There is probably not a person in the whole world who would not try to start a new life on Monday (on the first day, on the New Year, etc.) or would not strive to start everything from scratch. Just yesterday a person set a very definite goal for himself, but Monday came (the first day of the New Year), and nothing changed in his life.
Why is this happening?
It is impossible to answer such a question unequivocally. Someone from childhood was not a particularly purposeful person, because others always decided everything for him, someone is so tired of life that they no longer have the strength to change anything. For a Russian person, the excuse is always “mother laziness.” But psychologists tend to explain this by saying that a person is not motivated enough to change something, which means that he does not develop a habit.
To start doing anything on a regular basis, you need to develop a habit. But in order to form it for a long time, you need at least 21 days. At maximum, it will take 90 days for this to become a habit forever.
It's worth starting with something small. Young people who are just starting out in life, when they still have a lot of strength, when hormones are raging in the blood, do not allow them to stop halfway, much less turn away from the chosen path.
Over time, a person’s life becomes more and more measured, many habits are already developed, certain tastes are formed, and it becomes more and more difficult to change anything. And if you suddenly want everything at once and more, you don’t have the willpower to overcome the existing stereotypes. Even if you start to do what you have planned, it turns out that the load is very heavy, everything quickly gets boring, and the habit has not yet formed.
Where is the way out?
Japanese philosophy can come to the rescue kaizen, which literally means “continuous improvement” in Japanese. The word itself is translated as follows: "kai"- change, and "zen"- wisdom. That is, it is assumed that these should be changes in life, but not spontaneous, but wise, caused by long reflection or rich life experience.
For the most part, this philosophy, or practice, initially focused more on improving production processes or supporting processes in business and its management. If it was necessary to optimize production, the entire staff was replaced - from a simple worker to the general manager or even the plant director.
In business, such continuous improvement can affect not only the production itself, but even the management of the enterprise. The goal of kaizen practice is to improve production by changing standards so that there is no waste. In Japan itself, this philosophy was first applied after World War II in a number of Japanese companies (including Toyota) in order to speed up the restoration of destroyed production.
However, both the term “kaizen” and the very idea of philosophy spread throughout the world after the Japanese philosopher Masaaki Imai in 1986 outlined this idea in detail in his book of the same name, “Kaizen”. He explained that such a philosophy means the orientation of all life (work, public and private) towards constant improvement.
What is the “one minute principle”?
In manufacturing, the term “kaizen” has become a key term in management language. But you ask: what does this have to do with me? How are my life and Japanese philosophy related? Does this concept apply to me if I am a person far from the field of management?
It turns out that the most valuable concept, a kind of grain of this philosophy, can be considered the “one-minute principle.” His idea boils down to the fact that a person should do a certain task for exactly one minute, only this should happen every day and at the same time. After all, a minute of time is very little, which means that every person can do anything for one minute. At the same time, laziness does not seem to have time to get in his way and confuse him.
If you were going to perform the same actions for half an hour, but kept putting it off, finding all sorts of explanations and excuses for this, then in a minute you can complete them with ease.
What is so important that you can do in a minute? It turns out that you can jump rope for a minute, pump up your abs, do eye exercises, repeat words in a foreign language, and do exercises to improve your diction. That is, you can make a huge list of what you can do just one minute a day, but every day and constantly.
If you haven’t found time for such activities in the morning, because you want to sleep in the morning, or in the evening, because you’re already tired, then a minute before breakfast or before going into the arms of Morpheus will not only bring joy and a feeling of self-satisfaction, but also will inspire you to new achievements.
If previously such activities seemed difficult to complete because they took a lot of time, then one minute seems like nothing. However, by occupying this minute of your life with something useful for yourself, you can feel proud that you have overcome laziness. This will help everyone free themselves from self-guilt and overcome self-doubt. On the contrary, you will experience the joy of success and believe in victory over yourself and your laziness.
What's next? And then a small success will lead to greater success: after practicing for just a minute, you will feel the need to study longer to achieve better results. One minute will be followed by five-minute sessions, and then half-hours. And this is already something.
After all, according to physical laws, real benefits come from those activities whose duration is at least thirty minutes. It turns out that daily exercise for a minute develops the power of habit, allows a person to become more collected and responsible, and the formed habit of working on oneself will lead to more important changes in later life and will allow constant self-improvement.
