Category: Kaizen

What is Kaizen?

9/25/2021

What is Kaizen? | What is Kaizen method? | How to start with Kaizen? | Kaizen explained

Kaizen is a time-tested process improvement methodology. It originated in Japan. Kaizen was first implemented in Japanese industrial set ups around 1940s and since then is being practiced in organizations world over.

Check out this video to know more about Kaizen.

This video belongs to my YouTube video series- One-minute guide to continuous improvement where I explain various topics related to continuous improvement for operational excellence and business growth. Watch on …

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What is the difference between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques?

6/1/2021

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ISO and Kaizen are both time-tested continual improvement techniques. Both ISO and Kaizen can be used for continuous as well as continual improvement campaigns across all industry sectors.

what is the difference between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques

Both ISO and Kaizen bring-on organizational transformation and business growth. Therefore, the choice of selecting ISO or Kaizen or both, will depend upon the organization’s goals.

In this blogpost I shall touch upon the differences between ISO and Kaizen. By the way, when I mention ISO, I am referring to ISO 9000 series.

Just as there are similarities between ISO and Kaizen, there are several stark differences too. I have enumerated few differences between ISO and Kaizen below. Make sure to take cognizance of them before initiating continuous improvement culture at your workplace.

Differences between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques-

ISO

Kaizen

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ISO focuses on product ‘Quality’.

ISO focuses on product.
In ISO, process improvements happen to maintain product quality.

ISO focusses only on the processes impacting Quality Management Systems.

ISO focuses on process control and compliance to existing standards.

In ISO process improvements happen on big scale.

ISO works with Measure- Monitor- Analyze principle.

ISO needs a single person (called as ISO champion) in each department, supervised by a lead champion to install ISO system within the organization.

ISO requires creation of standard operating procedures (SOP) and other heavy documentation as a part of the certification process.

ISO certification incurs significant expenses. It is a budget heavy continuous improvement technique. Hence, it can be implemented by mid-size to large companies who have good financial muscles.

Kaizen focuses on product ‘Value’.

Kaizen focuses on customer.
In Kaizen, process improvement happens to delight the customer.

Kaizen focusses on ALL processes within the organization including quality processes, that bring value to the customer.

Kaizen focuses on continuous improvement for improving standards.

Process improvements in Kaizen are small, incremental, done regularly over a period of time.

Kaizen works with PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle.

Kaizen needs teamwork. Every employee in the organization must be directly or indirectly involved in the process improvement endeavor. Kaizen increases employee engagement.

Kaizen needs only SOPs. No documentation at all. Reporting happens on a single A3 page.

Kaizen works on a meagre budget. Hence, can be implemented by all companies including startups and small businesses.

To bring it all together, ISO certification builds credibility. It gives assurance to customers that the company meets a basic minimum criteria of quality standards. This can also help a company access new markets.

Kaizen increases value a customer gets for his/her money. This increases sales as well as market share. Moreover, Kaizen fundamentally improves the way a business operates which increases profit figures and EPS (earnings per share). Kaizen therefore directly increases a company’s top line as well as bottom line.

Further, Kaizen implementation is simple and easy. The small, incremental improvements done regularly via Kaizen bring-on exponential benefits. Kaizen is the method of choice to bring about quick organizational transformation.

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Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk

2/3/2021

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Gemba Walk is a process of making personal observation of jobs and workflows where it happens (i.e. Gemba) with those who actually do it as against discussing about the solving the problem in a meeting room.

However, Gemba Walk must be done correctly for it to give desired results. The video below presents important Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk. Watch on …

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Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk

1/23/2021

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Gemba in Japanese means site where work happens. It is a popular terminology of Lean Innovation as well as Kaizen based process improvement.

streamline processes and workflows with gemba walk

Gemba Kaizen philosophy is based on the principle that best process improvement happens when people closest to the process give suggestions for improvement of that process. Moreover, the best place to assemble for the discussion to come up with improvement ideas is the Gemba.

In Kaizen, process improvements can be done using multiple tools viz. Visual Management, Kaizen Events etc. Gemba Walk is one such important process improvement tool.

