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Kaizen Event | Gemba Kaizen

Kaizen Event

Kaizen Method

Kaizen Event (also known as Kaikaku, Kaizen Blitz, Kaizen Burst, Gemba Kaizen) is a focused, intense and short-term project in which a cross-functional team makes rapid improvements in a short period of time. A Kaizen Event normally takes 3 to 10 days and the intensity and urgency overcomes the intellectual resistance to a new paradigm as people have little time to think of reasons for delay. It is common to completely re-engineer a process in a Kaizen Event week.

A Kaizen Event is a great way to show employees who are not confident about continuous improvement that they can make a difference, and can build their confidence to embark on other continuous improvement projects. A Kaizen Event must be properly planned and executed for it to be successful.

Rapid Improvement Event

Duration: 3-10 Days

A typical Kaizen Event facilitated by Kaizen Consulting Group is implemented as follows:
Phase 1 – Identification and analysis of target areas / projects
Phase 2 – Training on the tools and techniques required for specific targeted areas
Phase 3 – Planning and preparation of the Kaizen Event
Phase 4 – Kaizen Event implementation
Phase 5 – Post Kaizen Event review and standardization

Kaizen Event Consideration
While Kaizen Event implementation is an important Lean / Lean Six Sigma tool, it is not a substitute for a holistic Lean / Lean Six Sigma strategy. Organisations should develop a well thought out Lean / Lean Six Sigma strategy and use Kaizen Event as one of the execution tools.

Kaizen Event Benefits
Streamlines processes
Reduces waste or non value add activities
Reduces cycle time
Reduces cost of operations
Removes bottlenecks
Improves throughput
Improves customer satisfaction
Improves productivity

Kaizen Event Applicability
Kaizen Event implementation is applicable to both the manufacturing and service industries including banking and finance, logistics, healthcare, government and public service.

Kaizen Event Implementation Training and Consultancy Services
Kaizen Consulting Group provides full end-to-end Kaizen Event services that encompass training and consultancy for the facilitation and implementation of rapid, structured and result oriented improvement.

Our Kaizen Event training and consultancy services include:
Process Redesign Kaizen Event
Layout Redesign Kaizen Event (Manufacturing Plant, Office Layout)
Kaizen Event for Workcell Implemention
5S Kaizen Event (Store, Manufacturing Shopfloor, Office)
Quick Changeover Kaizen Event (Machine Changeover, Reduction of Service Operation Preparation Time)
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Kaizen Event
Kanban (Pull Systems) Kaizen Event
Kaizen Office / Lean Office (Streamlining Administrative Processes)

Why Kaizen Consulting Group?
We customise our services according to your organisation’s unique needs through:
Detailed Pre-Kaizen Event diagnosis of your improvement needs
Integrated training, project & consulting
Intensive training and application of the most useful Kaizen Event implementation tools
On-site project coaching and facilitation
Guaranteed results and improvement

Contact Us
Contact us now and our friendly customer service consultants will be in touch with you to design the best training and consulting solution that is tailored to your requirements.

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How To Implement Effective Kaizen Event

Effective Kaizen Event Implementation

Kaizen Event

Kaizen Event is a practical and effective Lean Tool. Improving productivity is the motivation behind Kaizen Event implementation. It should support major strategic initiatives. Change is for the betterment – the real idea behind Kaizen. Kaizen Events are a great opportunity for management teams to take the time to reflect on how well business processes can be implemented and are functioning within the organization. It enables review of ongoing initiatives and helps to re-evaluate and reprioritize improvement projects.

kaizen event

In Japanese, the term Kaizen means “change for the better” or “continuous improvement.” In business, it describes processes that are put in place to gradually and methodically improve productivity in an organization, involving all employees.

Driven by key principles like teamwork, self-discipline, improved morale and employee satisfaction, the pursuit of quality and a work culture that encourages suggestions for improvement, the Kaizen process, in turn, leads to positive outcomes like improved quality control, standardized work processes, efficiency improvements and elimination of waste.