It is no coincidence that this technique originally originated in Japan. The Japanese perception of life is actually very different from the European one: the Japanese understand that there are things in life that they can influence, and there are things that will not change even with their great desire. And if you don’t try to change the unchangeable, you can maintain your physical and mental state. Moreover, if a goal is nevertheless set, they will go towards it, even despite natural disasters.
Likewise, those who make the Kaizen philosophy or at least the one-minute principle their life principle will definitely change their lives, overcoming not only laziness, but also other shortcomings.
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“From Monday I will start a new life, I will go to the gym, do yoga, do self-massage, pump up my abs...” - each of us periodically sets some goals for ourselves and does not achieve them, postpones them to the next month, for several months, for a year.
Sometimes we zealously begin to carry out our plans, but after working out, for example, 3 times a week in the gym for several hours, we give up classes for a long time. Why is this happening? Because the load is heavy, because it gets boring, and the habit has not yet been developed.
Kaizen technique, or the 1 minute principle
There is a Japanese kaizen method, which includes the so-called 1-minute principle. The essence of this technique is that a person does a certain task for exactly 1 minute, but day after day and at the same time. 1 minute of time is very little, which means it is easily doable for anyone. Laziness will not get in your way. The same actions that you didn’t want to do for half an hour, coming up with excuses or justifications, you can easily do in a minute.
Jump rope, exercise your abs, do eye exercises, do yoga, read a book in a foreign language - when time is limited to 1 minute, the activities do not seem difficult to do, but on the contrary, bring joy and satisfaction. And by taking small steps, you improve and achieve great results.
It is important that you overcome self-doubt, free yourself from feelings of guilt and helplessness, and feel success and victory. Inspired by the feeling of success, you gradually increase your one-minute sessions to five minutes, and so on. Then quietly approach half-hour classes. Progress is obvious!
Kaizen originated in Japan. The word itself is a compound word and includes two others - “kai” (“change”) and “zen” (“wisdom”). The author of this management concept is Masaaki Imai. He believes that Kaizen is a real philosophy that can be equally successfully applied in business and in personal life.
To people of Western culture, the Japanese method may seem ineffective, since in the West there is an established opinion that good results cannot be achieved without great effort. But large-scale programs that take a lot of effort can break a person and remain ineffective. And the kaizen principle is suitable for everyone and can be applied to many areas of life. The Japanese, for example, use a strategy of gradual and continuous improvement in management.
All that remains is to decide on your needs and start applying the kaizen technique in practice.
Lean manufacturing technology kaizen (Kaizen, Japanese for continuous improvement) - a comprehensive concept that covers philosophy, theory and management tools, allowing you to achieve competitive advantage at the present stage.
In management system practice, this concept has a synonym - continuous improvement process (German - KVP, Kontinuierlicher Verbesserungs Prozess, English - CIP, Continuous Improvement Process). In an economic sense, the concept generally refers to actions to continuously improve all functions of an enterprise, from production to management. Kaizen is a concept derived from the Japanese words kai = change, and zen = good or for the better. Kaizen was first introduced in a few Japanese factories during the economic recovery after World War II and has since spread to factories around the world. The most famous practical application of this concept was developed for the Japanese corporation Toyota Motor Corporation. It is the basis of the method Total Quality Management(English - TQM, Total Quality Management) and includes measures to prevent waste (), innovation and work with new standards.
The ideas of the kaizen system () are set out by Masaaki Imaia in the book of the same name, which was published in England in 1986. The main ones:
“Kaizen is based on the fact that no enterprise is without problems. Kaizen helps solve these problems by developing a work culture where each employee is not fined for a problem, but guarantees that it will not happen.”
- “Kaizen strategy is based on the recognition that management, whose goal is to make a profit, must set as its goal the satisfaction of the customer and his requirements.”
- “Kaizen is a customer-focused improvement strategy.”
- “Kaizen is based on the premise that all enterprise activities should ultimately lead to increased customer satisfaction. At the same time, the philosophy of the internal and external clients differs.”
Convincing evidence of the effectiveness of the lean concept is a comparison of the level of innovation in enterprises in Japan and in Western countries. For comparison: in 1989, 83% of all innovation proposals were implemented in Japan, while in Germany - 40%, and in the USA - only 30%. In Germany, there are 0.15 innovation proposals per employee per year, while in Japan this figure is over 30.
