Kaizen methodology for more competitive companies in Moravia. Photo: @Pixabay
Brno, Sep 10 (BD) – A few weeks ago, I was helping to friend to find a new job in different web pages in Brno and Czech Republic in general and I was surprised when I realized how many companies (at least 7 different companies) were posting job ads looking for employees with knowledge on Kaizen methodology. But… what is this methodology? Why so many companies are looking for that? How is it related with productivity?
Kaizen was born in Japan after the 2nd World War, this way of thinking lead companies to face what now the entire world is dealing with: how to improve customer service using less resource without reducing services and products.
Kaizen is a Japanese word that means “Continuous improvement involving everyone”, but if someone for any reason needs the exact translation, it means Kai (change) + Zen (good or for better).
This revolutionary working philosophy is an easy methodology to explain, but it is difficult to implement in companies, and that is because it requires not only to have a large knowledge of the tools used to deliver quality in every step of the process, but also, and probably more important, Kaizen requires a new mindset.
Toyota is may be the largest company using this methodology and also the more wise on how to use it. They have categorized all problems that the company could have in 7 types of waste that all the company should struggle to reduced it. Those wastes are: Overproduction, Excess Inventory, Defects, Non-value added processing, Waiting, Excess motion and Transportation. Whoever thinks that those wastes are only found in production processes, should think, for example how many papers do we sign for a bank account? How many times is a contract moved from one office to the other one just for the purpose of signing?
Every company should make the effort of becoming a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous improvement. That is why, boarding directors must embrace this way of working and should lead the company in the direction of establish stable process, use tools to determine the root cause of inefficiencies and apply effective countermeasures.
Kaizen also allow us to design processes that require almost no inventory showing the main wastes in our processes systems and solve problems by going to the source. Everybody is involved, is everybody responsibility because customers do not care who’s fall it was. When a product or services does not accomplished customer`s expectation, the company failed in its own mission.
As I said, this complex way of working has several tools, every tools is applicable in certain circumstances it is important not only to know how the tool works, but also when it is applicable:
1) Flow Charts
2) Cause and Effects diagram
3) Check Sheets
4) Histograms
5) Pareto Charts
6) Scatter Diagrams
7) Control Charts
If your company is not working according to this methodology, for sure it is now less productive than it could be. So let`s propose managers to work differently using new and modern tools regarding new business environment.
If you do the same things, do not expect different results.
MBA Ind. Eng. Fabián Chafir
Lean Manufacturing Consultant
