Kaizen

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This article is about the continuous improvement philosophy. For the fantasy currency invented
by Kaizen Games with symbol "$K", see Priston Tale.
The term kaizen (改善, Japanese for "improvement") is a Japanese word adopted into English
referring to a philosophy or practices focusing on continuous improvement in manufacturing
activities, business activities in general, and even life in general, depending on interpretation and
usage. When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen typically refers to
activities that continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to
management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers.[1] By improving standardized
activities and processes, kaizen aims to eliminate waste (see lean manufacturing). Kaizen was
first implemented in several Japanese businesses during the country's recovery after World War
II and has since spread to businesses throughout the world.[2]

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Translation
3 History
4 Implementation
4.1 The five main elements of kaizen
4.2 Major results
5 Criticism
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading

Introduction
The Japanese word "kaizen" means simply "improvement," with no inherent meaning of either
"continuous" or "Japanese philosophy"; the word refers to any improvement, one-time or
continuous, large or small, in the same sense as the mundane English word "improvement".[3]
However, given the common practice in Japan of labeling industrial or business improvement
techniques with the word "kaizen" (for lack of a specific Japanese word meaning "continuous
improvement" or "philosophy of improvement"), especially in the case of oft-emulated practices
spearheaded by Toyota, the word kaizen in English is typically applied to measures for
implementing continuous improvement, or even taken to mean a "Japanese philosophy" thereof.
The discussion below focuses on such interpretations of the word, as frequently used in the
context of modern management discussions.[citation needed]
Kaizen is a daily activity, 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. The philosophy can
be defined as bringing back the thought process into the automated production environment
dominated by repetitive tasks that traditionally required little mental participation from the
employees.[citation needed]
People at all levels of an organization can participate in kaizen, from the CEO down, 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]

Translation
The original kanji characters for this word are: "改 善" (see 改 and 善)

In Japanese this is pronounced "kaizen".[4]

改 ("kai") means "change" or "the action to correct".

善 ("zen") means "good".

In Korean this is pronounced "ge sun"

 改善 ("gae seon") means "improvement" or "change for the better"

In Mandarin this is pronounced "gǎi shàn":

改善 ("gǎi shàn") means "change for the better" or "improve".

改 ("gǎi") means "change" or "the action to correct".

善 ("shàn") means "good" or "benefit". "Benefit" is more related to the Taoist or Buddhist
philosophy, which gives the definition as the action that 'benefits' the society but not one
particular individual (i.e., multilateral improvement). In other words, one cannot benefit
at another's expense. The quality of benefit that is involved here should be sustained
forever, in other words the "shan" is an act that truly benefits others.

History
In Japan, after World War II, American occupation forces brought in American experts in
statistical control methods and who were familiar with the War Department's Training Within
Industry (TWI) training programs to restore the nation. TWI programs included Job Instruction
(standard work) and Job Methods (process improvement). In conjunction with the Shewhart
cycle taught by W. Edwards Deming, and other statistics-based methods taught by Joseph M.
Juran, these became the basis of the kaizen revolution in Japan that took place in the 1950s.[5]

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.
/wiki/File:PDCA-Two-Cycles.svg
/wiki/File:PDCA-Two-Cycles.svgThe 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, or PDCA.
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 have
popularized the kaizen principles into personal development principles. The basis of Robbins'
CANI (Constant and Never-Ending Improvement) method in kaizen is discussed in his Lessons
in Mastery series.
In their book The Toyota Way Fieldbook, Brijesh Rawat, 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 kaizen burst, a
specific kaizen activity on a particular process in the value stream.[6]
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

Major results
Elimination of waste (muda) and incorporation of efficiency
The kaizen five - S framework for a well organized shop floor
Seiri - tidiness
Seiton - orderliness
Seiso - cleanliness
Seiketsu - standardization
Shitsuke - sustaining the discipline

Criticism
Kaizen is primarily a reactive process where you "check" to see if anything is wrong, then go
about fixing it. While this works for lower level processes, it must be advanced to include a
creative element where one actively looks for ways of improving - the key being that the worker
needs to know what is important to the company to improve. There should also be room for cases
where a worker makes a recommendation that doesn't fit the mold of the company's target
improvements. Many new companies have started due to workers who saw a means of quantum
improvement which their original employer failed to recognize despite being highlighted by the
worker.

