Kaizen Secrets

What does Kaizen mean?

Kaizen is more than a methodology, it’s a philosophy. Kaizen literally means “change” (kai) to “become good” (zen) changing for the better. Another definition of the Japanese use of Kaizen is ‘take it apart and put it back together, better.” Usually, this is a process, a system, a product, or a service. 

The five pillars of Kaizen

Kaizen is based on five fundamental elements:

Teamwork that embodies the essence of “Team”
Personal discipline
Better morale
Quality circles
Suggestions for improvement

The six Kaizen steps

Kaizen’s continuous improvement process has six steps (DMAIC). These steps are about mapping unnecessary waste, inflexibility, and fluctuations in the process. Define the problem and the goal of using a problem definition worksheet. Measure the facts, where the gut feeling is supplemented with hard facts and data. Analyze the facts, for example using an Ishikawa diagram. This is also called a cause and effect diagram or a fishbone diagram. You’ll also use the 5 Why questions. Generate, categorize, and prioritize improvements. Choose the solution based on an Effort/Impact matrix, for example. Implement the changes and keep an eye on the progress.

The 5-S framework

The Kaizen method is all about “cleaning” processes and making them neat and orderly. The 5-S framework provides several principles to achieve that. They stand for:

1. Separating or sorting (Seiri)
2. Set in order (Seiton)
3. Shine (Seiso)
4. Standardize (Seiketsu)
5. Sustain / Self-discipline (Shitsuke)

Written By

Gazi Sanaul Hasan