SQDCM visual management boards for continuous improvement

An SQDCM Board shows key daily performance results in one place, helping teams in Lean and shop floor operations track Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale at all-in-one places.

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What is a SQDCM Board?

A SQDCM Board is a visual management tool widely used in manufacturing, that displays daily performance metrics for Safety (S), Quality (Q), Delivery (D), Cost (C), and Morale (M). These boards keep teams aligned by showing real-time KPIs, colour-coded status updates, and clear action points. SQDCM board serves as a central communication hub for teams, providing real-time visibility into performance targets and progress. The board typically includes colour-coded indicators to track accident rates, defect counts, on-time delivery, production costs, and employee satisfaction. This visual management board facilitates continuous improvement efforts by fostering transparency, accountability, and collaboration among team members, ultimately driving operational excellence and productivity.

What is a SQDCM Board?
Operational excellence

Operational excellence

SQDCM board improves safety, quality, and delivery performance simultaneously to ensure seamless operations and meet customer demands efficiently.

Cost efficiency

Cost efficiency

By monitoring safety and quality metrics, SQDCM management reduces operational costs associated with defects, delays, and workplace incidents.

Employee engagement

Employee engagement

SQDCM Visual Management Board boost morale by creating a safer work environment, reducing stress caused by defects or delays, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

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Key metrics in the SQDCM framework

The Balanced Scorecard software makes SQDCM practical by turning daily core KPI data into clear, real-time insights. SQDCM boards on digital Balanced Scorecard make it easy for teams to monitor progress, share information openly, and keep everyone aligned on daily goals — all in one place.
Safety

SQDCM tracks organisational safety metrics daily, giving teams a clear view of incidents, near misses, and compliance in one place. This helps prioritise risks, fix hazards quickly, and build a safer workplace for everyone.

  • Track workplace safety incidents and near-miss events
  • Monitor compliance with health and safety regulations
  • Take corrective actions to reduce hazards
Safety
Quality
Quality

Manufacturers can use digital SQDCM to analyse quality metrics to gain insights into product quality, process efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Tracking metrics like defect rates, customer complaints, and adherence to standards enhances the overall quality of processes.

  • Measure defect rates, rework percentages, and customer complaints.
  • Improve quality control processes with real-time visual data.
  • Ensure compliance with industry quality standards.
Delivery

Delivery metrics within a SQDCM system comprehensively evaluate a manufacturer's supply chain efficiency and reliability. These metrics encompass on-time delivery, lead time, and order fulfilment, offering insights into the timeliness and effectiveness of delivering products to customers.

  • Track On-Time Deliveries (OTD) and lead times.
  • Optimise warehouse and inventory management.
  • Identify bottlenecks in the supply chain and resolve inefficiencies.
Delivery
Cost
Cost

Cost is a key metric in the SQDCM dashboard used by organisations to align business activities with their vision and strategy. Cost as a metric in this perspective helps measure and manage the efficiency of business processes, control expenses, and optimise resource allocation. It allows organisations to ensure profitability and sustainability.

  • Reduce waste and optimise resource utilisation.
  • Monitor production costs, operational expenses, and budget adherence.
  • Use cost insights to drive lean manufacturing initiatives.

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Morale

Morale, as a metric in the digital SQDCM solution, reflects job satisfaction, teamwork, employee retention, and organisational culture. Declines in morale indicators can serve as early warning signs of potential organisational issues, such as leadership challenges, cultural issues, or inadequate support for employee development.

  • Track employee satisfaction, retention rates, and productivity metrics.
  • Align workforce training programs with business objectives.
  • Foster a collaborative and motivated work environment.
Morale

Boosting Performance with SQDCM Boards  

0%

improvement in safety

0%

reduction in delivery lead times

0%

increase in employee morale

Hear it from our customers

MARC ROBINSON

MARC ROBINSON

Director, Global Operational Excellence

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By providing a central location to input, analyse and share our KPIs, 'Data Point' enables site management to more easily focus on the entire business as a team. Its ability to allow automated data entry and trend analysis gives us more time for improvement rather than just reporting numbers. Combined with a disciplined approach within our SQDC meeting process, I believe 'Data Point' will help us continually focus on key issues and drive business excellence in all areas.

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Hassle free Data Point integrations

Connect your SQDCM board to essential business tools, integrating ERP systems, project management software, and more to unify performance tracking seamlessly.

Learn how SQDCM can elevate your operations

Fill out the form below to discover how the SQDCM framework can help your organisation improve its core metrics.

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Your Questions, Answered!

Why do manufacturers use SQDCM Boards?

Manufacturers use SQDCM Boards to make daily performance visible, encourage accountability, and quickly respond to issues that affect safety, quality, delivery times, costs, or employee morale.

What does SQDCM mean?

SQDCM means Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale. It’s a simple framework to track daily performance and drive continuous improvement.

Can SQDCM Boards be digital?

Yes, modern SQDCM Boards are often digital. Digital boards make it easy to update data, share insights, and track trends in real time.

What are SQDCM metrics and their examples?

SQDCM metrics include Safety (accidents), Quality (defect rates), Delivery (on-time orders), Cost (production costs), and Morale (employee satisfaction). Teams track these daily to solve problems fast.

What is the SQDCM methodology?

The SQDCM methodology uses a visual board or dashboard to show key daily metrics for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale. It helps teams spot issues, take action, and improve performance.

How do I measure SQDCM?

Measure SQDCM by tracking daily data for each area: report incidents for Safety, defects for Quality, delivery times for Delivery, expenses for Cost, and survey results for Morale. A digital SQDCM Board makes this easy.

How to use a SQDCM board?

The framework helps businesses identify cost-saving opportunities by reducing waste, optimising processes, and controlling operational expenses.
  • Monitor daily metrics for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale
  • Use green/red indicators to show performance
  • Discuss issues as a team and take action
  • Drive continuous improvement through regular updates

Should I use Excel or a dashboard for SQDCM?

An SQDCM Excel sheet works for manual tracking, but a digital SQDCM Dashboard updates data in real time, shows trends visually, and makes sharing results easier for teams. So, it is better to use SQDCM visual boards for organisational success.

What’s the best way to monitor SQDCM metrics?

A Balanced Scorecard is one of the best ways to track SQDCM because it shows daily metrics in one clear dashboard. This helps teams monitor results, find gaps, and take action to improve performance every day.

What is SQDCM in Lean?

SQDCM visual management is key in Lean because it makes daily performance and problems easy to see and fix. SQDCM boards thus help to remove waste, standardising work, and improving flow.

Why is Morale important in SQDCM?

Morale is part of SQDCM because satisfied, engaged employees help maintain safety, quality, and delivery standards. Tracking Morale helps leaders fix issues that can affect performance.

How to make an SQDCM template?

Create an SQDCM template by listing daily targets and actuals for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Morale. Use Excel or a digital board to display data clearly for your team.

What is PQCDSM?

PQCDSM stands for Productivity, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety, and Morale. It’s similar to SQDCM but adds Productivity as a key metric for daily tracking.

What is SQCDME?

SQCDME is an extended version of SQDCM: Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Morale, and Environment. It adds Environmental impact as a sixth daily metric for teams to monitor.