Kaizen (Japanese for "improvement" or "change for the better") refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, supporting business processes, and management. It has been applied in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government, banking, and many other industries. When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen refers to activities that continually improve all functions, and involves all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. It also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain. By improving standardized activities and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste. Kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses after the Second World War, influenced in part by American business and quality management teachers who visited the country. It has since spread throughout the world and is now being implemented in many other venues besides just business and productivity.
Introduction
Kaizen is a daily song, the purpose of which goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work ("muri"), and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes. In all, the process suggests a humanized approach to workers and to increasing productivity: "The idea is to nurture the company's human resources as much as it is to praise and encourage participation in kaizen activities." Successful implementation requires "the participation of workers in the improvement." People at all levels of an organization participate in kaizen, from the CEO down to janitorial staff, as well as external stakeholders when applicable. The format for kaizen can be individual, suggestion system, small group, or large group. At Toyota, it is usually a local improvement within a workstation or local area and involves a small group in improving their own work environment and productivity. This group is often guided through the kaizen process by a line supervisor; sometimes this is the line supervisor's key role. Kaizen on a broad, cross-departmental scale in companies, generates total quality management, and frees human efforts through improving productivity using machines and computing power.
While kaizen (at Toyota) usually delivers small improvements, the culture of continual aligned small improvements and standardization yields large results in the form of compound productivity improvement. This philosophy differs from the "command and control" improvement programs of the mid-twentieth century. Kaizen methodology includes making changes and monitoring results, then adjusting. Large-scale pre-planning and extensive project scheduling are replaced by smaller experiments, which can be rapidly adapted as new improvements are suggested.
In modern usage, a focused kaizen that is designed to address a particular issue over the course of a week is referred to as a "kaizen blitz" or "kaizen event". These are limited in scope, and issues that arise from them are typically used in later blitzes
History
After World War II, to help restore Japan, American occupation forces brought in American experts to help with the rebuilding of Japanese industry. The Civil Communications Section (CCS) developed a Management Training Program that taught statistical control methods as part of the overall material. This course was developed and taught by Homer Sarasohn and Charles Protzman in 1949 and 1950. Sarasohn recommendedWilliam Deming for further training in Statistical Methods. The Economic and Scientific Section (ESS) group was also tasked with improving Japanese management skills and Edgar McVoy is instrumental in bringing Lowell Mellen to Japan to properly install the TWI programs in 1951. Prior to the arrival of Mellen in 1951, the ESS group had a training film done to introduce the three TWI "J" programs (Job Instruction, Job Methods and Job Relations)- the film was titled "Improvement in 4 Steps" (Kaizen eno Yon Dankai). This is the original introduction of "Kaizen" to Japan. For the pioneering, introducing, and implementing Kaizen in Japan, the Emperor of Japan awarded the Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasure to Dr. Deming in 1960. Consequently, the Union of Japanese Science and Engineering (JUSE) instituted the annual Deming Prizes for achievements in quality and dependability of products in Japan. On October 18, 1989, JUSE awarded the Deming Prize to Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), based in the United States, for its exceptional accomplishments in its process and quality control management. FPL was "the first company outside of Japan to win the Deming Prize."
Implementation
The Toyota Production System is known for kaizen, where all line personnel are expected to stop their moving production line in case of any abnormality and, along with their supervisor, suggest an improvement to resolve the abnormality which may initiate a kaizen.
The PDCA cycles
The cycle of kaizen activity can be defined as:
- Standardize an operation
- Measure the standardized operation (find cycle time and amount of in-process inventory)
- Gauge measurements against requirements
- Innovate to meet requirements and increase productivity
- Standardize the new, improved operations
- Continue cycle ad infinitum
This is also known as the Shewhart cycle, Deming cycle, orPDCA.
Masaaki Imai made the term famous in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success.
Apart from business applications of the method, both Anthony Robbins and Robert Maurer, PhD[ have popularized the kaizen principles into personal development principles. In his book,One Small Step Can Change Your life: The Kaizen Wayand his eight CD set, The Kaizen Way to Success, Dr. Maurer looks at both personal and professional success using the kaizen approach.
In their book The Toyota Way Fieldbook, Jeffrey Liker, and David Meier discuss the kaizen blitz and kaizen burst (or kaizen event) approaches to continuous improvement. A kaizen blitz, or rapid improvement, is a focused activity on a particular process or activity. The basic concept is to identify and quickly remove waste. Another approach is that of the kaizen burst, a specific kaizen activity on a particular process in the value stream.
WebKaizen Events, written by Kate Cornell, condenses the philosophies of kaizen events into a one-day, problem solving method that leads to prioritized solutions.
Key elements of kaizen are quality, effort, involvement of all employees, willingness to change, and communication.
The five main elements of kaizen
· Teamwork
· Personal discipline
· Improved morale
· Quality circles
· Suggestions for improvement
Criticisms
Some critics of kaizen claim that the cost-cutting measures come at the expense of fair labor practices and quality products. Examples include:
- Accusations of death by overwork at Toyota that included unpaid "so-called voluntary quality control meetings held after regular work hours"
- Suppliers refusing to accept orders from Toyota or its affiliates due to successive price cuts
- A four-year-old memo from Japanese factory workers warning that safety was being put at risk by aggressive cost-cutting
- In healthcare, direct-care providers such as nurses have gone on strike over these streamlining procedures, because "procedure times can’t always be standardized". Hospitals have used these streamlining procedures as an excuse to cut patient-care staff.
- Although Kaizen is supposed to involve input from all employees, critics claim that in reality front-line workers are not consulted. Also see above, re: memo from Japanese factory workers.