Gemba Walk is based on the philosophy- ‘Go and See’ in Gemba.

Gemba Walk is a process of making personal observation of jobs and workflows where work happens (i.e. Gemba) with those who actually do it, as against discussing about the solving the problem in a meeting room. It is like, you can’t be an expert in lawn tennis by learning about the sport in a classroom. You learn it best at a tennis court i.e. the Gemba.

This in-person observation allows leaders to see the difference between what they assumed is happening and what is actually happening.

Gemba Walks may be conducted the traditional way as well as digitized.

Objectives of Gemba Walk:

The objective of Gemba Walk is to better understand the value stream, its problems and how to improve upon those problems.

By closely observing ‘the site where the value is created’ and listening to employees, business leaders and supervisors can get a fresh perspective on the business and new insights into how to make product/ service/ process changes better for their customers.

Tip: Note that the purpose of Gemba Walk is not to review results or make superficial comments.

Another objective of Gemba Walk is to identify wastes in a process. By identifying waste, one can save costs as well as increase process efficiency. As much as 40% overhead expenses can be saved by conducting Gemba Walks regularly at your workplace.

However, Gemba Walk must be done correctly for it to give desired results. The video below gives important Dos and Don’ts for Gemba Walk; watch on …

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk:

How to do Gemba Walks?

Gemba Walks may be done singly or in a small team of 3 to 4 members.

If a department head plans to go for the Gemba Walk then I would recommend that he/she goes alone (rather than a team), so that they get a chance to have open and frank discussions with the shop floor employees working on that process. The idea is to make your employees comfortable to open up, be creative and give useful suggestions, rather than worry about petty politics.

You could have one-on-one or many-to-one discussions during the Gemba Walk.

Also, leaders doing Gemba Walk must note that the walk is not an exercise for employee performance evaluation. Neither is it a time to engage in employee task management.

How often should Gemba walks be done?

The frequency of Gemba Walk depends on the size of the organization and nature of business. Generally, process owners, supervisors must do Gemba Walk every other day. Managers and Senior Executives can do Gemba Walk once each fortnight.

Post Gemba Walk To-Dos:

After completing Gemba Walk, make notes to capture your observations. Plan the day so that there is time to write notes and reflect on them. Document key takeaways.

Categorize your thoughts, findings, and discussion points, and within a week or so provide feedback to employees on your walks.

Note that Gemba Walk is a transparent activity and success from the walk is based on the level of trust employees have on that leader.

Conclusion:

Gemba Walk has a dual purpose- First to observe, understand, and ultimately improve process efficiency. Second, to gain deep knowledge about the process, reflect upon the information and explore opportunities of continuous improvement.

Note that Gemba Walk is not an audit. Audit is done to check compliance to 'documented' procedures. While Gemba Walk focuses on 'process improvement'.

Gemba Walk is a rewarding tool for big and small organizations, especially Startups.

Few key areas of using Gemba Walks may be to improve value quotient of a specific product, or increase productivity of a machine, increase sales, improve area utilization, or identify wastes in a business process and increase its efficiency.

When done correctly, Gemba Walk can have a dramatic impact on a company's operational excellence since it entails engaged leadership.

Moreover, Gemba Walks can save as much as 40 to 45% of a business’s operating costs.

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Improve Process Efficiency with Visual Management

1/21/2021

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A picture is worth a thousand words ... Visual Management hence is one of the top techniques to improve process efficiency.

improve process efficiency with visual management

The purpose of Visual Management is to improve communication in an enterprise. Excellent communication is the master key to good employee collaboration leading to smooth workflows.

Who can apply Visual Management?

Visual Management may be applied in any establishment; be it- Manufacturing or service companies, government offices, educational institutions, non-profit associations. It is gaining popularity in Life Sciences, Healthcare, Education and Banking sectors.
Visual Management works well for big and small set ups.
Visual Management is exceptionally beneficial to Startups.
Visual Management may be applied to technical as well as non-technical or business processes.
Visual Management works well for regulated as well as non-regulated sectors.

