What is Kaizen and Continuous Improvement

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Kaizen creates change. It translates from the Japanese as change (kai) for the good (zen). And it comes with action. • What is Kaizen? • Many people equate Kaizen with Continuous Improvement, but this is not so. The word Kaizen can mean either discrete or continuous change for the better. • However, in an organizational setting, Kaizen has acquired the meaning of continuous improvement. It’s a long-term approach that tries to make small, incremental changes to improve efficiency and quality. • We can therefore contrast Kaizen with something like Business Process Re-engineering, which takes a radical approach to overhauling processes. • Kaizen can be applied to any sort of work, but it began life in the manufacturing sector. Thanks to its adoption as a part of the Toyota Production System, Kaizen is closely associated with lean manufacturing. • More recently, the concept of lean has been applied more widely, to Lean: • • Processes • • Engineering • • Development • • And… Project Management - • What is Lean Project Management? Proj... • An Embedded Approach • As Kaizen becomes embedded in a work environment, it becomes everybody’s responsibility. Indeed, it is the workers closest to a task that can best figure out how to improve it. So, Kaizen is a democratic and empowering way to run an organization or a project. • The Origin of Kaizen • The thinking behind Kaizen was introduced into Japan by W. Edwards Deming. Emperor Hirohito honored him for his work, and the impact it had on post-war Japanese manufacturing output. • Kaizen was soon incorporated into the Toyota Production System, which led to its popularization all over the world. • Link to Muda - Waste • Another Japanese term that is often associated with Kaizen is ‘Muda’, which means waste. In a related video, Muda, Mura, and Muri. Of course, Kaizen tries to reduce any form of waste. • What are Muda, Mura, Muri? And, what are the 7 Wastes of Lean? • What are Muda, Mura, Muri? And, what ... • How to Implement Kaizen • At the heart of Kaizen is the Deming Cycle – also known as the Schewhart Cycle or the PDCA Cycle: • Plan – Do – Check - Act • Deming documented his approach to implementing continuous improvement in his book ‘Out of the Crisis’ (https://geni.us/jWfk). Among his imperatives are to: • • Improve what you do. • • Build quality into the way you do things and the things you create. • • Adopt a whole-life costing approach. • • Work to constantly improve productivity and reduce costs. • • Use training to improve performance and develop people to their full potential. • • Lead in a way that helps people to do a better job, and better use the assets they have. • • Break down barriers and a silo mentality. • • Instill a sense of autonomy and pride in the work everyone does. • • Make everyone responsible for working to accomplish this transformation. • Incremental Kaizen • I’ve said that Kaizen need not be a continuous process. It also allows for discrete improvement. This is becoming a more popular approach. A ‘kaizen blitz’ or ‘kaizen event’ is a concentrated effort to make quick changes in a limited context, and often focused on a specific short-term goal. • A person who makes a big contribution to one of these Kaizen events gets the title of ‘Zenkai’. • • Recommended Videos • Carefully curated video recommendations for you, which answer the question 'What is... • 🎬 Lean Project Management? • What is Lean Project Management? Proj... • 🎬 Muda, Mura, Muri? And, what are the 7 Wastes of Lean? • What are Muda, Mura, Muri? And, what ... • 🎬 5S? 5S? • 🎬 Gemba ...and Going to the Gemba? • What is the Gemba ...and Going to the... • And do take a look at: • 🎬 A Short History of Project Management: Project Management Timeline • A Short History of Project Management... • A while back, I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. • https://kit.co/MikeClayton/what-a-pro... • Note that the links are affiliated. • For more great Project Management videos, please subscribe to this channel: / @onlinepmcourses • For all our great Project Management articles and resources, please check out the OnlinePMCourses website: https://onlinepmcourses.com/ • For basic Management Courses - free training hosted on YouTube, with 2 new management lessons a week, check out our sister channel, Management Courses: / managementcourses • For more of our Project Management videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management: https://onlinepmcourses.com/free-acad... • #Project #ProjectManagement #Kaizen

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