To optimise your organisation's performance, you have 2 choices: apply radical change or make incremental improvements… In the second case, Kaizen principles will serve you well. How can you benefit from them?
What is Kaizen?
Born in Japan in the manufacturing industry, Kaizen sits at the heart of the lean manufacturing and six sigma so dear to Toyota. Its aim is the continuous improvement of processes and activities, targeting the elimination of waste, the reduction of risks, the improvement of workstations and, more broadly, the optimisation of productivity.
Unlike the pursuit of disruptive innovation and reengineering, this philosophy is based on the idea that small, rapid and regular changes can have a powerful impact. Simple in principle, its implementation can sometimes prove complicated.
Although initially used in industry, the principles of Kaizen can be applied in other sectors such as services and retail, or even to your own personal effectiveness.
Benefits of this approach
In addition to improving overall performance, this approach also affects:
employee satisfaction : by taking their actions into account in improving their working conditions and optimising their efficiency.
customer satisfaction and loyalty : with better quality products and services.
the optimisation of processes and tasks : faster, more efficient.
shorter lead times : thanks to a more effective organisation.
improved teamwork and coordination between departments : through the habit of working together.
All of which ultimately improves the company's competitiveness and profitability : higher quality products at the best cost.
Kaizen principles
It is common to refer to the 14 rules of Kaizen (see our article of 3 June 2021). However, it is much more a mindset based on simple principles:
proactive problem-solving : do not wait for problems to appear – anticipating and acting are the watchwords.
questioning current practices : do not settle for solutions that work – constantly seek to improve working methods and procedures.
involving team members so that they become active players in problem-solving.
seeking solutions at the lowest cost : in the Kaizen philosophy, the revolution comes through small, financially painless adjustments. There is no question of throwing everything away and starting again.
seeking the root cause of a problem : do not stop at appearances – dig into understanding the “root why” in order to act where it matters.
collaborative decision-making : it is better to ask several people for their opinion, to compare points of view and enrich the analysis with different angles, than to decide alone in your corner.
correcting malfunctions or errors as soon as they appear. Don't let things take hold. This ties in with the principle of proactivity.
Once again, Kaizen is not really a method, but rather a state of mind based on principles. There are, however, a number of tools for adopting this approach, which we will develop in future articles.
Xavier Schuster
Consultant at SXE Consulting. Industrial consulting firm based in Luxembourg, 25 years of experience in operational excellence.
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