With NPU, at the center there is a person with abilities and knowledge, which are the most important capital of the company. To this we can add a positive perception of problems by the organization, since they are an incentive for improvement. What is at the forefront is not the question of who is causing the problems, but the common effort to fundamentally solve them. It is not punishment for the mistakes of the past, but the possibility of improvement for the benefit of a common future that should guide the company's thinking. The desire to recognize real problems and eliminate them for a long time is decisive!
Thus, the team of employees is seen as a source of motivation, identification, mental energy, synergy and increasing creativity. NPU means continuous, systematic and consistent work on:
- setting and pursuing goals,
- eliminating interference,
- looking for opportunities for improvement,
- preventing waste with the help of all employees at all levels, in all departments, workshops and offices.
Elements of Kaizen
For normal and efficient work in production, it is necessary to create appropriate conditions. Therefore, Kaizen is based on 5 important points.
- Teamwork. All employees must work as a team to achieve a common goal. They are obligated to do whatever is necessary for the benefit of their colleagues and their employer company. Provides for constant information exchange, mutual training, fulfillment of duties on time, etc.
- Personal discipline. In any enterprise, discipline is important. It ensures success. The basis of kaizen is self-discipline, which includes managing your working time, the level of quality of work, fulfilling requirements, complying with regulations, etc.
- Moral condition. It is essential that employees maintain their high morale. Therefore, management is obliged to implement a system of effective motivation, create good working conditions, and provide for all aspects related to providing its employees with everything they need.
- Quality mugs. The enterprise needs to organize quality circles, which include employees of different levels. Such circles allow for the exchange of ideas, skills, and everything that is required for teamwork. The functioning of quality circles allows employees to evaluate their achievements when exchanging information and strive for better results in their work.
- Suggestions for improvement. Management needs to ensure that every employee can make suggestions, regardless of position. Even absurd proposals should be accepted and considered.
Kaizen principles
Basic:
1.Organization of the workplace (gemba), for which 5S methods are used:
- Seiri – definition of what is not needed in work;
- Seiso – ensuring the cleanliness of the workplace and equipment used;
- Seiton - putting in order everything that is used in work;
- Seiketsu – actions to standardize the first 3 steps;
- Shitsuke – support for established workplace management.
2. Elimination of unjustified losses related to:
- Unnecessary movement;
- Unnecessary waiting;
- Incorrect organization of technical processes;
- Transportation;
- Defects, defects;
- Excess inventory;
- Overproduction.
3. Standardization, which allows you to create the basis for stability in work. The implementation of standards must occur at all levels. Their improvement is carried out according to the PDCA cycle.
Important! To effectively implement a kaizen system, it is necessary to use other lean manufacturing tools, including the kanban technique.
Continuous improvement process
Continuous improvement process- This is not only the study of new methods and, but also a different form of cooperation. More local self-organization with the help of capable employees, more personal responsibility for all participants, more development of innovative potential in the enterprise. Moreover, management requirements acquire additional importance. Along with professional and methodological competence, success depends on managers having social competence. The process of changing attitudes occurs from the top down, and the best guarantee of success through NPM is exemplary leadership management. Necessary changes in the approach to work are carried out by management, setting an example for employees who learn about these changes and adopt them. The economic and social goals of the kaizen (lean manufacturing) process are the goals.
In enterprises using kaizen technology, the continuous process of improvement is a vital part of the functioning of production management. It covers:
- organization (organizational structure, distribution of responsibilities, coordination, control mechanism);
- management (delimiting goals, choosing topics, forming a team);
- qualifying activities (behavioral training, methodological training);
- systematics (regularity, documentation, coverage of work teams, tools);
- incentive system (encouragement of innovation, special systems of moral and material incentives).
In 2016 in Malta, during the world seafood conference, some participants expressed their bewilderment at the situation in the Japanese market. This country is surrounded on all sides by the sea and the consumption of seafood in it is part of its national traditions. However, despite this, statistics show that seafood consumption there is steadily declining. This means that one of the important sectors of the country's economy is gradually declining. During the conference, Western experts more than once expressed the opinion that this state of affairs could have been corrected if not for the actual inaction of the Japanese involved in this area. In any case, this is exactly the impression many people had when studying the issue.
To this, the following response was received from the Japanese delegation - Japan’s actions to plan and revive the fishing industry are almost invisible, but only for Western vision. And to understand why this happens, it is necessary to pay attention to four important principles of the culture of the land of the rising sun.
One of these principles is called "nemawashi", and precisely because at the moment the solution to the issue is at this stage, the actions of the Japanese have become so invisible to the West.
