Kaizen

Overcoming the Challenges of Implementing Kaizen

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Kaizen, the philosophy of continuous improvement, can bring numerous benefits to organizations. However, many organizations need help to overcome the challenges of implementing Kaizen. In this article, we will explore common challenges faced during the implementation of Kaizen and provide strategies to overcome them, ensuring a smooth and successful journey towards continuous improvement. Strategies to Overcome Kaizen Implementation Challenges Resistance to Change One of the primary challenges…

What is a Kaizen event?

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Kaizen events, sometimes referred to as “Rapid Improvement Events” or “Kaizen Blitzes,” take place over a short period of time, usually a week or less. A Kaizen event is an action where the end result is to improve an existing process. A Kaizen event is a short-term effort to implement small, company wide improvements. A Kaizen event should include training, analysis, design, and reconfiguring. It is not…

Gemba Kaizen

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Gemba Kaizen

Gemba and kaizen go together like peanut butter and jelly. In Japanese, Gemba means “the actual place”. In kaizen, the phrase “Go to Gemba First” is often used. It means that you must go to where the action is or where the process is completed. It is the workbench, the sales meeting, production line, or the cubicle. To make changes in a process, you must actually see…

Heijunka Overview

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Overview of a factory at work

Toyota defines Heijunka as the overall leveling, in the production schedule , of the volume and variety of items produced in given time periods and adds that it is a pre-requisite for just-in-time delivery. The basic Japanese translation of Heijunka, is “levelization.” Why Heijunka? Production leveling, as it is also referred to is essential to any Lean facility in their pursuit to eliminate waste and improve their…

Failure is a Matter of Perspective

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success/failure

It’s nearly impossible to live your life without experiencing some form of failure. At some point if your life, you have more than likely failed at something. You can try to live cautiously and do only what’s necessary to avoid the risk of failure, but in the world of Lean, that is failure. To be great you have to take chances, you have to think outside of…

A Creative Mind is A Productive Mind

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Creative art

As each day comes and goes we often find ourselves just going through the motions as a means to get through them. We wake up, go to work, come home, and repeat. It’s a cycle that’s tough to break and while it may seem robotic from the outside, to you it’s just another day. Unfortunately, these types of mental slumps all but shut down our ability to…

Jidoka: The Other Pillar

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Jidoka Pillar

If you were building a house and neglected to build the foundation first, chances are your home would crumble before long. Much can be said about Jidoka and the Toyota Production System (TPS). In fact, if we were to construct the TPS into a two pillar home, jidoka would be one of the pillars, with just-in-time (JIT) being the other. The home needs both pillars to stand…

8 Keys to Designing a Lean Facility

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design a lean facility

Coming up with the best design for your Lean facility is a task like no other. It’s takes more than skills and expertise to design a facility, especially one that emphasizes Lean philosophies. To construct a proper Lean layout, one must also add creativity to their skills and expertise to have success. It’s not a task for just anyone to take on, but sticking the these eight…

Value Stream Mapping 101

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Value Stream Mapping

Value stream mapping is considered one of the most powerful visual tools in Lean. Regardless of the type of work you do, they can be an extremely useful part of your work and help eliminate waste, in areas you never knew waste existed. What is a Value Stream? A commonly used and basic definition of a value stream is as follows: All the steps, both value adding…

Why Ask Why?

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Why should we ask why?

If you ever need a refresher course on investigative persistence just tell a toddler “no” when they really want something. While most adults are able to accept no for an answer, a toddler sees this as an opportunity for discussion and to find the real reason they were told no. How do they do this? Well quite simple actually, they ask why and they don’t stop asking…