kaizen - the cure... or is it the poison?

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© 2009 - MetaOps, Inc 1

Kaizen – The Cure. . . or is it Poison?

June 23, 2009WCBF Conference

Ron Crabtree, CPIM, CIRM, CSCP, [email protected] 734-425-1455


Agenda• What Kaizen is; what it is useful for• What Kaizen is NOT – and when it’s

inappropriate• Case studies of the practical application of

Kaizen• Understanding the key differences about

Kaizen circle teams• Tips for preparing for Kaizen and energizing

your Kaizen teams’ performance• Q&A Forum

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Let’s Get to Know One Another

• How you rank your skill set in this subject matter? 1 to 5 scale, 1 = low/no knowledge

• #1 objective for attending?


What it is: The Term Kai-Zen:

• Kai = Change• Zen = “For the Better” or “Good”• In it’s original form implies continuous

small improvements from period to period

• Westernized: “Rapid Improvement Project/Event” – or “Kaizen Blitz”“Kaikaku”, “Point Kaizen”, or “Flow Kaizen”

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A Kaizen Event Is. . .

• Rapid improvement in the performance of a specific process

• Can be a “Point” or “Flow” Kaizen• Point Kaizen – to fix or improve a

discrete part of a process - Typically a cross-functional process improvement effort with a narrow scope –– Training Ground with – Quick Paybacks


Other Definitions of Kaizen

• There are Many Possible Definitions!• “The roots of kaizen are derived from

the Japanese words kai, meaning ‘to take apart’, and zen, meaning ‘to make good.’ Kaizen is the gradual, incremental, and continual ‘improvement’ of activities so as to create more value and less non-value adding waste”.

• Source: The Lean Extended Enterprise by Burton and Boeder (© 2003)

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More Definitions

• “Gemba is a Japanese word, the literal translation being “the real place” –specifically the shop floor

• Kaikaku is a Japanese term that means “Radical improvement of an activity – also known as a breakthrough kaizen, flow kaizen, and system kaizen

• Kaizen Blitz is a planned kaizen event conducted over a period of three to five days”

Source: The Lean Extended Enterprise by Burton and Boeder (© 2003)


More Definitions• “Kaizen event is a planned and structured

event that enables a group of associates to improve some aspect of the business. Prior to the actual event an area is chosen and prepared, a problem selected, leaders and teams are chosen, the problem is base-lined, an improvement target is set, measurements are selected, and the time line is set for the event.

• Kaizen Super Blitz is a kaizen event that takes place immediately upon detection of a defect for a process, piece of equipment, or product and its of limited durations (hours)”

Source: The Lean Extended Enterprise by Burton and Boeder (© 2003)

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Kaizen at Toyota

• Primarily takes the form of “Kaizen Circles”or “Practical Kaizen”

• Kaizen Circles are self-directed “natural”workgroups supported by a facilitator, advisors, Circle Trainers, and Management– These groups focus on continuous, small

improvements

• “Practical Kaizens” are used by Toyota as an intense week-long activity to train team members and supervisors while improving a specific process

• Source: Lean Production Simplified by Pascal Dennis (©2002)


Flow, or Enterprise Kaizen

• Flow Kaizen Implies a much bigger scope that cuts across many parts of a value stream:– Value Stream Mapping of an enterprise

identifying systemic issues for Lean Six Sigma implementation planning

– Or, a “Facility, Business-Wide” effort, or “Paper Kaizen” intended to improve the flow of work across an entire facility

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Kaizen – in it’s Many Forms – is an Important part of your overall

strategyIt is NOT appropriate for some

situations or needs


Group discussion & report-out

• Would you say that Kaizen is good for the overall strategic planning for the deployment of Lean Six Sigma?

• Causing fundamental company cultural change to occur?

• Teaching Everyone “what they need to know” to fully embrace all of the elements of Lean Six Sigma operating systems?

• Solving all business problems?