Four principles underlying Japanese culture.
— The Japanese, perhaps somewhat more than other nations, do not like risk, which is why work with all sorts of pitfalls is carefully carried out at the decision-making stage, and not after. As a result, aversion to even small risks is one of the cornerstones of Japanese psychology in business and in life.
— The second principle is harmony in society or in a team, so factors such as restraint, calm and mutual respect come to the fore. No heated arguments or discussions ever occur during work, because this could be perceived as a desire to become superior to one’s colleagues, which is unacceptable under any circumstances.
- The third principle is "nemawashi", this is an informal and therefore often invisible stage of preparing the basis for making an important decision.
— And finally, the moment of decision-making, built on the basis of previously developed agreement between the participants. For this reason, decision-making in Japan is often a mere formality and takes place without any debate or voting.
NEMAWASI - developing the basis for further movement forward.
Nemawashi, one of Japan's oldest principles, literally means "root digging."
Initially, its meaning was to prepare the tree for transplantation to another place, which took place in a rather unusual way. They brought soil from the site where the tree was to be planted and partially replaced the old one with it; this was done so that the tree would get used to the place where it would then grow. And only after this, after quite a long time, the tree was dug up and taken to a new place of residence. This method, although it took a lot of time, significantly reduced the risk of tree death.
Today nemawashi is one of the most important principles of Japanese business and its essence is preparing the basis for a future decision. It includes a long preparatory period of informal consultations, a thorough study of details, and the creation of preliminary agreements with key stakeholders, especially those who will be directly involved in the final decision in the future.
Nemawashi most often manifests itself something like this - a person in whose head a new idea has arisen first expresses it to his immediate supervisor, then, having received his sanction, meets with specialists and possible interested people, holds informal meetings in narrow circles, where he finds out all possible opinions on this issue.
Then more extended, but still informal meetings are held, during which, with the participation of senior management, a final decision is gradually developed, which is solemnly adopted at a formal meeting.
At first glance, approximately the same thing is happening in the West, however, the Japanese specificity lies in the incredible thoroughness of the approach, its behind-the-scenes nature and the obligatory achievement of complete consensus, which is why this stage sometimes stretches out for a very long time. This is precisely the reason for complaints against the Japanese from their Western colleagues, who consider this method to be very ineffective.
Well, perhaps from a Western point of view this path looks somewhat strange, but it undoubtedly has its advantages, which the Japanese themselves are very fond of emphasizing.
And here's what they consider most important:
— The Nemawashi principle gives the time necessary to evaluate all ideas, opportunities for their implementation, as well as alternative ways of its development. The one who is at the origins of the idea receives valuable feedback, and in the process of such work the idea itself and the possibilities for its implementation only improve. But if in the process of nemawashi this idea turns out to be unsuitable for some reason, then this happens at a very early stage, when nothing has happened yet, money has not been invested and little time has been spent, thus one of the important Japanese principles is easily implemented - take minimal risks.
— During the final meeting, which is convened to make a final decision, you can be sure that no one will present surprises or oppose the idea, because everyone has already been consulted, no one has been ignored, all opinions have been taken into account. And this means a very important thing - the previously reached agreement suits everyone, which means that there will be no obstacles to the implementation of the project from interested people in the future.
— During the slow path to decision making, the emotional component is minimized. This completely eliminates the option when a decision is made under pressure, due to momentary arguments or under the influence of emotions. Due to the large amount of time, all preliminary meetings become calm and there is no effect of competition or competition of opinions. This puts into action another of the four Japanese principles - the principle of harmony in the team.
“Given the high degree of consistency between the idea and its implementation, the process of its further implementation is extremely simplified, when everything goes smoothly, without obstacles from the participants and without significant changes in the project, which always require time and expense.
Of course, for the Western approach, the nemawashi principle seems very slow, clumsy and ineffective.
And these contradictions between Western and Japanese approaches became especially clear when the Japanese first began to open their enterprises in the USA and Europe. Indeed, within the framework of Western traditions, no one was going to spend a large amount of time on preliminary preparation of a decision. Everything was decided within the framework of several meetings, often based on heated debates, irreconcilable discussions, and clashes of different positions and interests. This state of affairs led to the fact that decisions were made by the will of the leader and were, to a certain extent, compromises, because they did not suit everyone. And this is the eternal price for quick decisions.