See also
5S
Balanced scorecard
Business process reengineering
Extreme Programming
Muda
Overall equipment effectiveness
Root cause analysis
Scrum
Six Sigma
Statistical process control
Theory of Constraints
TOC Lean Six Sigma
Total productive maintenance
TRIZ

References
1. ^ Imai, Masaaki (1986). Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success. New York,
NY, USA: Random House.
2. ^ Europe Japan Centre, Kaizen Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Ed. Michael
Colenso, London: Pearson Education Limited, 2000
3. ^ "Debunked: "kaizen = Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement"".
http://www.homejapan.com/2009/03/debunked-kaizen. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
4. ^ "Dictionary entry for Kaizen". J/E's Dictionary Server. Jeffrey Friedl.
http://dict.regex.info/cgi-bin/j-e/dosearch?
sDict=on&H=PS&L=J&T=kaizen&WC=none&FG=r&BG=b&S=26. Retrieved 2009-
02-12.
 5. ^ Huntzinger, Jim (First Quarter 2002). "The Roots of Lean: Training within Industry—
the origin of Kaizen". AME Target 18 (1): 13.
http://www.leaninstituut.nl/publications/Roots_of_Lean_TWI.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
6. ^ Liker, J. (2006). The Toyota Way Fieldbook. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill.

Further reading
Cooper, Mary Pat (2008). Kaizen Sketchbook: The Comprehensive Illustrated Field Guide to
Kaizen. Moffitt Associates. ISBN 978-0-615-19011-2.
Dinero, Donald (2005). Training Within Industry: The Foundation of Lean. Productivity
Press. ISBN 1-56327-307-1.
Emiliani, B.; D. Stec; L. Grasso; J. Stodder (2007). Better Thinking, Better Results: Case
Study and Analysis of an Enterprise-Wide Lean Transformation (2e. ed.). Kensington,
CT, USA: The CLBM, LLC. ISBN 978-0-9722591-2-5.
Imai, Masaaki (1986). Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
ISBN 0.
Imai, Masaaki (1997-03-01). Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to
Management (1e. ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-031446-2.
Scotchmer, Andrew (2008). 5S Kaizen in 90 Minutes. Management Books 2000 Ltd. ISBN
978-1-8525254-7-7.

5S (methodology)
5S is the name of a workplace organization methodology that uses a list of five Japanese words
which, transliterated and translated into English, start with the letter S. This list is how it should
be stored and most importantly how the new order will be maintained. This decision making
process usually comes from a dialog about standardization which builds a clear understanding,
between employees, of how work should be done. It also instills ownership of the process in each
employee.
Another key distinction between 5S and "standardized cleanup" is Seiton. Seiton is often
misunderstood, perhaps due to efforts to translate into an English word beginning with "S" (such
as "sort" or "straighten"). The key concept here is to order items or activities in a manner to
promote work flow. For example, tools should be kept at the point of use, workers should not
have to repetitively bend to access materials, flow paths can be altered to improve efficiency, etc.
The 5S's are:[1]
Phase 1 - Seiri (整理) Sorting: Going through all the tools, materials, etc., in the plant and work
area and keeping only essential items. Everything else is stored or discarded.
Phase 2 - Seiton (整頓) Straighten or Set in Order: Focuses on efficiency. When we translate this
to "Straighten or Set in Order", it sounds like more sorting or sweeping, but the intent is to
arrange the tools, equipment and parts in a manner that promotes work flow. For example, tools
and equipment should be kept where they will be used (i.e. straighten the flow path), and the
process should be set in an order that maximizes efficiency. For every thing there should be
place and every thing should be in its place. (Demarcation and labeling of place.)
Phase 3 - Seisō (清掃) Sweeping or Shining or Cleanliness: Systematic Cleaning or the need to
keep the workplace clean as well as neat. At the end of each shift, the work area is cleaned up
and everything is restored to its place. This makes it easy to know what goes where and have
confidence that everything is where it should be. The key point is that maintaining cleanliness
should be part of the daily work - not an occasional activity initiated when things get too messy.
Phase 4 - Seiketsu (清潔) Standardizing: Standardized work practices or operating in a
consistent and standardized fashion. Everyone knows exactly what his or her responsibilities are
to keep above 3S's.
Phase 5 - Shitsuke (躾) Sustaining the discipline: Refers to maintaining and reviewing standards.
Once the previous 4S's have been established, they become the new way to operate. Maintain the
focus on this new way of operating, and do not allow a gradual decline back to the old ways of
operating. However, when an issue arises such as a suggested improvement, a new way of
working, a new tool or a new output requirement, then a review of the first 4S's is appropriate.
A sixth phase, "Safety," is sometimes added. Purists, however, argue that adding it is
unnecessary since following 5S correctly will result in a safe work environment. Often, however
a poorly conceived and designed 5S process can result in increases in workplace hazard when
employees attempt to maintain cleanliness at the expense of ensuring that safety standards are
adequately followed.
There will have to be continuous education about maintaining standards. When there are changes
that will affect the 5S program—such as new equipment, new products or new work rules—it is
essential to make changes in the standards and provide training. Companies embracing 5S often
use posters and signs as a way of educating employees and maintaining standards.