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Chapter 5 - Kaizen Methods & Benefits
As we have covered in the first part of this guide, The basic idea of Kaizen focuses on improving processes and products while at the same time making use of employee creativity to aid in defining the way procedures and systems can be improved.
Two of the overall advantages of this philosophy include increased productivity and the ability to maintain quality products and services. It is through teamwork that one benefits not through individualism. The kaizen idea is great for creating a work atmosphere that rewards everyone.
Another advantage of kaizen is the possibility of creating a tight-running business. Once you start practicing a method like this all of your employees will be thinking in a "conveyor belt" style and learning from one another as well as sharing ideas and suggestions for constant improvement.
Kaizen helps to improve employee satisfaction by letting the workers look-over the processes and systems and make suggestions for further improvement.
Getting together for team meetings is a great way for employees to share their ideas and come up with more suggestions for improving quality.
Another great benefit of this kind of system is increased productivity because workers get more involved with the decision making process and they are eager to see that their suggestion work. It is also a great way to get new employees involved right from the start when they see that everyone works together as a team.
By implementing kaizen in your business you can also improve safety on the work floor.
This occurs when your implemented ideas help clean-up the areas where employees work and let them have better control of equipment and processes.
Once workers see how this all works once something goes wrong they will be ready to come together and brainstorm ideas on how to fix the situation instead of brooding about it individually. It is sort of like having a well-oiled machine in constant motion. It is good for employers because they can be sure that there will be less accident-related injuries that can result in decreased production and employees taking time off to handle medical emergencies.
Another thing you can be sure about is that if suddenly a new task emerges due to continued progress any employees who already know how to do these tasks will be ready to show others how they are done. In this way production doesn't have to stop for a learning process but can continue as workers learn as they go along and as they do.
You can be sure that kaizen will be of great benefit to you company, your employees and most important to your company's productivity.
Chapter 6 - Personal Kaizen
First of all what you want to do is to start your own personal kaizen and make a list of the areas you want to improve. You can make you day more efficient by timing your activities and you can make your day more productive by reaching the goals you want to achieve day in and day out.
Take a look at what you spend the most time on such as reading email, taking phone calls or writing reports. Let's say email takes the longest time to sort. This is another idea of kaizen - to start with the lowliest of tasks. You might consider introducing a folder flow or create an inbox and an urgent box. Set aside time for the urgent mail first and do it several times if there is a lot. Then leave the regular inbox to clear out when you have accomplished other tasks first.
What you want to do is to externalize thinking and "free" yourself for the tasks that must be accomplished in one working day. Even if you set aside other tasks for the following day you will have the satisfaction that what had to be done was done.
Sometimes as it happens when you are done with the important tasks you might look over the less important ones and perhaps some of them can be incorporated into one big task which makes it easier to take care of and requires less time.
Kaizen also focuses on eliminating waste. In a company situation it is important to have employees set up tool stations so that everything is easily within reach and no time is wasted looking for certain tools. By cutting out steps that waste time productivity can be greatly increased.
Another kaizen principle is standardization when you think about what the best practices are and do this before they are put into motion.
Once you are ready by already visualizing these practices you can have them implemented almost automatically. Once you see how these practices work then you can consider if any of them need any improvement and work on that next.
It can be a good idea to adopt one new practice each month.
After a while you will see which of these practices become outdated and move on to another. Make sure you keep track of them and soon you will see that as amazing as it seems there might even be some time each day to sit back and reflect on the working process and catch your breath.
You want to have everything running smoothly which greatly soothes the mind and then you can concentrate on the more difficult tasks which might be still causing some problems.
Keep in mind that kaizen is a system for introducing process improvements and the most important thing is to use these systems to make your life much easier.
You can get more work completed from happy and satisfied employees than from unhappy and stressed employees. Once employees are also helping one another to understand certain processes and everyone is learning as they go along you can be sure that production won't stop. This will also free you up to concentrate on the tasks that are of most importance to you.