Kaizen events bring together the owners and operators of a process and help them find ways to improve the process. The Kaizen weeks focus on identified areas of improvement and determines how the Lean Operations Management implementation can help. Participants develop a Kaizen Calendar summarizing details of an improvement action plan, in which the team identifies what needs to be done to meet annual targets and fulfill the strategic plan vision.

Kaizen events give a chance to have cross-functional discussions of strengths and development areas, eliminate waste from operations, and define value-adding continuous improvement actions. Findings from Kaizen events can be used to continuously improve Lean Operations Management processes and further enhance user-friendliness and process efficiency.

To implement Kaizen events effectively, each team may comprise of six to eight cross-functional team members of the selected processes. These events last three to five days and must, within that time frame, analyze a very specific “event” or “process,” and implement a change that participants agree on, in order to assess the impact of a razor-sharp focus on improving efficiency and minimizing waste. These events invite and encourage a very high level of employee involvement, participation, and input. All are critical to a real start toward change and empowerment of every employee and their work.

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Do Not Automate Before You Fix Your Processes

Process Improvement

Process Improvement and Automation

One of the recent trends in productivity improvement is towards automation. The government is encouraging companies to use automation to reduce the reliance on our limited human resource and improve labour productivity. Grants are disbursed generously to companies who come up with automation to achieve productivity improvements. Progress reports on the benefits and improvements of companies seem to be very promising.

improve processes before automation

Benefits of Automation

We are not anti-automation. Automation can be beneficial if deployed correctly.

It helps us to produce a product / process or service faster and hence less cost per unit
It eliminates human errors and hence leads to more consistent, predictable and reliable quality
It eliminates fatique, hence more suitable for large volume or long hour tasks when there is limitation on the human body

So what is wrong? Based on our training & consulting experience of several thousand companies, automating without first streamlining often results in automating wasteful process without knowing it.

Danger Of Automating Without Streamlining

Automation without streamlining current processes (or value streams) runs the risk of increasing the output of both the wanted process (value add) and the unwanted process (non-value add, waste)

The worrying trend of mindless automation makes every technology system provider a productivity guru. Whenever there any any process bottlenecks, high defect rates, long lead time, low productivity, the solution is simple – just automate that particular process that is presumably the culprit.

This is a very dangerous approach. Why?

Automation without looking into the entire end-to-end process but only a sub-process may not solve the real root cause of the problem. What manifests is the outcome of the problem and not the root cause.
Automation without removing waste from the process only produces even more waste, at a higher speed.

Improve Processes Before Automation

Our recommendation, using Lean / Lean Six Sigma methodology, is as follows:

Study the entire end-to-end process; {tools: process mapping, value stream mapping}
Conduct root cause analysis of the bottlenecks, errors, long lead time, delays, defects; related tools: root cause analysis. Always be mindful that all the sub-processes are components of the end-to-end process and they are inter-connected. The problem discovered by a downstream process may be due to an error in an upstream process. (Tools: root cause analysis. 8 waste identification & elimination, fishbone diagram, 5 whys)
Develop a future stage value stream map; related tools: value stream mapping
Implement the improvement. Validate the new process, solve the problem of the old process; (tool: Kaizen Event)
Automate the improved process, since we have removed the waste automating the process at this stage will genuinely optimize the process, producing more good products / services, without producing the waste. (Tools: automation, technology)

In summary, automate your process only after you have streamlined your process and removed the waste. Remember – garbage in garbage out, don’t automate broken processes.