As for the Japanese leadership system, here a meeting is simply a formal event, within the framework of which something that has already been discussed more than once before is solemnly designated. As for heated discussions based on emotions and conflicts of interests, they were considered unproductive and carried little meaning. The key point in the Japanese value system is the ability to work in a team and there is simply no place for any individualism, because to achieve a result the consent of all team members is necessary.
In addition, Japan has adopted a system of lifelong employment, when a person connects not only his career, but also his life with one enterprise. Naturally, in such conditions, no one simply can afford to be conflictual and quarrelsome, because this would be a real threat to everyone and to the “cultural code” of Japan.
Within the framework of the nemawashi principle, any undertaking is discussed within the team from the very moment of its inception. Yes, this sometimes takes a lot of time. But as a result, it turns out that careful and long work preceding the final decision brings its own fruits, which are not always obvious to the Western mind, which are expressed in the smooth implementation of the project, lower costs and higher efficiency.
It is possible that scrupulous adherence to the 4 principles of doing business is one of the important reasons for Japanese economic prosperity.
The nemawashi principle is very close in spirit to the approach of slow and gradual improvement called kaizen, which is also one of the cornerstones of Japanese society.
The philosophy of the Japanese approach to business is outlined in Jeffrey Liker's book The Toyota Way, where the nemawashi principle is one of the 14 principles of management.
It goes like this: “When you make a decision, take your time, consider all possible options, but when you implement it, don’t hesitate.”
In order for the Kaizen philosophy to work in business, Japanese managers back it up with practical tools for optimizing jobs, quality control, submitting rationalization proposals, careful use of resources, etc.
The Japanese economic miracle is the unprecedented growth of the Japanese economy from the mid-50s until the oil crisis of 1973 - about 10% per year. Japan, previously known in the world as a producer of low-quality waste products, has turned its image around and become a competitor to leading American corporations.
The Japanese attribute the rise of their economy to the use of kaizen as a way of thinking and approach to management. It is interesting that the Americans themselves brought ideas for improving product quality to Japan.
Kaizen: Definition, Origin and History
In 1946, America sent its best engineers to lecture on quality and share their experiences with Japanese industrialists. In 1950, lectures in Japan were given by W. Edwards Deming, the founder of the modern quality movement. The Japanese implemented his ideas so effectively that 20-30 years later American delegations came to adopt the Japanese experience.
William Edwards Deming is an American scientist, developer of statistical quality control methods, and management and quality management consultant. Co-author of the Shewhart-Deming Cycle (PDCA). It is directly related to the revival of the Japanese economy.
The term "kaizen" as a direction of management became widely known in 1986, after the publication Masaaki Imai "Kaizen: the key to the success of Japanese companies." Then the whole world learned what kaizen is and that Japan owes its success to it.
Kaizen management approaches differ sharply from management methods accepted in the West. In Japan, people and the production process are of particular importance, while in the West, company management is focused on the product and results. Let's look at the basic principles of kaizen.
Consumers
The most important link in the production chain, and all the company’s efforts are aimed at ensuring that it receives a quality product at a low price. It is important to anticipate market demands and adapt production to changing needs. Customer feedback is one of the important components of kaizen.
Employees
The most valuable asset of the company, without their support kaizen is impossible. Relations with personnel at Japanese enterprises are built in such a way that the employees themselves are interested in producing high-quality and competitive products. Here, the welfare of the enterprise means the welfare of the employee.
The pursuit of excellence is supported by five systems for forming relationships between a person and an organization:
- lifetime employment system
- on-the-job training system
- rotation system
- merit system
- reward system.
Management
Kaizen prefers leadership as opposed to Western formal bosses. Japanese managers earn authority not by a sign on the office door, but by their knowledge, experience, decisions made, and personal example. They are open to their subordinates, spend a lot of time at work, and communicate freely with employees of any level.
It is impossible to deploy kaizen in a company without the support of top management: improvement goals are set at the top level and unfold from top to bottom. The implementation of the plans requires decision making and investment. The higher a manager is in the hierarchy, the more improvement actions are expected of him.
Focus on process rather than results
Kaizen is based on process thinking, because... Improving processes leads to improved results. In Japan, employees' efforts to optimize the work process are valued, even if this does not bring direct savings to the company.
In the West, employees are focused on getting results at any cost. Any rationalization proposal is considered from the perspective of making a profit in the next quarter.
Gradual development plus innovation
Western companies prefer leapfrog development through innovation, without worrying about minor improvements. The Japanese combine kaizen and innovation to achieve long-term growth.
