Kaizen method looks to reshape employee commitment to, and employer understanding of, process improvement
Kaizen Desk Reference Standard
By Raphael L. Vitalo, Frank Butz and Joseph P. Vitalo
451 pages, Lowrey Press (2003), ISBN 0-9722810-4-5
(207) 763-3758, www.lowreypress.com
Kaizen (pronounced kye-ZEN) is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. The authors use the term to mean “a method that strives toward perfection by eliminating waste (any activity that is not value-adding from the perspective of the customer)…by empowering people with tools and a methodology for uncovering improvement opportunities and making change.”
Continuous improvement, the learning organization, problem-solving teams, process redesign, quality circles — many concepts, lots of discussion.
But what’s frequently lacking are concrete models or “how to” information on undertaking a significant performance improvement initiative in a real-world organization.
Enter Kaizen.
Kaizen (pronounced kye-ZEN) is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. The authors of the Kaizen Desk Reference Standard use the term to mean “a method that strives toward perfection by eliminating waste (any activity that is not value-adding from the perspective of the customer) . . . by empowering people with tools and a methodology for uncovering improvement opportunities and making change.”
This “complete guide for applying Kaizen to continuously improve business results” is a resource to fill that gap. The authors share the methodology they’ve used in more than 150 interventions internationally in Kaizen events led by trained co-ordinators drawn from the factory floor and office functions.
This book is not meant to be a quick read; rather it’s an in-depth guidebook. It describes a complex and disciplined undertaking that requires strong preparation, organizational support, systematic execution and follow-through.
The book defines a Kaizen standard — a systematic, well-documented process, broken down into sequential steps, with detailed process maps for conducting a Kaizen event and for learning from the experience, so that subsequent efforts can be even more effective.
Included with the book is the Kaizen tool kit on a CD-ROM. The entire book is also available in an electronic version with navigation and search features for easy access to content and tools.
Case study and “How to”
An in-depth 45-page case example takes the reader into the commercial gas business where the Kaizen goals are increased profit and customer satisfaction, to be achieved through reduced cost, reduced cycle time and improved safety. The five-day Kaizen event is explained in detail:
•development of the Kaizen mission statement and goals;
•work process mapping and target process evaluation;
•brainstorming and testing ideas;
•action plan and measurement framework design;
•action execution and communication of results to stakeholders; and
•mining learning from the experience.
In a step-by-step co-ordinator guide “par excellence,” individual chapters outline in detail the five milestones of a Kaizen event, each with templates, worksheets, checklists, planning and decision aids, as well as spreadsheets for analysis purposes:
•Document the scope: Identify processes and business benefits, involve all stakeholders and ensure they are aligned with the initiative, and complete a formal scope document.
•Analyze whether to conduct a Kaizen event based on this documented scope and at this time: Assess the business case, resources, people in support, timing, relationship to other changes and any related re-engineering efforts planned or under way.
•Prepare: Logistics, business information needs, stakeholder communications, leader/co-ordinator training, team selection and preparation.
•Perform the Kaizen event: More than 200 pages are devoted to these steps:
•focus the event through target work process descriptions and walk-throughs, build a mission statement and goals, agree on do’s and don’ts;
•evaluate the target work process based on human and machine operations analysis;
•solve the performance issue by generating and selecting improvement ideas, conducting an experiment and documenting results; and
•take action to improve the target work process through conducting a pilot and designing the follow-through plan.
•Institutionalize the process improvements: With a minimum six-month time frame, monitor application of the improvements, update work standards, track soft and hard benefits, ensure replication of improvements, complete a followup report.
There are five categories of feedback or measures:
•operational and monetary results;
•documentation of the results;
•evaluation of achievement of the event’s purposes;
•impact on the team; and
•learnings gained from the experience.
Success: The human and business dimensions
Success criteria for Kaizen are multi-faceted:
•measurable business and work process benefits accomplished as defined in the mission and goals of the event;
•new or improved work standards developed and applied to the work process;
•sustained or improved safety;
•performers elevated in their business participation, ownership, teamwork, capabilities and confidence in their ability to make change;
•new learning about Kaizen and its application, as well as the leader’s capabilities;
•new opportunities for Kaizen events identified; and
•documentation of the event is completed.
Indeed, this rigorous approach to continuous improvement has both measurable business objectives and human growth and human capital objectives.
“Kaizen makes two demands. First, it requires that you commit yourself to bettering others as well as yourself because only then will you effectively engage a team of workers in improving their workplace. And only when you can think beyond yourself will you recognize all the issues that affect the production of successful and lasting improvements. Second, Kaizen demands that you risk failure. Only when you are willing to fail in the pursuit of excellence will you challenge — and work to improve — the status quo.”
Ray Brillinger is a senior consultant with IBM Business Consulting Services. He provides change management, business transformation and organization effectiveness services to client organizations. He can be reached at (905) 316-8733 or [email protected].
