Kaizen and Continuous
Improvement
Kaizen and continuous improvement are one in the same thing, the name is Japanese and it has
several subtly different meanings, but continuous improvement is best for our purposes.
A popular version of Kaizen is the Kaizen blitz, also known as a Kaizen event. This has become a
very useful and common tool in lean manufacturing. Many companies have incorporated it into their business culture
very successfully.
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What is the origin of
Kaizen?
Kaizen was developed by two men from Toyota. Before the recent popularity of the Blitz, kaizen
meant 'Continuous Improvement.' This is the slow accumulation of many small developments in processes and quality
that, over 50 years, has helped make Toyota the lowest cost and highest quality automobile company in the
world.
How does it work?
It would be wonderful if you could manage huge, dramatic, quick changes in lean manufacturing, but
that is unreasonable. The beauty of Kaizen and Continuous Improvement is that it is done is small, incremental
steps that are entirely doable. The mindset of your workers undergoes a change that is permanent.
It is as if you have a huge and complicated task ahead of you and it just seems impossible. Yet,
when it is broken down into small steps, or bite sized chunks, you see that you can actually manage it. This is
very encouraging for everyone involved in the lean manufacturing process.
What is a Kaizen blitz?
It is the same thing as a Kaizen event, which is a small, focused attack on a particular aspect of
your operation in order to improve its performance. These events are very effective because as you improve each
small aspect, they add up to huge overall improvements. This is why it is called continuous improvement: it is an
ongoing process that has no end.
In many ways, a kaizen event is a lot like having a disorganized household that you just can't seem
to conquer. It is all just so ingrained to be messy, nobody seems to be able to get things under control and put
into order. You try all kinds of campaigns, but it is still the same as before.
What is needed is an overall stategy and small incremental steps that are mastered before moving on
to the next one. Sure, you must backtrack and improve on what was established, but that is part of the continuous
improvement concept. Gradually, everyone in the household begins to develop a new culture and it become a habit to
be organized and tidy. Like a lot of lean manufacturing processes, it
is really common sense put into an organized approach that is able to be monitored.
Is Kaizen continuous improvement worth it?
Is it worth it to be more efficient and profitable? Yes! Actually, things left to themselves tend
to decay, so if you are not continuously improving, then things are deteriorating. Lean manufacturing programs such
as Kaizen are a perfect match for such businesses as a plastic injection molding shop. Good
luck!
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Kaizen Blitz
The Kaizen Blitz is a powerful tool that can turbo-charge your lean manufacturing program. On the other
hand, many companies abuse it and suffer as a consequence. Learn the right way to use it.
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Lean
Manufacturing And Kaizen Cycle Time
If your lean manufacturing team can focus on only one kaizen project at a time, then let it be the
reduction of total build/test cycle time. There just isn't any other more important success factor to
pursue than Cycle Time Management.
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Kaizen For
Non-Manufacturing
Kaizen is a proven performance improvement tool. Adopted from modern Japanese manufacturers, like
Toyota, Kaizen generates breakthrough improvements quickly, without huge capital investments and/or
extensive commitments of employ time. Kaizen is an efficient, effective technique for producing change
in manufacturing operations.
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Kaizen Metrics
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