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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