KAIZEN™ - Change for the Better

 

Abstract

The following article discusses a subject of quality improvement as shown by the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement. The article's primary objective is to examine the practical application of Kaizen in terms of waste reduction and continual improvement. According to the Kaizen principle, all actions carried out in the company's quality sector have a constant nature. The word "kaizen" encompasses a wide range of themes. They are making the workplace more productive by promoting an open and collaborative atmosphere, simplifying everyday processes, ensuring employee participation, and making the job more rewarding, less stressful, and safer.

"Good change" or "improvement" is the Japanese word for Kaizen, a combination of two terms. However, Kaizen has come to represent "continuous improvement" because of its association with lean techniques and principles.

Keywords: KAIZEN, quality improvement, 5S. 

Introduction

Masaaki Imai's book, “Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success,” was published 30 years ago. (McGraw Hill). This book is credited with popularising the term "KAIZEN" in the Western world. This has led to KAIZEN being generally recognized as a long-term competitive strategy foundational element. Since KAIZEN's conception, companies who apply it have regularly outperformed their competition.
“Yoshiki Iwata and Chihiro Nakao” are Japanese consultants from Toyota Gosei who conceived the idea for the event because they wanted to help firms become more efficient. However, travel from Japan to the United States made it hard to make incremental progress. As a result, it was requested by the company's president in 1988 that the upgrades be prolonged for an additional week.
Originally known as "Five Days and One Night," this schedule required students to work and study for five days before taking a one-night break. There are two terms in Japanese: "kaikaku" means "radical change," while "kaizen" means "slow, steady advancement.
"KAIZEN signifies growth. It also implies improving personal, family, social, and professional lives. KAIZENTM emphasizes continuous development engaging both management and employees." 

The Core of KAIZEN™

A set of five core KAIZEN principles underpins all of the company's KAIZEN products and practices. The five guiding concepts are: “Know your customers, Let it Flow, Go to Gemba, Empower People, and Be Transparent.” To foster a culture of continuous improvement, these five principles must be implemented in every organization.

Improvement for the better, or "continuous improvement," is a Japanese slogan known as Kaizen. It is a Japanese business philosophy that includes all employees to improve operations. According to Kaizen, productivity improvement is a lengthy and methodical undertaking. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• The Japanese management concept of "Kaizen" aims to increase output by including all employees and fostering a more productive workplace. 

• "Continuous improvement" or "improvement for the better" are two translations of the Japanese phrase "kaizen."

• Kaizen's minor gains include “quality control, just-in-time delivery, standardized work, efficient equipment utilization, and waste reduction." Improvements do not need to be gradual, but Kaizen recognizes that even minor adjustments may impact long-term.

Kaizen and the PDCA Cycle

In general, improvements adhere to the PDCA cycle structure, which stands for "plan-do-check-act." The "plan" section involves outlining the adjustments so that everyone knows what to anticipate when teams attempt to fix an issue. When we use the word "do," we mean to put into action what we believe to be a superb option for the given scenario. It's time to examine your work and see whether everything went as planned in the "check" step!
At this point, a company decides whether or not the solution can be adopted as a corporate standard. Kaizen is a procedure that may be restarted if management wishes to make more alterations.

The Kaizen approach has the following components: 

Togetherness, discipline, morale, quality circles, and suggestions for improvement are the five pillars of the Kaizen methodology.

“Chi va piano via Sano ! (Slowly but surely!)."

“One step at a time!”

 This strategy, which follows the 5S paradigm, “emphasizes structure, order, cleanliness, consistency, and a rigorous approach to process maintenance.”

“Seiri is the first S. (Sort)”

If you're reading this, you've probably got a mound of work on your messy desk, coffee all over your desktop calendar, and essential Post-It notes plastered to your displays or even your prized bobbleheads.

“The Seiri motto: When in doubt, throw it out.”

Consider Seiri if it describes you. Siri is founded on the notion that extraneous artifacts in the workplace distract workers, diminishing their productivity. With the "top" priority item at the top of each folder, you don't have a mess of tasks on your desk that isn't all finished. Depending on the situation, the Post-It notes have been dealt with, filed, or removed, and your workstation is again free to be used.