Examples of Visual Management:

An example of explicit Visual Management (also called Visual Control) is flow of people at an airport. Isn’t this view familiar?

airport operation and people flow using visual management

Visual Management is routinely practiced in air transport industry. Almost everyone at an airport follows instructions provided by signage to reach their destinations- Boarding gate, food court, restrooms, baggage pick-up, customs, immigration, transit etc.

A gadget placed near the boarding pass kiosk must be tried out to judge if your cabin luggage is of the permissible size allowed in the plane’s overhead baggage locker. This check prevents over-size cabin bags from getting onto the aircraft, thus, improving boarding process efficiency.

An example of Visual Management in daily life is a flashing red light (and siren) of an approaching ambulance or a police car which informs everyone around to stay clear and give them priority on the road.

Visual Management begins by making the work visible. Visibility provides transparency of work as well as ease of understanding tasks ‘to be done’.

Visual Management is also popular in service sectors such as hotel, retail, logistics etc. The picture below is an example of Visual Management from the retail industry.

visual management example of color coded shopping basket

This simple Visual Management approach gives bigtime boost to a customer’s shopping experience at a mall. No path-breaking innovation is always necessary ... Good creativity and a visual can do the job. The visual is bang-on to its objective.

As a shopper, would you not like to visit that store again?

Visual Management Tools:

There more than 70 Visual Management tools; for example- Signage, Andon lights, Activity Boards, Huddle Boards, Gemba Walks, Kanban, 5S, Control charts, Kamishibai Boards, X- Matrices etc.

All Visual Management tools comprise of two parts- Visual Metrics and Visual Control.

The choice of tools depends on the organizational size, culture, product mix and geographical locations. Best results are usually obtained when 10 to 20 tools are used in synchronicity.

Visual Management tools aim to do one or more of the following:

Share information.
Communicate standards.
Enforce and monitor the standards.
Bring attention to deviations and/or irregularities.
Augment CAPA (Corrective Action Preventive Action).

How can I use Visual Management at my workplace?

Visual Management or Visual Control can be used in each and every process of any organization.

Let me take an example of traffic or stop lights. Red color for ‘stop’, Orange for ‘caution’ and Green to ‘go’ is a universal sign language. Now if you were to use this traffic-light color code in a project Gantt Chart or a RACI Matrix, it will provide instant understanding of the project status; no query calls and no back-n-forth emails …

This color coding in project charts is exceptionally helpful for decision-makers and project teams alike situated at different locations or working remotely via cloud or those in a multi-cultural workplace as in a multi-national company.

A popular example of Visual Management in manufacturing setups are Andon lights. Andon lights are useful in automated as well as automatic processes. A flashing red Andon light on a production belt means that the line is held up. It draws attention so that someone on the shop floor initiates to sort out the problem and re-start operations.

Another example of Visual Management is ‘Activity Board’ that depicts task status as- Doing, Done, To Do, New Ideas, On Hold etc. Traditionally Activity Boards used to be hand-written. However, now there are digital ones too.

Picture of an Activity Board

Activity Boards have proven to be exceptionally beneficial to improve process efficiencies impacting- Product launches, product delivery, idea management for innovation projects, increasing sales, training and employee engagement, improving customer satisfaction etc.

They are extremely useful in both manufacturing and service-based organizations.

Activity Boards are especially popular in the auto sector; both in auto manufacturing as well as services.

Next time when you go to pick-up your car at a service center, do checkout for their Activity Board. It is usually displayed on the right side of the service representative's desk. The information displayed there tells you a whole lot about their work style, processes and how good or bad an experience you would get while dealing with them.

Five signs your organization needs Visual Management:

Here are five signs that indicate your organization needs to go for Visual Management-

There is slow progress towards achieving strategic objectives.
Your company deals in complex projects.
Stalled work-in-progress happens often at workplace.
There are frequent bottlenecks and/or poor capacity planning.
Your company has multi-locational distributed teams.

Conclusion:

Visual Management escalates process efficiency in manufacturing as well as service set ups.

Make Visual Management a part of your business, improve process efficiency and watch your business grow year-on-year despite adverse market dynamics.