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How to Draw Value Stream Map

Value Stream Mapping

VSM

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a simple but effective Lean / Lean Six Sigma tool that provides a visual representation of the flow of materials or services and information through the organization. It captures all the actions (value added as well as non-value added) required to bring a product or service through the main flows essential to every product or service. It is an essential tool to identify waste, constraints and bottlenecks, reduce cycle time, reduce lead time and improve processes.

value-stream-mapping-training

The best way to learn VSM once you have attended Value stream mapping (VSM) training ( part of Lean Training curriculum) is to actually map it. Below is a summary of the steps for value stream mapping:
1. Select a product family
2. Draw the current state value stream map
3. Design the future state value stream map
4. Develop an action plan to bring the organization from the current state to the future state value stream map

1. Select a product family
A product family is a group of products that pass through similar steps and common equipment. Each product family requires one VSM as drawing all the product family on one map is too complicated.

2. Draw the current state value stream map

Begin with a quick Gemba (the place where work happens) walk of the entire end-to-end process.
When drawing the current state VSM, begin with the processes that are most directly linked to the end customer, and travel upstream. Do not start from the raw material receiving and go downstream.
Gather more information and data for the data boxes by Gemba walk.
Draw the current state VSM
Analyse the current state VSM
Make a list of potential improvements
Some of the common problems identified / improvement opportunities are as follows:
– lack of smooth flow of process
– poor information flow
– excessive inventory
– long lead time/cycle time
– long set-up/changeover time
– low equipment uptime and availability
– high error/ defect rate

3. Develop the future state VSM
The objective of the future state VSM is to develop an agreed “ideal state” VSM. It is important to note that the ideal state is a state of optimized flow of the end-to-end value stream and not a fragmented, sub-optimised processes. Having many projects that improve sub-processes but do not contribute to overall end-to-end value stream may make everyone feel busy( some may even feel good!) but may not contribute to overall customer value improvement and business improvement, but will consume precious resources (time, manpower).

4. Develop an action plan
Once we have completed the current state VSM and future state VSM, as well as the list of potential improvements that will enable us to transform from current state VSM to future state VSM, the next step is to create an action plan and take action to implement the improvement plan. Use the current state VSM and future state VSM to communicate and get alignment throughout the process to stay focused.

Some important tips on VSM:
– always draw by hand using pencil. Post-it pads may come in very handy. Resist the temptation to use a computer.
– management commitment and support is critical to the success of the entire process. Engage the management by having regular reviews or toll-gating sessions.
– make VSM a common language within your organisation.
(Source : Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Add Value and Eliminate MUDA, 1999, by Mike Rother and John Shook)

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Do Not Implement Kaizen Events Before You Map Your Value Stream Map

Value Stream Mapping

VSM

Kaizen Events

Many companies rush into massive waste (Muda) elimination activities in the form of Kaizen Events / Rapid Improvement Projects once they learn about Lean and its tremendous effectiveness in waste elimination.

This is an extremely dangerous move. While companies may witness immediate and short team tangible results from these Kaizen Events / projects, these activities may be counterproductive to the long term flow of the companies’ value stream. The well-intended Kaizen Events may fix some issues, but may not help much in improving the overall flow of the value stream. In some cases, it may even result in moving the problem from one area to another. Improving specific processes without looking at the overall value stream may result in what is known as sub-optimization.

The net result is that there is no value-added improvement to the end customers, although the individual projects seem to be successful.

Hence for sustainable Lean implementation, it is important to resist the temptation to rush to implement Kaizen event after event without conducting a complete end-to-end value stream mapping workshop. The recommended way is to map out the value stream map (current state and future state), identify bottlenecks, stoppages and waste, quality issues from a macro perspective. This is then followed by prioritizing and selecting and planning the projects that will help the company to move from its current state value stream map to the future state value stream map.

This approach will prevent sub-optimization, encourage Lean culture building (because the employees / process owners are no longer just looking at their own processes but the bigger picture of the whole company), better usage of resources (as the projects are carefully selected and agreed upon by all stakeholders).

value-stream-mapping-training

(Source : Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Add Value and Eliminate MUDA, 1999, by Mike Rother and John Shook)

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Improve Processes Before Automation

Value Stream Mapping

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