What is Kaizen? | Process | Examples | Principles

What is Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)?

→ Kaizen comes from the Japanese words “kai” which means “change or improvement” & “zen” which means “for betterment.”
→ Its popular meaning from Toyota is “continuous improvement” or “small incremental improvements” of all areas of a company, not just manufacturing.
→ It is a very famous Lean Manufacturing tool.

What is the Kaizen Event?

→ A Kai-Zen event should be part of an overall program of continuous improvement and It based on many small changes rather than fundamental changes. It does not require major capital investment or major process changes. The fundamental changes are related to Research and Development.
→ As the ideas come from the workers themselves, they are easier to implement.
→ All employees should continually be seeking ways to improve their own performance.
→ It helps encourage workers to take ownership of their work and can help reinforce the team working, thereby improving worker motivation.
→ It is a very famous tool in Lean Manufacturing.

What is the kaizen process?

 → The Six Steps of the Kai-Zen process is mentioned below

1. Identify Problem
2. Analyze the problem
3. Develop an optimal solution
4. Implement the solution
5. Study and analyze the results
6. Standardize the solution

What are the 3 pillars of kaizen?

1. Good House Keeping & 5S
2. Waste (Muda) Elimination
3. Standardize

→ The Key Criteria are:
     ⇢ Does It reduce waste, Improve Quality, or Increase Safety?
     ⇢ Similarly, Does It Address the Root Cause?
     ⇢ Does It relate to Standardize?

History:

→ After World War II when Toyota first implemented quality circles in its production process.
→ This was influenced in part by American business and management teachers who visited the country.
→ A Quality Circle is a group of workers performing the same or similar work, who meet regularly to identify, analyze, and solve work-related problems.
→ This revolutionary concept became very popular in Japan in the 1950s.
→ The term Kai-Zen actually became famous around the world through the works of Masaaki Imai.
→ Masaaki Imai is a Japanese organizational theorist and management consultant, known for his contribution to the betterment of industries.
→ He published two fundamental books on business process management.

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What are the 5 elements of kaizen?

1. Teamwork
2. Personal discipline
3. Improved morale
4. Quality circles
5. Suggestions for improvement

Principles of Continuous Improvement:

→ Improve everything continuously.
→ Eliminate old and traditional concepts.
→ Accept the things, no give any excuses and make things happen.
→ Don’t Assume New Methods Will Work.
→ If something is wrong then correct it.
→ Empower everyone to take part in problem-solving.
→ Get information and opinions from multiple people.
→ Before making decisions, ask “why” 5 times to get to the root cause (5 Why Method) or we can use Cause and Effect Diagram for root cause analysis.
→ Be economical.
→ Never stop trying to improve

Kaizen Umbrella:

→ The elements of the Umbrella is:
     01. Total Quality Control (TQC)
     02. Quality Circle
     03. Suggestion System
     04. Automation
     05. Discipline in the Workplace
     06. Customer Orientation
     07. Total Productive Maintenance
     08. Robotics
     09. Kanban
     10. Quality
     11. Just in Time
     12. Zero Defect
     13. Small-Group Activity
     14. Management Relations
     15. Productivity
     16. New Product Development

5W 1H of Kaizen:

→ The goal is production without wastes by improving standardized activities and processes.
→ Industrial engineer Taiichi Ohno, father of the Toyota Production System (Lean Manufacturing), noticed that there is an 80% loss in every process and the value of the process is less than 20%.

What is "Kaizen eyes"?

→ "Kai-Zen eyes" see opportunities to improve.
→ These eyes are a skill that can be developed through technique and practice

➨ Different Ways to develop “Kai-Zen Eyes”: 

→ Put yourself in someone else's role
→ Visit other places
→ Take the pictures
→ Draw the Value Stream Map
→ Ask yourself what normal should look like
→ Check the process
→ Audit the standard work (i.e. 5S Methodology)
→ Generate logic for continuous improvement and validate it.

Kaizen Examples:

→ For better understanding refer below example.

→ Management's Role:

     ⇢ Communicate the need to change
     ⇢ Demonstrate a personal commitment to improve
     ⇢ Educate and train the staff
     ⇢ Planning and implementation

Different Categories of Kaizen:

→ Different Category is mentioned below:
     ⇢ Productivity
     ⇢ Quality
     ⇢ Safety
     ⇢ Cost Optimization
     ⇢ Moral
     ⇢ Delivery
     ⇢ Environment

Key Sucess Factor:

→ Employee Empowerment
→ Training Provide from top to bottom
→ Focus on small incremental changes
→ Maintain documents for all before and after the improvement condition
→ Implement Standardized Work
→ Make an implementation plan related to your organization
→ Continuous repeat cycle: (1) Go to the workplace (2) Identify waste or problem (3) Implement Solution

Benefits of Kaizen:

→ Empowers employees to enrich the work experience and bring out the best in every person.
→ Promotes personal growth of employees and the company.
→ Improves quality, safety, cost structures, delivery, environments and
→ It Improves customer service/satisfaction.
→ Improves teamwork and reduces wastes
→ Increase efficiency

👉 See Also:

➨ All Topics

➨ Lean Manufacturing

➨ ISO 9001:2015 & IATF 16949:2016

➨ 7 QC Tools

➨ MSA, FMEA, PPAP, APQP, SPC

➨ Six Sigma & Lean Six Sigma

➨ QA & QC Topics