Efficiency Improvement:

Kaizen

Quick and Easy Kaizen / Mini Kaizen

Benefits, the Process and the Key Characteristics

Source of Information: Japan Human Relations Association

 

"If you're not getting better, you're getting worse." ~ Pat Riley

   More Continuous Improvement Quotes  

 

Quick and Easy Kaizen, or Mini Kaizen, is aimed at increasing productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction, all from a very grassroots level.

Every company employee is encouraged to come up with ideas – however small – that could improve his/her particular job activity, job environment or any company process for that matter. The employees are also encouraged to implement their ideas as small changes can be done by the worker him or herself with very little investment of time.

Quick and easy Kaizen helps eliminate or reduce wastes, promotes personal growth of employees and the company, provides guidance for employees, and serves as a barometer of leadership. Each kaizen may be small, but the cumulative effect is tremendous.

Benefits

Quick and easy Kaizen empowers employees, enriches the work experience and brings out the best in every person. It improves quality, safety, cost structures, delivery, environments, throughput and customer service.

Kaizen Strategy: 7 Conditions for Successful Implementation

The Process

The quick and easy kaizen process works as follows:

  1. The employee identifies a problem, waste, or an opportunity for improvement and writes it down.

  2. The employee develops an improvement idea and discusses it with his or her supervisor.

  3. The supervisor reviews the idea within 24 hours and encourages immediate action.

  4. The employee implements the idea. If a larger improvement idea is approved, the employee should take leadership to implement the idea.

  5. The idea is written up on a simple form in less than three minutes.

  6. Supervisor posts the form to share with and stimulate others and recognizes the accomplishment.

Three Key Characteristics

  1. Permanent method changes. Change the method. Once the change is made, you can’t go back to the old way of doing things.

  2. Continuous flow of small ideas. The smaller ideas, the better. Kaizen is small ideas. Innovation takes time and is costly to implement, but kaizen is just day-to-day small improvements that when added together represent both enormous savings for the company and enormous self-esteem for the worker.

  3. Immediate local implementation. Be realistic. Kaizen is done within realist or practical constraints.

Areas Targeted by TQM in Japan

 

 

 

 

 

Kaizen

Kaizen Mindset

Kaizen Culture

Kaizen vs. Kaikaku and 10 Kakaku Commandments

Successful Implementation of Kaizen Strategy: 7 Conditions

Five Ss at Canon

5S

Kaizen and Total Quality Management

Kaizen and Innovation

Lean Production

The Toyota Way: 14 Principles

7 Principles of Toyota Production System (TPS)

5 Elements of Enabling a Lean Approach

 

Continuous Improvement Firm (CIF)

3 Basic Principles of Continuous Improvement

Suggestion Systems

Japanese Suggestion System

Canon's Suggestion System

Fun4Biz Suggestion System

Efficiency Improvement

10 Commandments of Improvement

Quality Management

8 Rules for Quality Management

Deming's 14 Point Plan for TQM

14 Slogans for TQM at Pentel, Japan

 

References:

  1. Kaizen: The Key To Japan's Competitive Success, Masaaki Imai

  2. Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management, Masaaki Imai

  3. Lean Manufacturing That Works, Bill Carreira

  4. A Team Leader's Guide to Lean Kaizen, William Wes Waldo and Tom Jones