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Kaizen is NOT Appropriate for:

• Fixing All of Your Business Problems– Some issues require elevated systems

approaches – like Six Sigma and DOE– Not suitable for information technology

solution development (though Kaizen Teams can and should help!)

– Long-term planning and “future vision”execution

– Controlling functional activities – Sales, Procurement, HR, Accounting, etc.


When to use Kaizen

• When the needs for Improvement are “Within the Power” of the team

• To Improve Upon a Product or Process “ Before it Goes Into Production” –WHY???

• Group discussion – report-out

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When to Use Kaizen

• To Improve Upon a Product or Process “ After It Goes Into Production”– Getting started = e verything is in

production– Commit to thinking of “We are NEVER

DONE” making improvements – even if continual “small” ones

– Part of everyone’s job every day

• Toyota Video – is it just the tools?


The Kaizen Continuum –

Is Kaizen a Good Tool to Use in Your Situation?

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The Point Kaizen Continuum –Group Exercise

• Break in to teams• Each person should mark the hand-out

sheet with their estimation of where they stand on continuum

• Teams then post a “dot” to the wall chart with your responses

• Then we will do an analysis of your scores and the group composite


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Scoring of Your Results – The Need for Value Stream Based, Lean Approach

• 10 or less: Kaizen activities can yield a lot of excellent shor t-term results - provided a foundation of understandin g Lean Six Sigma principles has been achieved, and managem ent is prepared to support team decisions.

• 11 to 15: Kaizen approaches can yield good short-term results - provided understanding Lean Six Sigma prin ciples has been achieved, and management will support team decisions. Kaizen teams need to be cross-functiona l with some technical resources.

• 16 to 20: Kaizens can yield some short-term results in parts of the business that need "basic fixes" and less ef fective in "engineering intensive" problem areas. Teams will need a high mix of technical experts to be successful. Em powering teams will be challenging.


Scoring of Your Results – The Need for Value Stream Based, Lean Approach

• 21 t0 25: Your Lean Kaizen Leaders might turn over faster than short order cooks. Culturally your en tire company will actively and passively resist change-for-the better on all fronts. Empowering employe e Kaizen teams may seem impossible due to cultural barriers. A team based approach that taps highly technical resources or more of a "Flow Kaizen" approach may be more appropriate.

• 26 or More : Kaizen activities may not yield large short or long -term results. A more scientific approach such as Design of Experiments and applying Six Sigma techniques may be more appropriate in "engineering intensive" problem area s - as long the risks are low and nobody has to cooperate. If high cooperation is can be secured, a Flow Kaizen approach can have merit.

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Kaizen as Part of Your Strategic Plan Execution

•Remember. . . . It’s one of your tools in your “Tool Box”


Lean Six Sigma Tool Box – Key Elements

Team Building Skills - All or None Involved

High D – Urgency, Desire for Change, Vision

5S and Standard Visual Work

ProjectManage-

ment&

CharterSkills

One-PieceFlow, Cells

ProblemSolving, Error

Proofing

PullSystems

Kaizen &Six Sigma

Teams

Market Dominance

ITApplications

andOrg. Infra-Structure

ValueStream &Process

Mapping,LSS

Metrics

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Employee Involvement

Continuous Improvement

Suggestion Program

Problem Solving

Education& Training

Support the Operator

QualityControl

JITOperation

Master Plan

Quality Systems•SPC

•Andon•Error Proofing•Autonomation

Work GroupTeams

Standardized Work•Process Control•Cycle Time•Work Sequence•Standard WIP

WPO•Visual Factory

•Flow•Mat. Presentation

•Mat. Storage•Layout

Pull Systems

Level Schedules

Lead TimeReduction

Small LotProduction

Quick Changeover

Line Balance

Waste Elimination

SynchronousLine Speed

Containerization

Distribution

Transportation

Supplier Rationalization

Lean Tool& Equip. Design

Capable FlexibleProcess & Tools

TPM•Preventative•Corrective

Lean Manufacturing is a System= Kaizen Opportunities

(Auto Industry Example)