The purpose of Visual Management is to improve communication at an organization. And excellent communication is the master key to good employee collaboration leading to smoother workflows.

Visual Management is not just a signage, furniture, or a label. It makes your workplace alive- Because it speaks!

To introduce Visual Management technique in your organization, start with process mapping. Then identify areas of implementation based on communication touch points. Make sure that Visual Management at your workplace evolves as you develop a deeper appreciation of stronger teamwork, workflows, product offerings and business landscape. Also do conduct a dry run before its full-scale implementation …

Note that there are eighteen such awesome proven process improvement techniques; learn more here. And I will see you again with yet another topic on how to improve operational efficiency at your organization.

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How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen

7/23/2020

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Costs do not exist to be calculated. Cost exist to be reduced.

- Taichii Ohno
Author of the famous book ‘Workplace Management’.

How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen

In this battered economy (as a result of Covid-19 pandemic) when every penny counts even the smallest increase in revenue or reduction in expenses can have an impact on cost and ultimately on your company’s profitability.

The good news is that, a large-scale company overhaul is not necessary. By and large, in most cases, it has been observed that it is short, often done, and simple improvement steps improve the bottom-line.

However, to calculate, manage or reduce cost, a critical understanding of all the tasks or activities that generate such costs is essential.

Cost, in accounting language are of various types- fixed cost, variable cost, controllable cost, uncontrollable cost etc. But in Kaizen parlance, costs are basically of 2 types-

Obvious cost.
Hidden cost.

The good thing is that, both ‘obvious’ cost and ‘hidden’ cost provide us with areas of opportunities for doing cost reduction.

Obvious cost as the name suggests are ‘obvious’ and cannot be eliminated, as they are incurred to run the business. For example- wages, rent, purchasing raw materials, payment made to others in the course of running the business, etc. Although ‘obvious’ cost cannot be eliminated, it can be controlled to a significantly large extent.

Hidden cost on the other hand are like a leaking faucet that drains out water from a storage tank. I would say that a ‘hidden’ cost situation is grave and should be a huge area of concern in any company- be it big or small.

‘Hidden’ costs if not eliminated can actually toss out a company’s balance sheet out of the window. ‘Hidden’ cost therefore must be completely eliminated- just fix it!

A point to note is that Kaizen can be applied to achieve cost reduction initiatives that control ‘obvious’ cost and fix ‘hidden’ cost.

There are three primary categories of ‘hidden’ cost-

Cost due to ‘Variability’
Cost due to ‘Waste’ and
Cost due to ‘Inflexibility’

Addressing these three categories will open-up numerous areas of opportunities for cost reduction.

And Kaizen methodology can be used to identify areas of opportunity for cost reduction that would ‘control’ the obvious cost and ‘fix’ hidden cost, find favorable solutions to sort out the cost-problems and sustain results.

But most businesses do cost-reduction ad-hoc. What do I mean by that? Let me narrate you an incident-

Imagine Quarter 1 results have come-in and you notice that profit figures are not as targeted, they have dipped. The reasons for this could be many, for example- the new product scheduled launch didn’t happen on time or a critical raw material’s procurement cost had suddenly risen due to a shortage or the manufacturing over heads became higher than what was budgeted, or sales didn’t happen as planned …

The cause factor(s) may be one or many, but the first or most-likely comment by decision-makers is- "We must contain costs” and then there's a hiring freeze!

In my view this is an ad-hoc cost-reduction decision.

Best and effective cost-reduction happens when it is done using a strategic and structured approach.

Kaizen combined with Lean- together known as Lean Kaizen is one such time-tested, strategic and structured cost-reduction technique.

In Lean Kaizen, Lean defines various types of wastes which create costs, while Kaizen provides the mechanism to address those wastes. By Kaizen-ing, one can reduce the ‘obvious’ costs and eliminate the ‘hidden’ cost.

However, to apply Lean Kaizen methodology accurately, it is vital to understand its underlying principles, advantages and implementation challenges. You may read more on Lean Kaizen here.

Is your organization cutting costs correctly? To know more on how you can strategically cut costs at your workplace contact us for a free preliminary online consultation.

