KAIZEN-CHANGE FOR BETTER

DC/SC/Geo/Practice : ISU
Name of Project/Support Fn : Hi-tech equipment manufacturer
Name of Author : Santosh Reshmi
Email Id: santosh.reshmi@tcs.com
Date Created : 07-02-2014

3 March 2014 TCS Confidential

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER DESCRIPTION SLIDE NO

1 KAIZEN DEFINITION 4

2 WHY KAIZEN? 5

3 WHAT IS DIFFERENCE IN METHODS? 6

4 BASIC ELEMENTS OF KAIZEN 7

5 INNOVATION V/S KAIZEN 12

6 KAIZEN TOOLS OR KAIZEN UMBRELLA 14

7 REFERENCES 15

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1. KAIZEN DEFINITION

Kaizen is a Japanese word. KAI means change and ZEN means better, the two words together mean - change for the
better, or improvement.

The exact translation is:

Kai = change
Zen = better

KAIZEN is basically management practice or philosophy in Japan. Which has principal of bottom up approach to
management, where a workman or group of people (Also called by name, Quality Circles) will develop a best practice to
do there job effectively. Such potential improvements combined together will result in SOP(Standard Operating
Procedure) and are adapted until unless there is completely new approach in the process OR innovation in process due to
changing technology.

According to Masaaki Imai, the success of many Japanese methods such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality
Circles (QCC), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Zero Defects (ZD) etc. owes its success to the underlying KAIZEN
philosophy.
hil h

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2. WHY KAIZEN?

KAIZEN is practiced at different levels; higher level improvements by the top and middle management,
and floor level improvements by Supervisors and workers. At the bottom level, opportunity is given to front line
workers to come up with improvement suggestions, and they are helped to implement these improvements.

The fundamental belief is that front line workers, having performed their tasks over and over many
times and for many years maybe,
maybe have numerous good suggestions to make make. Kaizens at the floor level usually do not
require heavy investment. At floor level Kaizan's are simple changes that may make a small difference in existing
process, but it is the collection of these Kaizan's could make a trivial improvement to the organisation

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 3. WHAT IS DIFFERENCE IN METHODS?
Traditional Methodology
1. Critical & Negative
2 Attacks individual instead of Problem
2.
3. Make persons defensive
4. Keeps real issues unseen
5. Encourages taking shortcuts to get results
6. Shout-off due to wasting time in analysis
Kaizen Methodology
1. Allows real issues to come up
2 Attack problem right at situation and address root cause
2.
3. Rises trust and commitment
4. Improves the quality of communication
5. Increases capability through better-quality methods
6. "Do it Now" Philosophy
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4. BASIC ELEMENTS OF KAIZEN

There are two elements that construct KAIZEN,

“Improvement/change for the better and ongoing/continuity”.

Lacking
g one of those elements would not be considered KAIZEN.
For instance, the expression of "business as usual" contains the element of continuity without
improvement. On the other hand, the expression of “innovation“ contains the element of change or
improvement without continuity. KAIZEN should contain both elements.

Following are the approach's to inculcate Kaizens in any organization

o Constant Improvement
o Problem Solving
o Standardization
o The Suggestion System

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CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT

1.
1 In any business,
business an employee’s
employee s work is based on existing standards imposed by management
management.
2. Improvement refers to improving those standards. The Japanese perception of management boils down to
one precept; to maintain and improve standards
3. Permanent improvement is achieved only when people work to higher standards.
4. Maintenance and improvement have thus become inseparable for most Japanese managers.
5. The starting
g point
p for improvement
p is to recognize
g need, and this comes from recognition
g of a p
problem.
Kaizen emphasizes problem-awareness and provides clues for identifying problems

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PROBLEM SOLVING

1
1. K i
Kaizen starts with
i h a problem
bl or, more precisely,
i l with
i h the
h recognition
i i that
h a problem
bl exists.
i
2. Where there are no problems, there is no potential for improvement.
3. By resorting to positive thinking, however, we can turn each problem into a valuable opportunity for improvement.
4. The issue is that the people who create the problem are not directly inconvenienced by it, and therefore are not
sensitive to problem.
5. In day-to-day management situations, the first instinct, when confronted with a problem, is to hide it or ignore it
rather than to face it straight.
6. This happens because a problem is a problem, and because nobody wants to be accused of having created the
problem.
7. When a problem that has been identified must be solved.
8. When a problem is solved and standards have been bettered, then new standards must be set.
9. This is all a part of the Kaizen concept

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STANDARDIZATION

1. There can be no improvement where there are no standards. The starting point in any improvement is to
know exactly where one stands.
2. There must be a precise standard of measurement for every worker, every machine, and every process.
Similarly, there must be a precise standard of measurement for every manager.
3 This
3. Thi one-point
i standard
d d iis often
f di
displayed
l d at the
h workplace
k l so that
h the
h worker
k iis always
l aware off it,
i and
d after
f
it becomes second nature to follow this standard another standard can be added.
4. Standardization is a way of spreading the benefits of improvement throughout the organizations.
5. Everyone must be aware of the standard- even management. This is called discipline.
6
6. I other
In th words,
d ththe Kaizen
K i strategy
t t i a continuing
is ti i challenge
h ll to
t fundamental
f d t l standards.
t d d
7. For Kaizen, standards exist only to be superseded by improved standards. Kaizen is really based on constant
upgrading and revision.
8. Only crucial elements need to be measurable and standardized. Sometimes, Japanese factories employ one-
point standardization.

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THE SUGGESTION SYSTEM

Kaizen covers the total spectrum of business, starting with the way the worker works in the shop,
moving on to improvements in the machinery and facilities, and finally effecting improvements in systems
and procedures. Many top Japanese executives believe that Kaizen is 50 percent of management's job, and
really Kaizen is everybody
really, everybody’ss job!

1. One of the main vehicles of achieving Kaizen and involving all employees is through the
suggestion system.
2. This system does not always ask for immediate economic payback on each suggestion. It's looked at
as a morale booster.
3. Morale is improved through Kaizen activities as everybody masters the art of solving immediate
problems.
4. A typical Japanese plant has a space reserved in the corner of every workshop for publicizing activities
going
i on ini th
the workplace,
k l suchh as the
th currentt level
l l off suggestions
ti and
d recentt achievements
hi t b
by smallll
groups.
5. Sometimes, tools that have been improved as a result of workers' suggestions are displayed so that
workers in other work areas can adopt the same improvement ideas.

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 5. INNOVATION V/S KAIZEN

INNOVATION KAIZEN

1.Innovation is a one - shot phenomenon 1.Kaizen is continuous approach to process improvement

2. Innovation is technology and cost oriented 2. Kaizen is people oriented

3. Continuous efforts along with great effort. May cause 3. Kaizen does not cause for Large investment. But, cause for
great loss on failure continues effort and commitment

4.innovation usually requires highly sophisticated

4. Required simple and conventional techniques.
technology, and huge investment.

5. Ideally,
5 Ideally innovation should take off after Kaizen has been
5.Kaizen should follow as soon as innovation is initiated.
exhausted

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INNOVATION V/S KAIZEN

Ideal pattern for Kaizen Ideal pattern for Innovation

time time

time
Actual pattern for Innovation without maintenance

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6. KAIZEN TOOLS OR KAIZEN UMBRELLA

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7. REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen

http://www.dailymirror.lk/business/features/28238-productivity-improvement-we-need-more-
http://www dailymirror lk/business/features/28238 productivity improvement we need more
kaizen-and-less-kaiwaaru.html

Imai, Masaaki. Kaizen: The key to Japan's competitive success. New York, itd: McGraw-
Hill (1986).

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