KAIZEN

Niche Consultants
 AGENDA
Concept
Focus
Examples
Issues
Building Blocks
Implementation

Niche Consultants
CONCEPT
“Kai” means “change”
“zen” means “good (for the better)”
Then, Kaizen means continuous
improvement
Gradual, orderly, and continuous

Niche Consultants
FOCUS
Eliminating waste
 Systems & Processes
People
 Value on Individuals
 Value collective creativity
 Incorporates everybody
 Encourages anyone in thinking for ideas
Low Cost

Niche Consultants
Improvement Ideas
Japan: 24 improvement ideas in writing
per employee each year

U.S. companies: average less than one

United Kingdom: one idea every six

years

Niche Consultants
Are You Practicing Kaizen?

When you have a problem, do you

a) try to tackle the whole thing

or
b)divide it into small manageable pieces?

Niche Consultants
Are You Practicing Kaizen?

Do you try to fix the problem

a) perfectly from the beginning

or
b)make little improvements along the way?

Niche Consultants
Are You Practicing Kaizen?

Do you

a) never deviate or stray from the

procedures that you have been taught
or
b)think of alternative methods for getting
the work done?

Niche Consultants
ISSUES
Breaking the old habits
 New ideas/logic
 Cause of problem cultural
Gemba
 Place where real action occurs
 Critique Conference rooms
Wet Blanket List

Niche Consultants
THE WET BLANKET LIST
1. I am too busy to study it
2. It's a good idea, but the timing is premature
3. It is not in the budget
4. Theory is different from practice
5. Isn't there something else for you to do ?
6. I think it doesn't match corporate policy

Niche Consultants
THE WET BLANKET LIST
7. It isn't our business; let someone else think
about it
8. Are you dissatisfied with your work ?
9. It's not improvement, it's common sense
10. I know the result, even if we don't do it
11. I will not be held accountable for it
12. Can't you think of a better idea ?

Niche Consultants
KAIZEN BUILDING BLOCKS
5S

Standardization

Eliminate Muda

Niche Consultants
 5S
Japanese Term English Equivalent Term
Translation with ‘S’
Seiri Organization Sort

Seiton Tidiness Systematize

Seiso Purity Sweep

Seiketsu Cleanliness Standardize or

Sanitize
Shitsuke Discipline Self-Discipline
Niche Consultants
<http://66.28.45.209/FlowCycle/pdfs/SuccessStories/SS%20Parker%20AWB%20-%20CQM-04%20$Machinin

Niche Consultants
Standardization

Avoid reverting to old ways of doing

things
Must be maintained
Continuously improved
Starting point of improvement
Basis of training

Niche Consultants
Eliminate Muda
Overproduction and Inventory: stocking
items not immediately needed.
Repair/rejects: producing defective
products.
Motion: using unnecessary movement
and energy used to perform tasks.

Niche Consultants
Eliminate Muda, cont.
Processing: imposing inefficient and
unnecessary tasks; failing to synchronize
systems.
Waiting: workers rendered idle by excessive
set-up or equipment breakdowns.
Transport: poor timing; too frequent or
infrequent movement of goods and deliveries.

Niche Consultants
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN
KAIZEN
TQM (Total Quality Management)
TPM (Total Productive Maintenance)
JIT (Just-in-time / Toyota Production System)
LCA (Low Cost Automation)
VA / VE (Value Analysis / Value Engineering)
Policy Deployment / Management (Hoshin
Kanri)

Niche Consultants
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN
KAIZEN, cont

Lean Production Line Design

Kanban Implementation
New Product Development
QFD (Quality Function Deployment)
Simultaneous / Concurrent Engineering

Niche Consultants
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN
KAIZEN, cont

Cost Reduction
Quality Assurance and Quality
Improvement
Leadership and Roles of Managers and
Supervisors

Niche Consultants
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN
KAIZEN, cont

Small Group Activity / QC Circles /

Suggestion System
5S and Visual Management
Standards / Standardization
Error Proofing System (Poka-yoke)
Benchmarking

Niche Consultants
KAIZEN IMPLEMENTATION
Workshop
First day concept and methods
 Bottleneck problems
 Designation as kaizen projects
Cross functional teams
 To tackle problems over the next 4 days
Measures/Implement solution/Review

Niche Consultants
WRAP UP
Gradual, orderly, and continuous
improvement
Involves all employees
Exploit knowledge and experiences of
workers
Minimal financial investments
<http://www.kaizen-institute.com/quiz.htm>

Niche Consultants
QUESTIONS?

Niche Consultants