Lean Implementation Cycle, Current and Future State VSM Process

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Case Study - A “Point”Kaizen to Improve the

Process of Assembling Molded Parts


Point Kaizen Team Process

� Basic Lean Six Sigma concepts� Value Stream Mapping � Rough process maps� Data box contents � Floor plans & spaghetti diagrams� 30, 60, 90-Day Goals� Implementation of 5S, Kanbans, Cellular

Layout with Point-of-Use Stores� Action log and other deliverables

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Team Goals and Objectives < 90 Days

• 5S – Improve to an Audit Score of 4.0• Productivity Increase of 25% – Measure

hrs./unit against 6 months data base-line • Safety Goal: ZERO Lost Time Accidents• Quality – 50% Improvement in Customer

Complaints• On-Time Delivery Improvement – 50%• Inventory – 50% Reduction of WIP and Raw• Space Reduction of 25% to Operate


Deliverables – Action Items List by Priority (partial list)

• Create Visual Standardized Work for all Assembly steps, require cross training for all team members, job rotation to improve ergonomics

• Implement Kanbans and Visual Scheduling.• Reduce the space required to operate, improve

the layout, reduce material handling and improve work flow. Goal: once we touch molded housing, “the part never stops moving” until it is ready to ship

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Deliverables – Action Items List by Priority (partial list)

• Change molds or make new ones to only make what is needed to fill the Kanbans -vs.-molding parts to keep family mold well-utilized.

• Develop and mechanical aid or device to remove wax fusers out of the pans faster/easier

• Sprue picker robot use• Implement molding source inspection,

packaging and counting, molding operator delivers parts directly to the Kanban Storage location


Kanbans and Visual Scheduling Techniques

• Molded parts inventory will be reduced to an average of a 3 to 4 day supply – 16 days was found as a baseline – 75% reduction

• Felts are currently brought in monthly, now will be bi-weekly – a 50% reduction in average inventory

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Work Space Layout Improvements

• Reduced movement – operators• Improved ergonomics and safety• All materials – point-of-use stores• Reduced material handling staff • Improved flow of work and parts• Standard Visual Work and 5S• Production communication board• Currently operating at goal on productivity –

25% improvement on day 5


Deliverables – Current State VSM

• Resin = 65 days through time, 35 seconds Value Add

• Inventory – 2 to 8 weeks supply

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Deliverables – Floor Plan, Before

• Raw materials scattered around • Finished goods stored in aisles• A Lot of wasted operator motion


Deliverables – Floor Plan, After

• Materials stored in the work area at point-of-use• All finished goods have a ‘home’ in the area• 25% Less Space is now required!

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Deliverables – Spaghetti Before and After -Assembly

• 335 Steps Traveled for Assembly – Now 147 steps, 57% Less!

• Before • After


First Production

Board

Track Hourly Actual Counts Against Goals

Hourly notes on scrap and rework

Hourly Comments on Down Time and Other

Problems

Operator Assignments for

the Day

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Deliverables – Kanbans for Molded Parts


Deliverables – Implement Visual, Standard Work -Examples

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“Wins” and Accomplishments

h We went from “Can we Do This?” to “We Can Do This!”h “Nervous on Monday, but now I am really excited!”h “It was really neat how all the operators worked to gether

with the managers and office people to get great re sults.”h “It was Amazing how much we were able to do, so fas t.”h “I really enjoyed the process and will gladly volun teer

and/or support future activities.”h “Other things we have tried did not work; this does !”h “Excited about the long-term possibilities in other areas.”h “The production board and other visual communicatio ns

will make a big difference”h “Communications and the work itself is easier now”h “It was fantastic how well the operators, superviso rs,

managers, and office people worked together to achi eve fast improvements.”


Tips and Sample Agendas for Implementing Kaizen in Your

Business

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Typical “Point Kaizen” Agenda Mfg.