Building quality into the process
Quality is an important element of kaizen. The Japanese realized that checking finished products for defects is a waste of time and money, because... does not lead to improved quality. Therefore, they began to build quality into all stages of production, from product development and selection of suppliers to delivery of goods to consumers.
The next process is the consumer
Any production of goods or services can be divided into a chain of processes. In kaizen, each subsequent process is usually considered as an end consumer. Therefore, the next production link will never receive defective parts or inaccurate information.
Differences between the Japanese kaizen approach and traditional management in Western companies
Kaizen | Western management style |
|
Focus on | Result |
|
Development | Gradual, manifesting itself over time, sometimes plus innovation | Spasmodic, only due to innovation |
Resources | Lean use of resources | Irrational use of resources - while there is profit, there is no point in optimizing costs |
Relationships in the team | Mutual assistance, support, knowledge exchange | Individualism, competition between individuals and departments |
Management | A boss with authority |
|
Favorable environment for use | Slow economic growth with a lack of resources | Economic boom, resources in abundance |
Perspective | Long-term | Short term |
Kaizen goals
The Japanese resorted to kaizen and its methods to overcome post-war devastation. As a result, the country not only recovered from hostilities, but also became the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality competitive products - cars, equipment, electronics. And this is in the absence of resources, a small territory and relative isolation from the world. This is a side effect of kaizen.
The main goal of kaizen management is customer satisfaction.
To achieve this, top management sets clear priorities for product quality, cost and delivery discipline, and deploys them from top to bottom throughout the enterprise.
In addition to customer satisfaction, the Kaizen technique allows you to:
- improve product quality and at the same time reduce prices
- increase company profits
- motivate staff and maximize their potential
- remain competitive in the market for decades
- rational use of limited and expensive resources.
In my opinion, kaizen is also an end in itself - improvement for the sake of improvement, because this is precisely what many see as the meaning of human existence.
Application of methods in the kaizen concept
In practice, kaizen is implemented through practical tools and techniques. Let's look at some of them.
Total Quality Management (TQM - Total Quality Management)
Management philosophy of improving product quality, reducing costs, and satisfying consumers and company employees. The most important and large-scale kaizen tool.
Just-in-time production system ()
A production organization method developed by Toyota Vice President Taiichi Ohno in 1954 and used in the company's production system.
Its essence is that the parts needed for production are supplied to the assembly line within a strictly defined time frame and in the required quantity. Finished products are produced in small batches and are not stored, but are immediately shipped to consumers.
Thus, the company avoided maintaining warehouses, which was impossible given the limited expensive resources and territory, and also increased the quality and speed of assembly, completely optimizing the production process.
(TPM - Total Productive Maintenance)
TRM is the concern of each employee about the entrusted equipment and workplace. Caring for the machine maintains its functionality for a long time and allows you to anticipate possible breakdowns. The actions of workers are supported by the development of standards for the operation of equipment, organization and order in the workplace, identification of problems, and minor repairs.
Proposal system
The Japanese adopted the practice of submitting proposals to improve production from the United States. There are two options for the methodology: individual proposals and small group proposals. The system of proposals supports kaizen and creates a sense of involvement of workers in the fate of the company.
Japanese management strongly supports employee proposals and gives bonuses and gratitude for their initiative. The record number of proposals submitted to one company by one person in one year was 16,821.
Small group work
Right on the shop floor, groups of 6-10 people are looking for ways to improve the quality of processes and products, reduce downtime and reduce material consumption. Such voluntary associations first appeared in 1962 as study groups that studied the theory of quality control and began to apply what they learned in their workplaces.
The most common small groups are quality control circles and QC circles. The area of responsibility of QC circles is usually limited to the workplace - reducing resource costs, increasing labor safety and increasing productivity. QC circles use seven statistical tools to analyze problems and how to solve them: Pareto charts, cause and effect charts, histograms, control charts, scatter plots, graphs, and checklists.
At the time of writing the book about kaizen (1986), 170 thousand QC circles were officially registered in Japan, and about the same number operated unofficially.
Members of QC circles receive satisfaction from influencing the work process and participating in improvement; the element of creativity and initiative has a positive effect on the corporate culture.
The photo shows the work of QC circles at the Toyota plant in Indonesia then and now
Another tool created at Toyota as part of the Just-in-Time methodology. Kanban are tags that are attached to containers of production parts. The container moves along the assembly line and workers select the necessary parts. When all parts have been selected, the empty container is returned for the next batch, and the tag serves as a requisition form. Essentially, it is a communication system between production and warehouse workers that minimizes the storage of parts in production.