By Raphael L. Vitalo, Frank Butz and Joseph P. Vitalo
451 pages, Lowrey Press (2003), ISBN 0-9722810-4-5
(207) 763-3758, www.lowreypress.com
Kaizen (pronounced kye-ZEN) is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. The authors use the term to mean “a method that strives toward perfection by eliminating waste (any activity that is not value-adding from the perspective of the customer)…by empowering people with tools and a methodology for uncovering improvement opportunities and making change.”
Continuous improvement, the learning organization, problem-solving teams, process redesign, quality circles — many concepts, lots of discussion.
But what’s frequently lacking are concrete models or “how to” information on undertaking a significant performance improvement initiative in a real-world organization.
Enter Kaizen.
Kaizen (pronounced kye-ZEN) is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. The authors of the Kaizen Desk Reference Standard use the term to mean “a method that strives toward perfection by eliminating waste (any activity that is not value-adding from the perspective of the customer) . . . by empowering people with tools and a methodology for uncovering improvement opportunities and making change.”
This “complete guide for applying Kaizen to continuously improve business results” is a resource to fill that gap. The authors share the methodology they’ve used in more than 150 interventions internationally in Kaizen events led by trained co-ordinators drawn from the factory floor and office functions.
This book is not meant to be a quick read; rather it’s an in-depth guidebook. It describes a complex and disciplined undertaking that requires strong preparation, organizational support, systematic execution and follow-through.
The book defines a Kaizen standard — a systematic, well-documented process, broken down into sequential steps, with detailed process maps for conducting a Kaizen event and for learning from the experience, so that subsequent efforts can be even more effective.
Included with the book is the Kaizen tool kit on a CD-ROM. The entire book is also available in an electronic version with navigation and search features for easy access to content and tools.
Case study and “How to”
An in-depth 45-page case example takes the reader into the commercial gas business where the Kaizen goals are increased profit and customer satisfaction, to be achieved through reduced cost, reduced cycle time and improved safety. The five-day Kaizen event is explained in detail:
•development of the Kaizen mission statement and goals;
•work process mapping and target process evaluation;
•brainstorming and testing ideas;
•action plan and measurement framework design;
•action execution and communication of results to stakeholders; and
•mining learning from the experience.
In a step-by-step co-ordinator guide “par excellence,” individual chapters outline in detail the five milestones of a Kaizen event, each with templates, worksheets, checklists, planning and decision aids, as well as spreadsheets for analysis purposes:
•Document the scope: Identify processes and business benefits, involve all stakeholders and ensure they are aligned with the initiative, and complete a formal scope document.
•Analyze whether to conduct a Kaizen event based on this documented scope and at this time: Assess the business case, resources, people in support, timing, relationship to other changes and any related re-engineering efforts planned or under way.
•Prepare: Logistics, business information needs, stakeholder communications, leader/co-ordinator training, team selection and preparation.
•Perform the Kaizen event: More than 200 pages are devoted to these steps:
•focus the event through target work process descriptions and walk-throughs, build a mission statement and goals, agree on do’s and don’ts;
•evaluate the target work process based on human and machine operations analysis;
•solve the performance issue by generating and selecting improvement ideas, conducting an experiment and documenting results; and
•take action to improve the target work process through conducting a pilot and designing the follow-through plan.
•Institutionalize the process improvements: With a minimum six-month time frame, monitor application of the improvements, update work standards, track soft and hard benefits, ensure replication of improvements, complete a followup report.
There are five categories of feedback or measures:
•operational and monetary results;
•documentation of the results;
•evaluation of achievement of the event’s purposes;
•impact on the team; and
•learnings gained from the experience.
Success: The human and business dimensions
Success criteria for Kaizen are multi-faceted:
•measurable business and work process benefits accomplished as defined in the mission and goals of the event;
•new or improved work standards developed and applied to the work process;
•sustained or improved safety;
•performers elevated in their business participation, ownership, teamwork, capabilities and confidence in their ability to make change;
•new learning about Kaizen and its application, as well as the leader’s capabilities;
•new opportunities for Kaizen events identified; and
•documentation of the event is completed.
Indeed, this rigorous approach to continuous improvement has both measurable business objectives and human growth and human capital objectives.
“Kaizen makes two demands. First, it requires that you commit yourself to bettering others as well as yourself because only then will you effectively engage a team of workers in improving their workplace. And only when you can think beyond yourself will you recognize all the issues that affect the production of successful and lasting improvements. Second, Kaizen demands that you risk failure. Only when you are willing to fail in the pursuit of excellence will you challenge — and work to improve — the status quo.”
Ray Brillinger is a senior consultant with IBM Business Consulting Services. He provides change management, business transformation and organization effectiveness services to client organizations. He can be reached at (905) 316-8733 or [email protected].
