ORIGINAL ARTICLE Implementation of model for improvement (PDCA-cycle) in dairy laboratories Abdelkader M. Kholif 1 | Dina S. Abou El Hassan 1 | Mohamed A. Khorshid 1 | Elsayed A. Elsherpieny 2 | Olurotimi A. Olafadehan 3 1 Dairy Science Department, National Research Centre, 12622 Dokki, Giza, Egypt 2 Mathematical Statistics Department, Institute of Statistical Studies and Research, Cairo University, 12613 Dokki, Giza, Egypt 3 Department of Animal Science, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria Correspondence A. M. Kholif, Dairy Science Department, National Research Centre, 12622 Dokki, Giza, Egypt. Email: am_kholif@hotmail.com Funding information National Research Centre (Egypt) Abstract The aim of this study was to implement Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA cycle) as a method for the con- tinuous quality improvement in the dairy laboratories. This method was used to identify and analyze the critical problems that occur in the preanalytical stage of ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk samples, to find the root causes of their occurrence and proffer solutions. Results showed a reduction in the number of the contaminated UHT milk samples from initial 368 to 85. Moreover, the capability index (CP) increased from 0.52 to 1.07. These reductions in the number of contami- nated milk samples and increase in CP increased the efficiency from 68.02% to 74.06% and the effectiveness from 88.95% to 96.85%. Thus, PDCA methodology can be successfully applied in the dairy laboratory to reduce the occurrence of errors and increase the processes capability to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of dairy laboratory. Practical applications Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is used in process improvement in medicine laboratories for patient’s fulfillment, where the implementation of process improvement project in medicine labora- tories resulted in a positive influence with more effective and simplicity workflow. Also, CQI in dairy laboratories is considered an essential issue, as the analytical quality assurance plays a funda- mental role in the precision of laboratories results. Furthermore, future laboratory accreditation, which is considered a fundamental tool for the dairy manufacture to increase confidence in labora- tories outcomes, can be obtained on the basis of quality assurance and improvement precepts. To the best of our knowledge, this current research introduces a method for CQI in the dairy laborato- ries (PDCA approach) which has not been discussed in previous related work. 1 | INTRODUCTION Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is a part and parcel of quality improvement and no one can deny its significance. Nowadays, there is an urgent demand to circulate a continuous improvement (CI) culture more than any time. The CQI is a very essential element of dairy labo- ratories’ operations and activities. It ensures consistent quality of ana- lytical outcomes and their reliability, creating high-quality products that conform to the standard specifications. Moreover, it reduces waste of time, personal effort and raw materials. This is positively reflected in the production costs reduction as a result of decrease in the additional expenses resulting from the re-work or taking corrective actions. Therefore, milk factories have to exert more efforts to implement one or more of the continuous improvement methodologies. They must also discover new methods to meet the demands of the clients. Plura (2000) indicated that the CI is an essential precept of the total quality management. It is a vital element of accomplishment and keeping of the institution’s competitiveness, and has to be an undying goal of the institution. Practical experiences illustrate that a lot of milk factories are going out of business just because they are unable to attain the same rapid improvement level as their competitors. The CQI can be defined, according to the ISO 9000 (2005) standard, as “a recur- ring activity to increase the ability to fulfill requirements.” According to Abbreviations: CI, continuous improvement; CP, capability index; CQI, continuous quality improvement; DMAIC, Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve- Control; FMEA, failure modes and effects analysis; LSL, lower specification limit; NP, proportion of nonconforming units; PDCA, Plan-Do-Check-Act; UHT, ultra-high-temperature; USL, upper specification limit. J Food Saf. 2018;e12451. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.12451 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfs V C 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1 of 6 Received: 3 September 2017 | Revised: 22 December 2017 | Accepted: 1 January 2018 DOI: 10.1111/jfs.12451