Zero defects (ZD - zero defects)
The zero defects program was developed by the American Philip Crosby. Its essence is that no level of defects in production is acceptable. The number of defects should be zero.
This goal is achieved as follows:
- it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of defects, and not to find and correct them
- Efforts must be made to reduce the number of defects
- the consumer deserves a defect-free product, and it is the manufacturer's responsibility to provide it
- management must clearly set goals for improving product quality
- quality is determined not only in the production process, but also by the activities of non-production personnel
- Quality assurance must be subject to financial analysis.
Advantages and disadvantages of Kaizen
The benefits of kaizen are obvious:
- better product quality at lower costs
- customer satisfaction
- rational use of resources and equipment
- atmosphere of mutual assistance and cooperation
- employee motivation.
But why then don’t all companies arm themselves with kaizen techniques? Kaizen is not so easy to implement; to do this, you need to rebuild not only the production process, but also your thinking.
Here are the challenges companies face on their path to excellence:
- process improvement requires investments that will not pay off immediately
- it takes a long time to see the effect - 3-5 years
- Kaizen is not suitable for a rapidly developing economy
- it is very difficult to involve employees at all levels
- human factors interfere - laziness, greed, dishonesty
- Western companies do not have practices of lifelong employment, horizontal rotation, or combining several functions
- Employees' suggestions for improvement are not taken seriously.
Kaizen in practice
The Kaizen philosophy is supported by many Japanese corporations - Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Philips. As an example of a kaizen follower, I would like to cite a Western company - Nestlé S.A.
Nestlé
Swiss multinational food and beverage manufacturer. Its product line includes baby food, medical nutrition, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, candy, frozen food, snacks and pet nutrition.
The corporation has not left the list of Fortune 500 companies for 22 years; in 2016, it took 66th place with a profit of $9,423 million. In the previous year, it took 70th place, and a year earlier - 72nd.
Lean production and zero waste are Nestlé's primary mission. The ideas of kaizen are clearly visible in Nestlé’s Corporate Principles and Nestlé’s Quality Policy.
The company's top management undertakes to strive for the highest quality and safety of products in the following ways:
- Fostering a culture of quality to develop, manufacture and deliver zero-defect products and services that our customers trust.
- Compliance with current legislation and international requirements.
- Continuously improve the quality management system to ensure product safety, prevent quality incidents and eliminate defects.
- Encouraging participation and dissemination of responsibility for quality among employees and partners through standards, education, training and mentoring, supervision and effective communications.
To create value and earn consumer trust, Nestlé implements 4 principles:
Nestlé Waters uses different methods to understand where it is best to open a new factory. Techniques such as Value Stream Mapping illustrate the flow of materials and information required to deliver the final product to the consumer. Thus, new factories are opened where they will initially work most efficiently.
Total Quality Management: definition and essence
Total Quality Management is a term closely related to kaizen. Speaking about what Total Quality Management is, Masaaki Imai calls it “the main highway leading to kaizen” and often equates these concepts.
TQM is kaizen implemented using a systematic approach and statistical methods. They transform the company's problems into concrete numbers.
TQM are activities aimed at improving quality: they involve top and middle management, foremen and workers, employees of non-production departments. These activities relate to marketing research, design and development of new products, production, sales, relationships with suppliers and consumers, personnel training, etc.
In Japan TQM implementation starts with people— when the organization’s employees are imbued with the desire for quality and have mastered kaizen thinking, then they can begin to improve production and management processes.
While in the West there are special positions or departments for quality control, in Japan quality control is everyone's business. Employees at all levels are constantly trained to ensure effective quality control. In addition, TQM is supported at the government level.
TQM principles
One of the founders of the TQM movement, Professor Kaoru Ishikawa, formed six features of total quality management in Japan:
- TQM is applied throughout the company with the participation of all employees.
- The importance of education and training.
- Work of QC circles.
- Regular TQM audits by senior management or external organizations.
- Use of statistical methods.
- State support for TQM.
