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"Kaizen" means "continuous improvement". It comes from the Japanese words "Kai" meaning school and "Zen" meaning wisdom. Kaizen was created by Toyota just after WW II. It is a major part of Toyota's lean manufacturing system that has made Toyota the top manufacturer of quality, economical cars. You can learn how to use this key component of Toyota's success and use it to help grow your business.
Kaizen is... ... a system of continuous incremental improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership. "change for the better" or "improvement"; incremental change Originally a Buddhist term, Kaizen comes from the words, "Renew the heart and make it good." Therefore, adaptation of the Kaizen concept also requires changes in "the heart of the business", corporate culture and structure
I ) What is Kaizen?
Kaizen is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year are written down, shared and implemented. In most cases these are not ideas for major changes. Kaizen is based on making little changes on a regular basis: always improving productivity, safety and effectiveness while reducing waste
Focus
Making small improvements on a continuous basis. Creative solutions instead of capital expenditures.
A significant obstacle to Kaizen in many corporations is that problems are seen as negatives. We don't like problems. Someone who is associated with a problem is likely to be negatively impacted (a lower raise, missed promotion, or even fired). In Kaizen, problems are opportunities to improve. With Kaizen we want to find, report, and fix problems. Kaizen encourages and rewards the
Train employees in using Kaizen tools such as 5S, Kanban, and Line Balancing.
What is Five S?
A Five S program is usually a part of, and the key component of Visual Factory (Workplace) Management (VFM). And 5s and VFM are both a part of Kaizen -- a system of continual incremental improvement -- which is a component of lean manufacturing. The Five S program focuses on having visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization. The results you can expect from a Five S program are: improved profitability, efficiency, service and safety. The precipices underlying a Five S program at first appear to be simple, obvious common sense. And they are. But until the advent of Five S programs many businesses ignored these basic principles.
Communication Aids.
Using 5s Posters and Signs: A good way to continue educating employees, and for maintain standards, is to use 5s posters and signs. You can create your own custom 5S posters, allowing you to communicate the specific information that needs to be communicated at each location. Changing work habits can be difficult, and it is easy to slip back into doing things the old, comfortable way. Use custom 5S posters to remind employees of the proper procedures, and of the benefits that come from following a 5s plan.