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Keywords and Tags:

#CostCutting #CostReduction #KaizenForCostReduction #LeanKaizen #BusinessImprovement #StrategicCostReduction

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Revisit your KAIZEN strategies as FDA unleashes 69 product-specific guidances.

6/3/2020

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Today, USFDA published a new batch of sixty-nine product-specific guidances (PSGs).

Revisit your KAIZEN strategies as FDA unleashes 69 product-specific guidances, shruti bhat

These PSGs provide recommendations for developing generic drugs and generating the evidence needed to support Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approval, thereby helping to streamline generic drug product development by industry and ANDA assessment by FDA.

The batch of 69 PSGs includes:

26 new and 43 revised PSGs.
PSGs for generic products for important treatments for diseases such as: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Leukemia, Opioid Use Disorder, Post-Partum Depression. Read details about the guidances here.

This requires pharmaceuticals and allied organizations to keep pace and revisit their Kaizen strategies around the products impacted (if at all) by the above regulatory changes.

By the way, are you employing Kaizen at your workplace? Because now more than ever, pharmaceutical companies must implement appropriate business improvement methodologies as they drive thru the Covid-19 situation and its aftermath.

There are eighteen top business improvement techniques- Kaizen being the most propitious.

Kaizen has its origins in Japan and is one of the most promising business improvement tool for pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies. It can be implemented in innovator as well as generic pharma set ups.

Moreover, Kaizen works equally well with at-site and remote operations.

Kaizen involves making small improvements at all levels within a product’s lifecycle. These incremental changes then bring-on exponential benefits such as-

Good quality affordable medicines.
Lower operational costs.
Error-free processes.
Increased safety, productivity.
High speed product development and
First-to-file.

Kaizen is based on cooperation and commitment (vis-à-vis radical or top-down changes) where employees at all levels of a company work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental improvements. Kaizen thus combines the collective talents within a company to create a powerful engine for continuous business growth.

To learn more on how Kaizen can help your organization successfully drive thru the rough patch posed due to Covid-19 check here.

What is Kaizen?

Related videos-

What is the difference between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques?

Differences between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques-

ISO

Kaizen

Related reading:

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk

Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk

Objectives of Gemba Walk:

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk:

How to do Gemba Walks?

How often should Gemba walks be done?

Post Gemba Walk To-Dos:

Conclusion:

Related reading-

Improve Process Efficiency with Visual Management

Who can apply Visual Management?

Examples of Visual Management:

Visual Management Tools:

How can I use Visual Management at my workplace?

Five signs your organization needs Visual Management:

Conclusion:

Related reading-

How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen

Revisit your KAIZEN strategies as FDA unleashes 69 product-specific guidances.

Related Topics:

New Book Released!

Shruti's YouTube Channel ...

Shruti Bhat
PhD, MBA
Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Shruti's books...

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Partner

Publishing Partner

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Partner

What is Kaizen?

Related videos-

What is the difference between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques?

​Differences between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques-

ISO

Kaizen

Related reading:

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk

Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk

Objectives of Gemba Walk:​

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk:​

How to do Gemba Walks?​

How often should Gemba walks be done?​

Post Gemba Walk To-Dos:

Conclusion:

Related reading-

Improve Process Efficiency with Visual Management

Who can apply Visual Management?

Examples of Visual Management:

Visual Management Tools:

How can I use Visual Management at my workplace?

Five signs your organization needs Visual Management:

Conclusion:

Related reading-

How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen

Revisit your KAIZEN strategies as FDA unleashes 69 product-specific guidances.

Related Topics:

New Book Released!

Shruti's YouTube Channel ...

Shruti BhatPhD, MBA Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Shruti's books...

Blog Categories

Micro-Learning​Partner

Publishing Partner

Wellness​Partner

Differences between ISO and Kaizen continual improvement techniques-

Objectives of Gemba Walk:

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk:

How to do Gemba Walks?

How often should Gemba walks be done?

Shruti Bhat
PhD, MBA
Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Micro-Learning
Partner

Wellness
Partner