KAIZEN

Administration and Effective Operation by Kaizen

Administration and Effective Operation by Kaizen

Introduction

Continuous improvement is a key aspect of a successful lean system is a strong continuous improvement program, yet many current books devoted to the topic of lean systems often fail to stress the importance of gathering suggestions and ideas for improvement. An idea system is structured to provide a means to continuously improve by collecting ideas and implementing them. Continuous improvement is achieved in situations where the workforce is motivated to participate in the lean system. Organizations that realize front-line workers are crucial to the success of lean implementation may be one-step ahead of organizations that simply implement the tools associated with JIT production and lean. Although it's believed that adoption of JIT encourages employees to actively look for ways to make their jobs easier and more efficient, concrete, structured initiatives like idea systems may make employee involvement more evident. Kaizen events require employee involvement and therefore may be more likely to achieve sustainable gains if the organization has an effective idea system.

Effective Operation Management by Kaizen

Sustainability is not a problem that arises solely within kaizen events; sustainability is a challenge in most change initiatives. A review of other change efforts, such as continuous improvement programs in general, and factors that impact initial success and sustainability, are important to put the problem in a broader context. Drawing on previous continuous improvement self-assessment programs such as the European Business Model of Excellence and the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, Kaye and Anderson identified ten essential criteria for achieving and sustaining continuous improvement.

Many of these criteria overlap with other research findings and all ten could apply to lean initiatives and kaizen events. The literature on process improvement is relevant when studying kaizen events as well (Cheser, 1994, 23-26). Most organizations identified inhibitors ...