“Section 2 of the S (Set in Order)”

Seiton, Siri assists you and your team prepare for the next step. Seiton is arranging objects in the order they should be for a specific job. At every rotation of products in the supermarket, Seiton occurs, making it easier for customers to get hold of expiring goods and increasing inefficiencies when those goods must be removed and disposed of.

In addition, it's about placing work and related equipment near one another to improve productivity. There are several ways to arrange projects at an advertising firm, such as the media they are intended to target, the team specializing in that medium, and so on. As before, the idea is to match the appropriate person with the right job.

“The Section motto: A place for everything, and everything in its place.”

“Seiso – the third S (Shine)."

Clean workplaces are safer, less distracting, and more rigorously maintained because cleaning necessitates a thorough assessment of the things being cleaned.

Cleanliness is a natural discipline that may be applied to any job, regardless of the task's nature. An orderly workspace not only makes one feel more organized and protected, but it also shows that one values their time and the time of their colleagues. Medical, food service, hospitality, and the production of computer chip components are all examples of industries where this is true.

“The Seiso motto: Clean and inspect, or inspect thorough cleaning.”

“In the fourth S – Seiketsu (Standardize)."

Continuous improvement methods such as Kaizen and 5S help guarantee that any changes produced using these methods will be adopted as the standard, rather than an isolated incident. The rules are always strictly adhered to. A technique is standardized after it has been proved to be effective.

The procedure doesn't have to be continuously "re-invented" if standardized. In the future, the 5S approach may be used to save up time further.

“The Seiketsu motto: Make, follow and enforce the rules.”

“In the fifth S – Shitsuke (Sustain)."

It’s adopting new methods and encouraging them to become habitual. However, continuous adoption of newly standardized procedures requires discipline, which frequently entails regular measurement and periodic audits.
The information gathered in the previous four phases might be lost if Shitsuke is not present. It's easy to grow comfortable after you've made progress and forget about the "continuous" aspect of "continuous development."
Many other fields, such as healthcare, have adopted it as a general concept with many distinct interpretations. Whether at the workplace or home, it's a valuable tool. Value stream mapping and Total Quality Management are two examples of Kaizen methodologies and technologies. Regardless of the method used, Kaizen's ability to succeed in an organization is dependent on the support it receives from all levels of management.

Ten principles of Kaizen

Kaizen needs to allow the proper mentality across an organization; hence it is frequently characterized as having ten key concepts. Them:

1. Drop preconceptions.

2. Solve challenges proactively.

3. Reject the current quo.

4. Let go of perfectionism and embrace iterative progress.

5. Seek remedies when you make errors.

6. Encourage everyone to contribute.

7. Do not assume anything; instead, repeatedly question "why?"

8. Obtain the opinions and insights of a wide range of individuals.

9. Be inventive in finding low-cost fixes.      

10. Never give up.

How Kaizen works

The foundation of Kaizen is the belief that nothing is set in stone and that everything is subject to change. It is also based on the assumption that everyone deserves respect. As part of Kaizen, the process of identifying problems and opportunities and designing solutions, and executing them is repeated repeatedly. This is a continuous process. Using a seven-step cycle for constant improvement might provide a logical approach to this process.

Kaizen Cycle for continuous improvement

A seven-step cycle of Kaizen may be employed to ensure that things are continually becoming better. The following are the stages in this step-by-step method:

1.       The first step is to get your workers involved. Workers should be included in the process and requested to assist in the discovery of difficulties and problems. As a result, it encourages individuals to take action. This is often accomplished by delegating responsibility for gathering and disseminating information from a larger group of workers to subgroups.

2.       Get rid of the things that aren't working for you. Gather a list of issues and potential opportunities from your colleagues by soliciting their feedback. Make a to-do list if there are several issues.

3.       Make a solution to your problem. Everyone should be encouraged to develop innovative ideas for issues they encounter on the job. Choose one or more winners from the photos that were submitted.

