KAIZEN - A STRATEGY FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE

KAIZEN (INTRODUCTION):

Kaizen (改善, Japanese for "improvement") is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers. By improving standardized activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste.
Kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses during the country's recovery after World War II, including Toyota, and has since spread to businesses throughout the world.
Masaaki Imai is known as developer of Kaizen.



What Does Kaizen Mean?

The original kanji characters for this word are: 改 善
In Japanese this is pronounced "kaizen".
改 ("kai") means "change" or "the action to correct".
善 ("zen") means "good".

Make it easier by studying it, and making the improvement through elimination of waste.


How It works:

Kaizen is a daily activity, the purpose of which goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work ("muri"), and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes. The philosophy can be defined as bringing back the thought process into the automated production environment dominated by repetitive tasks that traditionally required little mental participation from the employees.
People at all levels of an organization can participate in kaizen, from the CEO down, as well as external stakeholders when applicable. The format for kaizen can be individual, suggestion system, small group, or large group. At Toyota, it is usually a local improvement within a workstation or local area and involves a small group in improving their own work environment and productivity. This group is often guided through the kaizen process by a line supervisor; sometimes this is the line supervisor's key role.
While kaizen (at Toyota) usually delivers small improvements, the culture of continual aligned small improvements and standardization yields large results in the form of compound productivity improvement. Hence the English usage of "kaizen" can be: "continuous improvement" or "continual improvement."
This philosophy differs from the "command-and-control" improvement programs of the mid-twentieth century. Kaizen methodology includes making changes and monitoring results, then adjusting. Large-scale pre-planning and extensive project scheduling are replaced by smaller experiments, which can be rapidly adapted as new improvements are suggested.
In modern usage, a focused kaizen that is designed to address a particular issue over the course of a week is referred to as a "kaizen blitz" or "kaizen event". These are limited in scope, and issues that arise from them are typically used in later blitzes.


Why Kaizen:

CPI (Continual Performance Improvement)

• Data Driven Methodology to Magnify Impact of Process Improvement
• Apply Control Techniques to Eliminate Erosion of Improvements
• Proceduralize/Standardize Improvements for Improved Maintenance of Critical Process Parameters

Kaizen

• Use Small Teams to Optimize Process Performance by Implementing Incremental Change
• Apply Intellectual Capital of Team Members Intimate with Process

The Nine types of waste:

1. Overproduction
2. Delays (waiting time)
3. Transportation
4. Process
5. Inventories
6. Motions
7. Defective products
8. Untapped resources
9. Misused resources

3 Main Principal of KAIZEN:

• Consider the process & the Results.
• The need to look at the entire process of the job at hand and to evaluate the job as to the best way to get the job done.
• Kaizen must be approached in such a way that no one is blamed and that the best process is put into place.

Key Features of KAIZEN:

• Widely Applicable - Can be used in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing enviornments.
• Highly Effective & Results Oriented - Kaizen event will generate Quick results, Measurable results, Estabilish the baseline, and Measure the change.
• A Learning Experience - Every member of Kaizen team will walk away from the event learning something new.
• Team Based & Cross Functional - Team members can be form various function of the business. Top managment participation is encouraged.

PHASES IN KAIZEN

• Step#0 - Event Prepration - Select event area, team, and create team package.
• Step#1 - Define the Scope & Goals of the event
• Step#2 - Train the team, Review the World Class Tool(s)and Techniques that Support the Team's Goal
• Step#3 - Walk the Event Area, Observe Physical Layout, Review Videos if Available. This Steps start the idea creation process
• Step#4 - Collect Data on Event Area (Scrap, Production, Time Studies, Videos, Etc) - Develop/Obtain the baseline performance measurements
• Step#5 - Brainstrom Ideas - Thinking "outside the box" and piggybacking important here.
• Step#6 - Use Multi-Voting to Prioritize Top 8-10 ideas that will be Worked on immediately
• Step#7 - Form Sub-Teams to Go Out and Try/Implement ideas

These steps are Shorten into:

1. Select an Event
2. Plan an Event
3. Implement an Event
4. Follow-up to an Event

BENEFITS OF KAIZEN

• KAIZEN reduces waste like Inventory waste, Time waste, Workers motion
• KAIZEN improves Space utilization, Product quality
• Results in Higher employee moral and job satisfaction, and lower turn over
  

~SA