Day One – Overview Training and Initial Implementation Actions

• LSS Overview, Prerequisites for Success in Implementation

• 5S – The Visual Work Place• Team Building• Problem Solving and Error

(Mistake) Proofing• Setup Reduction• Cellular or Flow Manufacturing• Brainstorming for

Improvement Ideas• Prioritize Ideas and Actions• Goal Setting• Initial Action Plans

Day Two, Three and Four – Implementation Actions• Team Activities to Address:

–5S–Setup Reduction–Work Flow Improvement–Visual Standardized Work–Problem Solving and Error Proofing

Day Five - Complete Implementation Actions and Devel op Action Plan

• List of Open Action Items• Prepare for Report Out• Establish Deliverables (hand-outs and postings)• Print and Rehearse, Wrap up loose ends• Report Out


Typical “Flow Kaizen” Agenda Mfg.

Day One – Leadership Team• Training in VSM Concepts• Brainstorming Best VSM Approach and Key Objectives, i.e.:

– Quality Issues– Productivity Improvements– On-Time Delivery– Shortened Cycle Times

• Create First Cut Current State Map• Commence gathering information needed to finalize C SVSM(s)• Complete Data gathering• Complete final Current State Map(s)• Analyze Current State Gaps Identified• Brainstorm Desired Future State and Completion Wind ow• Root Driver Investigation – Top 5 Performance Gaps f or Future

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Typical “Flow Kaizen” Agenda Mfg.

Day 2+• Plant Layout:

– Evaluate Plant Layout Ideas to Support Future State– Draft Plant Layout Picture – Within Future State Window

• Determine Timing and Priorities, Confirm Resources• Document the Plan for Layout Change Implementation• Finalize Future State Targets, Metrics, and Measura bles• Review and Decide upon Best WCM Practices to Apply,

Resources and Effort Required to Close Gaps• Assess and Set Targets for Closing Performance Gaps • Assess Risks to Success and Countermeasures• Make prioritized assignments for teams – Document th e Plan• Brainstorm What is to be Communicated to All Associ ates as

Part of the Larger Communication Plan, Prioritize, Make Assignments

• Report Out


References for Further Learning

• Learning to See - Rother and Shook

• Value Stream Management -Hines, Lamming, Jones, Cousins & Rich

• Lean Production Simplified -Pascal Dennis (ex-Toyota Employee)

• The Lean Extended Enterprise -Burton & Boeder

• The Quantum Leap. . . In Speed to Market - John Constanza

• The Balanced Scorecard - Kaplan & Norton

• The Deming Vision: SPC/TQM for Administrators - Gary Fellers

• Lean Thinking - Womak and Jones• Implementing World Class • De-Mystifying Six Sigma - Alan

Larson• The Goal - Eli Goldratt• Throughput Accounting - Thomas

Corbett• Punished by Rewards - Alfie Kohn• Taguchi Techniques for Quality

Engineering - Phillip J. Ross• The Fifth Discipline - Peter Senge• Managing Flow - John Ballis• The Fifth Discipline Field Book -

Senge, et.al.

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Understanding the key differences about Kaizen

circle teams


Kaizen Teams Prepare The Way for Circle Teams to

Take Over!

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Agenda – what a Circle Team is all about

• Description of a Circle Team• Team Structure• Roles and Responsibilities • Team Norms and Rules


What Circles are all about

• At Toyota, Kaizen primarily takes the form of “Kaizen Circles” (Chart)

• Kaizen Circles are self-directed workgroups supported by a facilitator and a Steering Committee – These groups focus on continuous,

small improvements and own the area they work in

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Circle Teams are:

• Groups of people who work together regularly in an area selected by the Steering Committee

• Team leader is selected and trained –along with the team in some cases, by the Champion

• Is initially provided with direction, goals and objectives by the Steering Committee


Circle Teams – set your expectations

• All employees are expected to participate in Kaizens and in Circle Teams

• All employees should be willing to be developed as a team leader for Circle teams

