Kaizen Continuous Improvement

Want to take it to the next level? Focus on Culture

Remember the days when we all had to focus on production and supply chain, and were taught all these production theories, MRP1, MRP2, Kanban, JIT, one-piece continuous flow, lean management, and six sigma. As we learned about Kaizen and continuous improvement, we learned about the five elements it consists of, remember?

·??????? teamwork,

·??????? personal discipline,

·??????? improved morale,

·??????? quality circles,

·??????? suggestions for improvement.

This sounds nice, right? And really vague. It’s much easier to think and handle the 10 principles of Kaizen, as suggestions for improvement. Print them out and hang them on the wall. Use it as a guide for yourselves and your staff.

1)???? Think of ways to make it possible

Do not waste time thinking about impossibilities, seek the solution

2)???? No excuses needed Look at what needs to be improved, not for excuses why it doesn’t or shouldn’t work

3)???? Correct mistakes right away As soon as you find a mistake and know how to correct it, do it immediately, fix it!

4)???? Repeat ‘Why’ five times Find the root cause of the problem. Find out what happens and do not simply accept it.

5)???? Seek ideas from many people The team is always smarter than the individual

6)???? Use your brain, not your wallet Find solutions within ourselves before seeking them externally

7)???? Go for the simple solution (Occam's Razor) Find solutions that are easy to understand and implement

8)???? Abandon fixed ideas Think out-of-the-box, use your creativity, be open-minded

9)???? Problems are drivers for changes Never waste a good crisis. If you don’t have problems, create them

10) There is no end to improvement Once you believe you have the final answer, you become a dinosaur, extinct.

Want to take it to the next level? Focus on Culture

If you want this to be part of your culture, contact me: www.RJPietersen.com or [email protected]