I. Learn about the Kaizen method
1. What is Kaizen?
Kaizen is a term for ongoing improvement or continuous improvement. The Kaizen method comes from a combination of 2 Japanese words: Kai (change) & zen (good).
So what exactly is Kaizen in company? Kaizen is the statistical process control that will improve quality in every aspect of the company. Employees are empowered to come up with ideas for solving common problems so they don't recur. By addressing problems head-on, they are not allowed to persist and grow into major challenges.
This grassroots approach yields incremental improvements that lead to big wins. This lean digital transformation has begun, saving frontline workers valuable time and empowering managers.
2. History of Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)
Field:
In Japan, there is a history of more than 30 years of Kaizen implementation in manufacturing enterprises. Toyota Company was the first company to have implemented this system. After that, Kaizen was widely applied in different fields including services, tourism, technology, retail, etc.
Message:
Masaaki Imai, founder of the Kaizen model once said: “Kaizen means improvement. Greater breadth means continued improvement in personal life, social life and working life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen means continuing to improve work involving everyone, including managers and workers.”
It can be seen that, Kaizen can be implemented from small ideas and developed into big ideas, it goes from individuals to collectives, organizations and businesses. The effectiveness of Kaizen is the result of a short or long implementation process. This also depends on the goals and development orientation of the company.
Purpose of kaizen:
Understanding what the Kaizen model is and how to apply the continuous improvement method is also considered a form of movement and development that is less expensive. Because they can help improve work efficiency, the participation of the corporate governance system is recognized. The aim is to improve the quality of products and services and cut redundant operating costs.
Requirements of the kaizen principle:
The Kaizen method does not require complicated techniques or too high technology. To successfully apply the Kaizen system, managers only need simple tools: quality control charts, graphs showing the change over time, test/assessment sheets, time frames, scientific process...
After understanding what Kaizen is, we can see that this is a method from Japan that helps companies solve the problem of managing work performance status.
II. Benefits of Kaizen for companies
Continual improvement is the driving force behind problem-solving, collaboration and communication skills and allows employees to showcase their abilities, reducing the pressure on leaders. All in all, Kaizen is a way to foster a strong culture of continuous work improvement in your organization. After all, it is the best way to uphold the principles you want to guide your company and put them into practice.
Continuous improvement for products and services
Following the process of continuous improvement in your work Kaizen helps you to solve problems from big to small that affect the quality of products and services. As a result of quality improvement, customer satisfaction increases as they experience fewer negative problems. At the same time, find out the reasons why customers refuse to use your products and services. This enhances brand reputation and delivers effective communication, resulting in increased sales and revenue.
Bringing a competitive advantage
In today's business field, it is very difficult for us to maintain a competitive advantage over our competitors. If they are stronger in both investment costs and staff, or they are constantly innovating, it is very difficult for your companies to lead in the field.
However, the benefit of continuous improvement in creating a competitive advantage is that it sets itself apart from the rest of the industry. It helps businesses identify you as the leader, going faster and more innovative. That is, the Kaizen model helps the organization to continuously improve in quality management, productivity and actual performance. This mindset also creates a highly skilled workforce that creates lasting value for your company.
Encourage fundamental thinking
The Kaizen method is not a process that only affects and has an impact on the manager. No matter who's role in the company, it has an impact. Over time, employees begin to have thoughts, thoughts, and actions about how they approach their day-to-day work. Innovation has the benefit of encouraging employees to become more proactive in their work.
Often, employees at the grassroots level understand the issues more clearly than management. Because, they solve everyday problems. This makes managers tend to reduce the pressure load and continue to have implementation plans that bring benefits to the company.
Culture of continuous improvement
Enterprises implementing Kaizen often have a highly engaged workforce. Improving processes and products means improving culture as well. Your employees are empowered to make changes. They will understand that their contributions can generate real benefits. This filters out the hard-working people within the business, resulting in a positive culture and a scientific and engaging workplace.
Avoid information solis
One thing that often hinders the working process of an enterprise is the process of communicating information between departments and levels. A breakdown in communication can have costly consequences, both financially and emotionally.
What is the Kaizen system? opens up these channels and enables teams to interact more effectively. In the Kaizen index, all employees are encouraged to actively share their views, opinions and propose any ideas. It helps in greater collaboration and increased trust between departments.
Increase work productivity
Running deadlines is like an extremely intense battle between managers and employees. It causes an existential pressure on a daily basis. But continuous improvement is a method to increase productivity in an enterprise by increasing work efficiency according to a scientific and intelligent workflow.
Enhance creativity
The nature of creativity is that there are no rules to follow. Therefore, fostering creativity in the workplace is very difficult. The Kaizen method offers solutions to unwanted problems as they arise and teaches them to think outside the box. Employees are empowered to come up with new ideas, to set up a work plan according to their ability.
Improve teamwork
Employees will be more inclined to communicate and collaborate with colleagues as they strive to improve the quality of work and personal interests. The process of implementing Kaizen makes it possible to exploit the power of cooperation between positions, functions, and roles of each individual.
III. 6 Steps to apply Kaizen method in an effective company
Step 1: Define the problem and goal
In this step, you first need to determine the status of the company. That is to determine which stage of the crisis or stable development the company is in. From there, there is a unified goal.
Your goal is the overall goal of the company. Objectives need to ensure that the criteria are enforceable and larger than the results being achieved. Kaizen application does not require businesses to invest too much money, but it requires commitment and effort to change over the long term. Make sure that both employees and leaders are prepared to participate in this plan.
Step 2: Measure the facts
To achieve your goals, you also need to measure the types of data you need to analyze and evaluate, and then come up with the right solutions.
Firstly, what is the root cause of the problem your company is facing? For example, about the quality of human resources or confusing processes or unreasonable business policies, etc.
The second is externally related data. For example, customer data, competitor data, campaigns, new trends, social policies, government policies have more or less impact on company problems.
Step 3: Analyze the data
This fishbone diagram allows us to analyze the main groups of causes that come from:
- Man - Manpower
- Machinery and equipment – machine
- Materials – material
- Working method – method
- Finance, environment
Fishbone diagram is a commonly used tool for problem identification and quality management. To bring about optimal efficiency, you need to combine more modern technologies to conduct Kaizen.
Step 4: Find a solution
If you know every problem and find every nook and cranny in the data, then you can easily find a solution to start doing effective Kaizen. In this step include: creating, categorizing and prioritizing the improvements you have found. That is to choose a solution based on the matrix of impact or influence and opportunity.
Step 5: Conduct Kaizen
Agree on what is the right solution for your company in Kaizen, you can easily make changes and track progress. Enterprises that apply the pilot program in the early stages, then proceed step by step, should not change completely immediately.
That is, you need to take small steps to test first. For example, applying Kaizen to a Marketing department first, then to Sales, Customer Care, etc. In the process of implementation, management must regularly collect information and check and monitor close. From there, it is possible to detect vulnerabilities and promptly deal with them.
Step 6: Check and Security
This step requires standardization and optimization of solutions that have been, are and will be implemented. While making continuous improvement in quality management, your business may have a mismatch, there is certainly a point of particular relevance. You need to quickly eliminate the cons and promote the pros.
Also repeat the cycle step by step. From there, it is easy to identify arising problems and increasingly innovate solutions in line with the trends of the times. This means that the core value of the Kaizen method is “continuous improvement”.
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