Kaizen and ‘Go to Gemba’
Major breakthrough projects such as Lean and Six Sigma are being applied more in higher CIMM levels. If several small improvements are visible each week, it creates a constant sense of success.
The idea behind this is that by making a large number of small improvements, a large improvement is eventually achieved. It is much easier for employees to adapt to small changes rather than deal with a big change. Typical of this type of project is eliminating waste and reducing cycle times. Examples of Kaizen events are:
- Reduce changeover times in production.
- Design of an auxiliary tool to make something easier to execute.
- Improve work instructions and thereby prevent possible errors.
- Improving ergonomics and safety.
- Reducing waiting times and intermediate stocks.
- Application of markings on the shop floor.
- Introduce Kanban shelving to manage intermediate stocks.
- Finding and eliminating a problem.
Kaizen is about teamwork. Participation is voluntary, but not without commitment. It is a bottom-up approach and encourages every employee to contribute. As such, Kaizen is an approach often associated with the concept of continuous improvement. Kaizen projects are carried out where it happens: the “Gemba. When problems arise, it is more obvious to “go to the Gemba” than to look for the solution from behind a desk or in a conference room.
In fact, the problem lies in the workplace. Problems in the workplace are most commonly felt by employees on the shop floor and much less by employees in the office. Employees in the workplace often have very good ideas for solving the problem because they face it every day. The only issue is that managers often forget to involve them in coming up with ideas.
Kaizen is therefore also “Empowerment,” in which the employees on the shop floor have a certain freedom to solve problems independently. Kaizen events follow the PDCA roadmap. The abbreviation PDCA stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act and is also called the Deming or Shewhart circle.
“It’s better to be 80% good today than 100% in six months.”
Kaizen principles:
| Kaizen principle | Description |
| Teamwork | Get everyone involved |
| Personal Discipline | Follow the standards |
| Better morale | Ensure good working atmosphere |
| Quality Circles | Follow the PDCA improvement cycle |
| Suggestions for improvements | Be open to ideas and suggestions |