THE KAIZEN IMPLEMENTATION PHASES
From planning phase to follow-up: all the implementation
phases of Kaizen methodology
Characters: small | medium | big
- Phase 1: Planning and Preparation
The first challenge is to identify an appropriate target area for a rapid improvement event. - Such areas might include: areas with substantial work-in-progress; an administrative process or production area where significant bottlenecks or delays occur; areas where everything is a "mess" and/or quality or performance does not meet customer expectations; and/or areas that have significant market or financial impact (i.e., the most "value added" activities).
Once a suitable production process, administrative process, or area in a factory is selected, a more specific "waste elimination" problem within that area is chosen for the focus of the kaizen event ( i.e., the specific problem that needs improvement, such as lead time reduction, quality improvement, or production yield improvement). Once the problem area is chosen, managers typically assemble a cross-functional team of employees - Phase 2: Implementation
The team first works to develop a clear understanding of the "current state" of the targeted process so that all team members have a similar understanding of the problem they are working to solve.
During the kaizen event, it is typically necessary to collect information on the targeted process, such as measurements of overall product quality; scrap rate and source of scrap; a routing of products; total product distance traveled; total square feet occupied by necessary equipment; number and frequency of changeovers; source of bottlenecks; amount of work-in-progress; and amount of staffing for specific tasks. Team members are assigned specific roles for research and analysis. As more information is gathered, team members add detail to value stream maps of the process and conduct time studies of relevant operations (e.g., takt time, lead-time).
Once data is gathered, it is analyzed and assessed to find areas for improvement. Team members identify and record all observed waste, by asking what the goal of the process is and whether each step or element adds value towards meeting this goal. Once waste, or non-value added activity, is identified and measured, team members then brainstorm improvement options. Ideas are often tested on the shopfloor or in process "mock-ups". Ideas deemed most promising are selected and implemented. To fully realize the benefits of the kaizen event, team members should observe and record new cycle times, and calculate overall savings from eliminated waste, operator motion, part conveyance, square footage utilized, and throughput time - Phase 3: Follow-up
The success of the Kaizen depends on timely completion of the Improvement process and effective change management. A key part of a kaizen event is the follow-up activity that aims to ensure that improvements are sustained, and not just temporary.
Following the kaizen event, team members routinely track key performance measures (i.e., metrics) to document the improvement gains. Metrics often include lead and cycle times, process defect rates, movement required, square footage utilized, although the metrics vary when the targeted process is an administrative process. Follow-up events are sometimes scheduled at 30 and 90-days following the initial kaizen event to assess performance and identify follow-up modifications that may be necessary to sustain the improvements.