Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy, often applied to both business and life, which aims to eliminate waste and make standardized processes more efficient, thus improving productivity. Kaizen is often translated as "continuous improvement." A Kaizen provider teaches employers and employees how to implement the philosophy in their own business environment. There are also plenty of books available to find Kaizen information and research.
Kaizen first gained popularity as the philosophy of the successful Toyota company, which bypassed the “American Top Three” automakers as the top-selling car manufacturer using this method of production operation. The main principles of the Kaizen business philosophy are:
1. Consider the bigger picture – review the entire process when you need to re-examine just one part of the process.
2. Focus on the little things – small changes make big differences in the overall picture.
3. Allow everyone to participate – from the CEO to the cleaning crew; Kaizen works to increase productivity at all levels.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Incorporate the 5S system of Kaizen in your business
Sort, set in Order, shine, standardize and sustain are the reference words used to guide implementation of the Kaizen philosophy within a business situation. It is the most basic format applied to Kaizen and the easiest for everyone to understand and remember.
I recommend: Request a free
5S Quick-Start Guide from Graphic Products.
Strategos offers one-day seminars to train employees on Kaizen information. It covers how to use the 5S system.
Practice and review the skills necessary to conduct a Kaizen event within your company
When a problem arises within a specific area of your business that's subject to review by the Kaizen method but which isn't a company-wide issue, you'll need to implement the philosophy with a narrower focus. This requires being able to teach others about Kaizen. You should also understand how the theory operates when implemented on process-specific problems.
I recommend: Tooling U offers classes on how to conduct Kaizen events as part of a quality-control training program.
Systems2win sells an easy-to-use set of Kaizen list templates to use through every phase of implementation.
Reduce out-of-pocket expenses with a few Kazien books or personal media
Seminars and classes can get expensive. The upside to using books and personal media for Kaizen information and training is the relatively low cost and the ability to study and learn at your own pace. The downside is that you don't get the hands-on practice you would in a classroom setting.
I recommend: Purchase the “
Kaizen Desk Reference Standard” from Vital Enterprises in a print or electronic version. Productivity Press published “
Kaizen for the Shop Floor,” an excellent book providing several examples of how to implement Kaizen in real-world business situations.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- When everyone at every level of the company participates in Kazien, you can achieve success with the philosophy; which is similar to the concept of recycling: if one person does it, it means little, but when everyone does it, the effects are significant.
The official source of Kaizen is the Kaizen page at Business.com
Related Resources from Business.com
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