4.       It's time to practice. It's time to put into action everything we've discussed above. Set up pilot programs or take other tiny measures to evaluate whether the solution is good for you before implementing it in full.

5.       Finally, take a look at what you accomplished. Check on the progress at various intervals, with strategies for who will be the point of contact and how to keep ground-level staff enthused. Finally, take a look at how the update has been implemented.

6.       It's time to expand the solution across the firm if the results are positive.

7.       It would be best if you went through each of these seven processes regularly, coming up with fresh ideas and tackling new lists of issues.

Pros and Cons of Kaizen

Many organizations benefit from Kaizen. However, there are specific scenarios in which it is not appropriate. These are some of Kaizen's strengths and weaknesses:

Pros

A friendlier approach to change can be achieved via Kaizen's emphasis on incremental improvement. • Kaizen fosters an examination of processes to eliminate errors and waste. A gentler approach can be achieved through Kaizen's focus on gradual improvement.

Oversight and inspection requirements are reduced when there are fewer mistakes.

• Kaizen promotes morale by fostering a feeling of importance and purpose among employees.

• Employees' ability to work together improves as they look outside the confines of their department.

Customers become more important to workers as they grow more aware of what they need.

• There are systems in place to promote both short-term and long-term improvements.

Cons

Short-term Because of territorialism and local communication cultures, Kaizen events may inspire an initial burst of euphoria that fades quickly.

Examples of Kaizen

Even though Kaizen is best known for Toyota, other firms have employed it effectively. Following are these:

• Lockheed. Kaizen has a long history at this company, and it's well-known within the industry. Reduced inventory and delivery times due to the use of the technology.

• Fox Motors, Inc. Ford was bankrupt when Alan Mulally took over as CEO in 2006. Kaizen was used in one of the most significant corporate turnarounds in history.

• Animation Studios Pixar used quality control checks and iterative techniques to reduce the risk of expensive movie failures.

Becoming Familiar with the Method

There are various ways to improve processes, including Total Quality Management (TQM) and employee suggestion boxes, since Kaizen is more of a mindset than a particular technique. In a kaizen environment, everyone is accountable for spotting inefficiencies and identifying ways to improve them. Additionally, employees at all levels of the business have ideas about making things better.

Muda, which translates to "waste" in Japanese, is another synonym for Kaizen. Decrease waste by removing overproduction and increasing quality. Kaizen focuses on these factors and others to increase productivity, reduce downtime, and eliminate waste. It's possible to transform prospective losses into profits by taking advantage of these savings opportunities.

In Kaizen, decreasing "waste" is an important goal, and waste may take several forms:

Before any more value can be added to the materials, they must first be moved about.

• The amount of time spent on hold (no value is added during this time).

• Errors - which need more labor or necessitate the discarding of items.

A product may be over-processed to give the client the most bangs for their buck. A primary solution will do just as well as one tailored to meet a specific client's needs.

Here are a few pointers for implementing Kaizen at your workplace:

• Kaizen is a concept that you and your team may study together.

• Make it possible for all users to offer ideas for improvement.

• Create a kaizen system that everyone can follow by establishing your overarching kaizen strategy and controls.

• The more ideas you develop, the more Kaizen is at work in your team's daily lives.

Bottom Lines

Kaizen is a concept that promotes constant, incremental process adjustments that help organizations maintain a high level of productivity. In addition, it may assist you in improving your working environment by removing different sorts of "waste."

Kaizen may also refer to a technique used throughout an organization that draws on recommendations and support from individuals at all levels.

Employee spirits and gratification, output, expenses, and other concrete indicators, may all be improved with widespread engagement.

“Used well, a kaizen approach reveals what a big impact small changes can make!”

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 Meaning of work "Kai Zen"

The Kaizen method seeks to continuously improve procedures in the manufacturing sector and all other areas. It's not just one person's job to deploy Kaizen tools; it's the responsibility of everyone in the firm who directly connects to it. Regardless of their position or degree in the hierarchy, every employee must contribute to the system by making tiny improvements and modifications.

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