• All employees are expected to support without reservation decisions made by Circle teams

• Everyone is required to be willing and flexible with work schedules to accommodate the needs of the team to conduct continuous improvement activities

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• Everyone is willing to participate in generating ideas for process improvements

• Everyone is willing to try new ideas and accept new roles as part of an empowered, cross-functional team environment

• Everyone is willing to accepts duties as assigned by the team



• Has and maintains their own communications boards with key performance indicators (KPIs) and measures for their team (much like 5S boards)

• Sets and monitors daily requirements• Meets regularly (usually once a week) to do

problem solving and take actions – initially led by Champions and later by the Circle Team Leaders

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• Responsible for continuous improvement ideas in their area

• Receive on-going information and support from the Steering Committee

• Has fun making the work better – every day!


Visual Communications Boards – how they work

• Just as with 5S, use visual communications boards to support Circle teams and continued Lean implementation:– Calendar– KPIs and measures tracking– Team notes and action plans– Production Boards (where they apply)– Team celebrations – before/after pictures

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Visual Communication Boards – layout – with 3 KPIs/Measures

Team KPI #1

Tracking

Team KPI #2

Tracking

Team KPI #3

Tracking

KPI Data

KPI ActionPlan

notes

TeamPhotos

Team Calendar

Production Board

KPI Data

KPI Data

KPI ActionPlan

notes

KPI ActionPlan

notes

Team Photos

Other Info.

orPhotos

MeetingAgenda

5S Schedule


Maintaining the Boards

• Calendar– Circle Team Leader

• KPIs and measures tracking– Supervisor with Team Leader

• Team notes and action plans– Team Leader supported by Champion

• Production Boards (where they apply)– Supervisor sets up, Team members complete

hourly• Team celebrations – before/after pictures

– Circle Team Decides – supported by Champion and Supervision

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Standard team on-going agenda

• Use and post standard agenda format –update manually, refreshed with new at least 1X month by Team Leader

• Calendar reflects regular weekly meeting time (usually aprx. ½ hour)

• Action Plan indicates when tasks will be done, who does them, when, and how much time is needed


Standard team activities and responsibilities – the on-going agenda

Terms of Reference (Agenda) Purpose:• To promote Continuous Improvement, this

meeting time allows for the review of progress on current initiatives and also facilitates the sharing of new ideas.

Scope• Continuous improvement activity and

initiatives in the work place• Meeting frequency, time & day• Weekly, usually for no more than 1 hour

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Standard team activities and responsibilities –the on-going agenda

Accountability:• Members of the XXX circle team come prepared to

share the status of their action items.• Attendees Roles and Responsibilities:

– Facilitator: Runs the meeting according to the age nda– Timekeeper: Assures time is observed– Action log keeper: Updates the log as current acti ons are

executed and new actions are added

Inputs:• Team action log• New idea contributionsOutputs:• Updated action log


Standard team activities and responsibilities –the on-going agenda

Suggested initial agenda:• Start meeting (facilitator and/or team leader), rol l-call• Safety moment (facilitator) – Share any safety

incidents or opportunities for improvement from the past week (2-5 minutes)

• Review of open action items (Action log keeper) Progress on open items 10 – 25 minutes

• Discussion & planning of new ideas or upcoming events (facilitator) 10 – 15 minutes

• Review and assignment of new actions (facilitator and action log keeper) 5-10 minutes

• Adjourn meeting (facilitator)

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Practice Makes Perfect

• It will take some time to learn how to be effective – be patient while the team learns

• Work closely with your Champion to get started

• Practice the process, try new ideas and have fun!


Initial Circle Team Meeting and Kick-Off Activity

• Champion leads the team through a careful review of previous Kaizen efforts

• Circle Team selects a team leader• Circle Team discusses and selects up

to three KPIs & measures to track

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Initial Circle Team Meeting and Kick-Off Activity

• The Circle team sets goals and timing to accomplish them

• The Circle team, with Champion’s assistance– Brain-storms– Prioritizes actions to accomplish the

objectives– Make assignments– Commence implementation


Initial Circle Team Meeting

• Let’s get to work!:– Review previous Kaizen activities– Brainstorming and agreement for next

steps– Update action log with assignments and

timing– Set time and date for next team meeting

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Groups discussion

For your organization – would Circle Teams be a good idea?

