Short Bursts of Kaizen: Simplifying Improvement

"Kaizen," a Japanese word meaning "continual improvement," is often heard in a professional context where it refers to a team-based project that is focused on swift, constant improvement. Kaizen-focused events are a common part of lean production methods. They can occur in many ways, but typically begin with specific missions or objectives. For instance, in a store, "to make sure there are never more than 3 people in line at any one register," or "to increase sales of hair accessories by 10%."

The objectives in these examples are clearly defined. Notice that they aren't things like, "reduce the amount of people standing in line" or "increase sales." In addition to a clearly defined objective, there is a set beginning and ending point, for example from Monday to Friday.

The projects related to these events are never especially long. It is common to see them referred to as blitzes, for the very reason that the targeted period of improvement is very short. Looking at the previous example, the store could dedicate 3-5 employees who spend all of their time over a five-day period trying to solve the line length problem, and on the final day the hope is that the goal has been reached.

There are companies that do these kinds of events on a one-at-a-time basis. What this means is that there is no lean production or other similar program. Instead, kaizen is used as simply a business improvement technique.

Practically every lean production initiative has these types of events as an integral part of a whole. They seamlessly and quickly fit into lean production methods using what is called PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act). After the initial implementation of lean production in a company's operations, more events occur in order to identify and remove any inefficient practices and replace them with more valuable systems.

There are ways of using these events aside from the traditional ones. For instance, six sigma applies a very methodical approach to the continual improvement of a company using statistics and design experiments. During such a project, kaizen events are often used. Take as an example, a bank that is attempting to increase drive-up volume and percentage. Using design and statistical methods, they may be able to determine various possible reasons why current drive-up traffic is below the expectation. Perhaps they will discover that the actual drive-up location is inconvenient to clients.

Kaizen events could be used to swiftly compensate for the disadvantage of the location. Perhaps signage and lighting could be improved. Maybe they will offer free checking accounts or an incentive for opening new accounts. The week-long event could see several different things attempted. At the end of the period, the team reports to their superiors who then decide on what to do next.

The combination of this technique with lean production can maximize improvement, and is often referred to as "lean six sigma." This necessitates a high degree of expertise because the separate disciplines both need to be mastered. However, when this has occurred the company will be able to face challenges with powerful tools instead of an empty toolbox

Steve Wilheir is a project management consultant. If you enjoyed these 5 Total Quality Management Tips Learn more about TQM at total-quality-management.info and learn to Define Kaizen

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