and drivers helped label racks and set the baking sequence.
Check
The prediction was met. Two problems appeared: Saturday routes, with different customers, were not covered by the new baking sequence, and one route still left late because its first stop orders a specialty bread baked last.
| Measure | Baseline (4 weeks) | Test (4 weeks) |
|---|---|---|
| Trucks leaving more than 15 minutes late | 21 percent | 6 percent |
| Average departure delay for late trucks | 28 minutes | 17 minutes |
| Returns for late delivery per week | 30 | 11 |
Act
The bakery will adopt route-order loading permanently, add a Saturday baking sequence and move the specialty bread earlier in the bake. The next cycle will address underweight bags, using the control charts from Module 7.
Making Improvement a Habit
Imai (1986) described kaizen as continuous, incremental improvement involving everyone, from managers to workers. Bessant et al. (2001) proposed that organizations develop continuous improvement capability in stages, from occasional, unstructured problem solving to systematic, goal-oriented improvement and eventually to a learning organization, and that moving between stages requires building specific routines and behaviors. Our bakery has just completed its first structured cycle. To move further, the weekly bakers' meeting will choose one problem each month for a cycle, results will be posted at the dock and the owner will review them monthly.
The cycle also showed the value of involving the crew: drivers suggested the route labels.
Their idea worked.
Conclusion
One Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle cut late departures from 21 to 6 percent with no new equipment. Turning that success into a habit of monthly cycles is the next step toward continual improvement.
References
Bessant, J., Caffyn, S., & Gallagher, M. (2001). An evolutionary model of continuous improvement behaviour. Technovation, 21(2), 67-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-4972(00)00023-7
Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the crisis. MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study.
Imai, M. (1986). Kaizen: The key to Japan's competitive success. Random House.
What the APS 4020 Module 8 instructions ask for
Module 8 of APS-4020 covers continual improvement methods, and this page shows one of the course's six written assignments, worth 20 percent together, applied to it. Explain an improvement method such as Plan-Do-Check-Act or kaizen and apply one full cycle to a real problem, with a baseline, a change, a measured result and next steps, then discuss how improvement becomes routine. Goetsch and Davis's chapter on continual improvement is the base. Report measures before and after, admit what did not work and say what the next cycle will address. Plan the change with the crew. Compare baseline and test results side by side.
How the APS 4020 Module 8 example is put together
The paper starts from earlier analysis: late deliveries cause 39 percent of returns, and loading is the likely cause. Deming's cycle structures the paper. The plan states the change, the measure and a prediction; the do step tests it for four weeks with the crew. A table compares baseline and test results, showing late departures falling from 21 to 6 percent. Two problems found during the test lead to the act step. A margin note explains the side-by-side comparison. Imai's kaizen and Bessant, Caffyn and Gallagher's stages of improvement capability frame the plan for monthly cycles. Drivers' suggestion of route labels shows the value of involving the crew. Two problems found during the test lead directly to the act step.
Where the marks sit in the APS 4020 Module 8 rubric
Marks reward a method used correctly, a full cycle with numbers, candor about what failed, a plan to keep improving and APA form. Papers with a baseline, a prediction and measured outcomes show method. Reporting problems discovered during the test shows integrity. Connecting one cycle to a broader model of improvement capability shows understanding of continual improvement as an organizational habit. Mentors also credit involvement of front-line workers in planning, which is central to kaizen. Reporting a prediction before the test and comparing it with the result shows the scientific spirit of the cycle. Planning the next cycle shows habit building. Measured results earn credit.
APS 4020 Module 8 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students lose points by describing the PDCA cycle without running one, by reporting results without a baseline or by claiming success without measures. Others stop after one cycle with no plan to continue. Choose a measurable problem, record a baseline, state a change and a prediction, test it on a small scale, compare results, decide what to adopt and plan the next cycle. Bring a measurable problem from work and a free APS-4020 Module 8 draft can run a cycle on it. Credit the people who suggested improvements, since recognition keeps suggestions coming. State your prediction before testing a change, so the check step has something to compare against. Keep cycles small.
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More APS 4020 and B.S.B.A. in Operations Management sample papers
- APS 4020 Module 1: Written Assignment: What Organizational Excellence Would Mean for a Wholesale Bakery
- APS 4020 Module 2: Written Assignment: A Quality Strategy That Wins Back Supermarket Accounts
- APS 4020 Module 3: Discussion: Day-Old Bread, Honest Labels and a Bakery's Responsibilities
- APS 4020 Module 4: Written Assignment: Leading the Change From Inspection to a Quality Culture
- APS 4020 Module 5: Discussion: Should a Wholesale Bakery Seek ISO 9001 Certification?
- APS 4020 Module 6: Written Assignment: Check Sheets, a Pareto Chart and a Fishbone for Bakery Returns
- APS 4020 Module 7: Written Assignment: Control Charts for Bagel Bag Weights
- APS 4020 Module 9: Discussion: What Lean Means for a Bakery That Already Bakes to Order
- APS 4020 Module 10: Final Project: Quality Management in a Local Organization, a Paterson Wholesale Bakery
- OPM 3010 Module 5: Written Assignment: Control Charts for Loaf Weight and a Two-Stage Schedule
- OPM 4200 Module 6: Case Assignment: Measures, People and Innovation in the E-Bike Supply Chain
- OPM 4150 Module 2: Written Assignment: Truckload, LTL or Intermodal From Chicago?
APS 4020 Module 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free APS 4020 Module 8 sample paper?
The written assignment above runs one Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle that cut late truck departures at a bakery.
What is the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle?
A sequence for testing a change: plan it with a measure and prediction, try it on a small scale, check the results and act on them.
What is kaizen?
Continuous, incremental improvement involving everyone in the organization.
How does an organization build continuous improvement capability?
Bessant and colleagues describe stages from occasional problem solving to systematic, goal-oriented improvement, built through routines and behaviors.
Why test a change on a small scale first?
To learn whether it works and what problems appear before committing the whole organization.