What would need to be different to support them?


Tips for preparing for Kaizen and energize your Kaizen

teams’ performance

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Kaizen Tips

• Get clear about sources of waste and variation

• “Waste walk’ – brainstorming• 4 Magic questions to energize the team


Your new lens or glasses – to ‘see’ what’s value add and what is waste in your work

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Classics Source of Waste - Production

For parts, instructions, equipmentWaiting9

Making more than customer needsOverproduction8

SubstitutionsOver-processing7

Wasted steps, travelMotion6

Material handling, ‘digging’ for ‘stuff’

Movement / Conveyance5

Department focus: don’t know what the customer values

Knowledge Disconnection

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Money tied up unnecessarilyInventory3

‘Robots’Lacking Human or Operator Involvement

2

Scrap, fixing parts, inspectionRework / Correction1


Classics Source of Waste – Office/Services

For approval, informationWaiting9

Extra resources, ‘just in case’Overproduction8

Trying to get it perfect; no one caresOver-processing7

Unnecessary hand-carrying, transferring info.

Motion6

Hand-offs of informationMovement / Conveyance5

Functional disconnect; what does the customer want?

Knowledge Disconnect4

Waiting work, e-mail backlog, call queues

Inventory3

‘Heads-down’Lacking Human Involvement

2

Do-overs, inspectionsRework / Correction1

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What’s wrong

with this picture?


After. . .

Is this ‘perfect’now?

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Seeing Waste – Clues on Sources?



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More ‘wastes’

• Instant messaging and email—disruptions• Treasure hunting—looking for the “right”

information• Chasing down people for approvals• Wasteful hand-offs due to weak procedures• Searching for resources or information to do

the job• Inconsistent or incomplete requests • Missing information—blank spots on forms • Last-minute requests, no planning = big

disruptions• Reprioritization waste


Quick Exercise – Seeing Waste

• Study the next slide• Which of these is obvious waste, which

you probably DON’T want to PAY for• Which might be value add?

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Critical Thinking Exercise

1. The sales associate promptly comes to you when as ked (or even without being asked).

2. The sales associate tries to sell you something y ou don’t want, or recites all of the store specials, before you can s ay anything.

3. The sales associate listens carefully to what you say you want and confirms that he or she understands.

4. The sales associate has to look in five different racks before finding the size and color you want.

5. The sales associate provides helpful feedback on how the particular item fits you and how it will meet your needs.

6. The sales associate needs to find a manager befor e honoring the coupon you brought.

7. The sales associate quickly scans in your purchas e and lets you know the total cost.

8. The sales associate has to re-enter the purchase total because there are discrepancies between the tagged price an d the register’s price.


Worksheet

Only the wide

column

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Pick area to focus on, then:

• What would everybody say MAKES THEM CRAZY? – Meetings that waste time , not adding value– Incomplete information provided - wasted

time waiting, looking– Mistakes in information or product provided

from up-stream = fixing, sending back, doing over

– Communication breakdowns , misunderstandings leading to waste


Worksheet

Now considerfrequencyand impact

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Waste Worksheet


What you learned

• What Kaizen is; what it is useful for• What Kaizen is NOT – and when it’s

inappropriate• Case studies of the practical

application of Kaizen• Understanding the key differences

about Kaizen circle teams• Tips for preparing for Kaizen and

energizing your Kaizen teams’performance

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kaizen - the cure... or is it the poison?

Education

definitions of kaizen

enterprise kaizen flow

flow kaizen point kaizen

planned kaizen

system kaizen kaizen

kaizen blitzkaikaku

breakthrough kaizen

roots of kaizen