French version
Last update: February 25th, 2005
French version
Kaizen sounds like a war call and concentrates in this single word the dynamism of ongoing improvement. Global competition requires innovation, cost control and quality improvement to deliver fast and neatly.
The Japanese word "KAIZEN" means improvement. Kaizen is a popular word in industry, worldwide, to claim practicing innovative management methods.
Japan has long been sensitive about waste, as the land and raw materials are scarce. Waste can be turned into profit if it is eliminated and everybody is encouraged to participate improvement efforts.
The Japanese word "KAIZEN" means improvement, improvements without spending much money, involving everyone from managers to workers, and using much common sense. The Japanese way encourages small improvements day after day, continuously. The key aspect of KAIZEN is that it is an on-going, never-ending improvement process. It's a soft and gradual method opposed to more usual western habits to scrap everything and start with new.
Kaizen activities can be conducted in several ways. First and most common is to change worker's operations to make his job more productive, less tiring, more efficient or safer. To get his buy-in as well as significant improvement, worker is invited to cooperate, to reengineer by himself and with help of team mates or a Kaizen support group. The second way is to improve equipment, like installing foolproof devices and/or changing the machine layout. Third way is to improve procedures. All these alternatives can be combined in a broad improvement plan.
Anyway, the first stage is reviewing the current work standards to check the current performance and than estimate how and how much performance can still be improved. When new leap is done, upgrade the standards.
Kaizen is controlled; It is not acceptable to let anybody change designs, layouts or standards for some pretended "improvement". Most often Kaizen is controlled by improvement groups and everybody, regardless to rank or position, is encouraged to suggest trough suggestion submiting system (TEIAN in Japanese). Suggestions will be discussed by authoritative comittee. Suggestions likely to be turned into application are usually rewarded according to the global gain. Improvement idea can be a response to a problem exposed by KAIZEN comittee or come out spontaneously.
I often wonder how consistent the Japanese way is. It provides a global philosophy as well as the simple associated methods. One of these methods are the 5S, five steps, basic rules of good housekeeping and discipline.
Housekeeping is both part of Kaizen and a prerequisite for further improvement. 5S, yet so simple, are not just a way to maintain order, but also provide a kind of elementary maintenance checks and ideas for improvement.
An other Japanese word muda made its way into western industry languages. Muda means waste, but the word carries a deeper connotation. Any non-value activity is muda. Searching around to retrieve tools is muda. Muda exists in many forms and is to be eliminated:
All categories of muda result in direct loss of money or at least fail to increase efficiency and customer
satisfaction. Turning loss into profit by muda elimination is one of the easiest ways for a company to
improve its operations. Elimination of waste, one of the manifold aspects of Kaizen, does not request many
efforts.
Go to gemba, observe, recognize muda and take steps to eliminate it.
What is "Gemba" a word sometimes associated with Kaizen?
GEMBA is a Japanese word
meaning real place, where the real action takes place. In business, GEMBA is where the value-adding
activities to satisfy the client are carried out.
As later discussed, Kaizen activities can be carried out endlessly, but only Kaizen on "the real place"
is likely to yield some efficient improvement. In Production (e.g industrial activity), Gemba is often
used as "work place", shop floor.
The workplace is often not recognized as the means to
generate revenue, far more emphasis is on such sectors as financial management, marketing, sales, and
product development.
When defining Kaizen action plan, go to gemba first. Get a sense of the reality at gemba, talk with gemba people.
Kaizen is generally easier explained trough achievement examples :
This cart is also an example of kaizen; a tool board and a tissue roll have been set upon a standard
tool rack.
This improvement was brought up in a quick changeover (SMED) project ..
Kaizen isn't a method itself, as all usual analyzing or
creativity techniques will still be used.
It's an incentive and formal system.
The KAIZEN concept stands for a panel of improvement activities;
SMED, TPM, Zero defect, Fool proof Poka-Yoke, just in time, all this means improvement and in some extend is Kaizen.
KAIZEN refers to improvement AND ongoing or continuity. Just carrying out business as usual contains the element of continuity but lacks the idea of improvement. Breakthrough refers to change or improvement but lacks continuity. Breakthrough with its strong innovative meaning is often preferred way to carry out changes, improvements. Yet the Kaizen way and Breakthrough are very different, the kaizen approach is to make better use of existing resources.
This point is controversal, reader may later read my Breakthrough Innovation Vs small increment innovation article.
Kaizen improvements |
Breakthrough | |
Thinking |
We know well our outfit, can be improved for small expenses |
To improve yield, we need top of art material |
Habits |
Small changes |
To be modified |
Material |
old one is improved |
changed for latest state of arts |
operator's reactions |
good, they have been involved and informed |
distrust, haven't been involved nor informed |
Reliability |
similar to before and generally even better |
adjustments, failures, flaws, poor knowledge of this new equipment... |
Costs (investments) |
Reduced | Important |
Costs (maintenance, operating) |
similar |
first unknown then usually important |
Pay off |
old material, already done |
important |
Yield |
improved quickly |
important improvements, but long to come as it was necessary to get used to new equipment, to make it reliable, even modify it... |
While Kaizen uses small steps, conventional know-how and a lot common sense, innovation comes in big steps and pursues technological breakthroughs. Kaizen is effort-based, while innovation is investment-based. Kaizen constantly reviews the process to check results consistency with targets, while innovation looks for results only. Are they slow to come or seem out of reach? the whole process might be changed.
The benefits to applying the principles of kaizen are manifold. Solutions emphasize commonsense, low-cost approaches, continual adjustment and improvement becomes possible and further desirable. It is not even always necessary to gain upper management approval to make changes.
It is not too difficult to introduce something new into an organization, but to keep it going on and maintaining the momentum once it has been introduced is. One of the reason of the failure is the resistance to change, human reluctance to change something in his cozy routine. As changes were long top-down driven and "designed to squeeze" more yield out of workers, those need some education, information and most of all confidence in any new system. What better way to insure the buy-in as to involve the buyers?
Second frequent pitfall is lack of internal infrastructures, systems and procedures that would assure the continuing of the new activities. I unfortunately experienced myself many times projects kick off with great advertisement but some never went further than poster on a panel, others grew old and forgotten just because nobody was in charge to keep them alive. Upper management dedication to such activities is crucial. Middle management is then to work out the details for the passing over and maintaining at Gemba, on shop floor e.g.
In an industrial environment, the potential improvement points are numerous. One could even improve endlessly. However time, technical, financial and human resources are always limited. Improvement groups or individual may suggest changes just for the sake of suggesting. Yes, the purpose of suggestion system is to gather ideas, yet improvement should strive to increase added-value, meaning profit, or eliminate waste.
There is no absolute standard for judging improvement idea, but still I am surprised when I hear Work place improvement like bottle holder is Kaizen. I agree work place must have good ergonomics, but every action cannot be justified just by wrapping it into magical Kaizen word!
When it is time to select few ideas among several proposals, go to gemba first.
Poka-Yoke or fool proof device are often small jigs or very simple, even makeshift devices set up to avoid or detect errors.
Some examples :
Poka-Yoke are often set up in Kaizen context; a problem comes up, analyzing finds out causes and Poka-Yoke will avoid it happening again.