The Total Quality Management methodology contrasts sharply with the approaches of traditional quality management:
Principles of traditional quality management | TQM principles |
Customer satisfaction | Satisfaction of consumers, employees and society as a whole |
Actions to improve product quality | Actions to improve the quality of processes and systems |
Corrective impact on quality | Preventive impact on quality |
Quality management training for quality control department employees only | Quality management training for all employees |
Only the quality control department is responsible for quality | All employees are responsible for quality |
Solving only urgent quality problems, “plugging holes” | Finding and solving chronic problems |
Dedicated solution to quality problems | Employee interaction when solving quality problems |
W. Edwards Deming was directly involved in the formation of the TQM concept. He formulated a 14-point algorithm of actions for implementing the TQM concept:
- Ensure consistency in product and service improvement goals.
- Adopt a new philosophy.
- Eliminate reliance on inspections to achieve quality.
- Stop choosing partners solely based on price. Instead, reduce your overall cost by working with a single supplier.
- Continually and forever improve every planning, production and service process.
- Introduce on-the-job training.
- Encourage leadership.
- Get rid of fears.
- Break down barriers between staff from different functional areas.
- Eliminate slogans, appeals and workforce targets.
- Eliminate numerical quotas for the workforce and numerical targets for managers.
- Remove barriers that prevent people from taking pride in workmanship and eliminate annual rankings or merit systems.
- Organize a vigorous training and self-improvement program for everyone.
- Engage everyone in the company in the transformation effort.
Advantages and disadvantages of TQM
The most obvious advantage of TQM is improving the quality of products. But since total quality management affects all processes in an enterprise, the effect of its application is much wider than a product without defects.
Here's the return you can get from TQM:
- improving product quality
- customer satisfaction and loyalty
- reduction in production costs
- company profit growth
- the company's adaptability to sudden environmental changes
- motivating employees through involvement in the company's activities
- strengthening corporate culture.
Despite the positive effect, the implementation of TQM requires significant costs and effort. Critics of the concept call the following disadvantages:
- large financial investments at the initial stages associated with staff training and hiring quality consultants
- spending time on establishing communication processes and creating a new corporate culture
- formalization of the production process due to the introduction of new standards and rules
- difficulties in ensuring the required level of staff involvement
- no effect in the short term
- lack of adaptation of the approach to the service sector, small businesses, and the non-profit sector.
TQM in practice
As an example of Total Quality Management, I would like to cite the Indian company, the flagship company of the CK Birla Group. In 2015, she received the Deming Award, an honorary prize in quality management.
NEI manufactures bearings under the NBC Bearings brand for the automotive and railroad industries. The production capacity of NEI's four factories is designed to produce thousands of sizes of bearings. It is the only bearing manufacturer in India that has its own research and development center. The company's products are exported to 21 countries, including the USA, Germany, Japan and Australia, and are used in products of the Honda, Suzuki, and Daimler brands.
NEI puts consumers first and always adapts to changing market needs. The company adheres to the “Zero Defects” concept in production and supply. Currently at 100 parts per million, NEI plans to reduce it to 50 parts per million over the next three years and below 10 parts per million in the future.
Company credo
Be the best you can be
Be the best that you can be.
Kaizen in IT
Kaizen philosophy is not only suitable for manufacturing enterprises. Kaizen principles form the basis of modern flexible development methodologies and are actively used by teams all over the world.
Scrum.
The creators were inspired by the practices of Japanese enterprises and many kaizen principles are the basis of their methodology: the PDCA cycle, constant analysis of activities, elimination of interference, mutual support and openness of information.
Lean.
Development is a lean production method adapted for IT, one of the kaizen tools. Where developers work, it is just as important to eliminate downtime and waste as in production. Lean is based on constant learning, elimination of losses, informed decision-making, quick delivery of the product to the customer, team motivation, and lean principles.
Kanban.
- another methodology that has migrated from workshops to developers’ offices. Initially, this is one of the tools of the “just in time” concept.
Modern Kanban is based on the principles:
- development begins with existing methods, which are changed for the better in the process
- the team agrees in advance to make important changes
- initiative is encouraged
- roles and responsibilities in the team are clearly distributed. It also has quite a lot in common with kaizen ideas.
Remember and you will understand where all modern methods of creating a quality product come from.
Likewise, the principles of TQM have found application
in software development: quality is built into the process creating a software product at the stage of collecting customer requirements.
Applications
There are many project management services that allow you to control the work of production, IT teams and digital agencies that profess Kaizen or Total Quality Management. And there is Worksection.
The Saas service allows you to establish such transparent communication between management and the team, between the company’s client and the contractor, right down to the hired freelancer, that quality control and continuous improvement of the product are inevitable.