Kaizen Event - a managerial tool for problem-solving

Abstract

This article will look into how Kaizen Events can be used as a managerial tool for problem-solving processes for a project in an organization. It will thereby go into the category of Project Management. The article will introduce the term Kaizen Events relative to general lean principles and the Kaizen concept in Lean thinking. The article will then give an overview of how a Kaizen Event should be carried out and what important things to consider when doing so. The article concludes that Kaizen Events can be used as a bottom-up approach for rapid improvement and problem-solving beyond the context of lean manufacturing. It also states that a core benefit from carrying out Kaizen Events is creating motivation and problem-solving capabilities for the individual employees.

Keywords

Kaizen, Kaizen Event, Lean Thinking, problem-solving tool.

Introduction to Kaizen Events

Kaizen vs. Kaizen Events in Lean thinking:

Lean thinking a business strategy that revolves around removing or reducing waste and non-value-adding effort. Kaizen is however defined as a lean tool or method for achieving the 5 basic lean principles (Kaizen vs. Lean: Distinct but related, metalfinishing, January 2010). The article will elaborate on these principles in the section “Kaizen Events and Lean Principles”.

According to Lean thinking does the term Kaizen represent continuous incremental improvement, and it refers to a general way of thinking and behaving. Kaizen should be practised on a daily basis and it is about empowering and unleashing the creative power of people who actually do the work, in order to design more effective and efficient processes. This in order to spread lean thinking throughout the organization and teach the workforce how to effectively solve problems as they arise. Kaizen Events, on the other hand, are formalized activities that organization use to achieve rapid and dramatic improvements (Kaikadu) and progressively shift their culture. Kaizen events create a structured environment in which teams learn how to identify waste and apply specific lean tools to eliminate it. In this “learn-by-doing” environment, teams become more comfortable with their authority to make improvements. Under the guidance of a skilled facilitator, Kaizen Events generate rapid results, relying on the creative power of cross-functional team to design and implement innovative ways to perform work (Martin, K., Osterling, Mike, 2007, s. 21).

Kaizen definition

A Kaizen Event can be defined as: “A focused and structured improvement project, using a dedicated cross-functional team to improve a targeted work area, with specific goals, in an accelerated timeframe” (Farris et al., 2008, p. 1).

Kaizen Events are also referred to as Kaizen workshops or Kaizen Blitz or blitzen. Kaizen Events typically lasts a week, but the length can vary relative to the scope of the event (Jackson, Thomas L., 2013). This article will use the term Kaizen Events that defines a five-day event with the aim of rapid improvement. It especially goes into details with the frame of the Kaizen event as a problem-solving process in an organization.

Increasing use of Kaizen events

Kaizen Events are often associated with lean production and lean manufacturing (Womack et al., 1990), where Kaizen events can result in improvements in technical system outcomes, such as lead time, work-in-process inventory, and productivity. It has however also gained a reputation for providing social system outcomes, such as helping employees develop new problem-solving capabilities and increased motivation to participate in future improvement activities (Drickhamer, 2004a). Given this potential of Kaizen events for producing rapid improvement in both technical and social system outcomes, many organizations appear to be increasing their use of Kaizen events (Bane, 2002; Bodek, 2002; Melnyk et al., 1998; Oakeson, 1997). Kaizen events are an increasingly common organizational improvement mechanism aimed at work area transformation and employee development (Farris et al., 2008) and it is therefore also seen as managerial tool. This increased focus has also resulted in an expansion of the use of Kaizen events. Several companies has also started using the frame of the Kaizen Event as a problem-solving tool for concrete problems related to other areas in the company such as the R&D department focusing on product development.

Imai Masaaki and Kaizen as a problem-solving process

According to one of the formulators of the kaizen concept, Massaki Imai, is the problem-solving capability of the kaizen concept is one of its core elements:

”The starting point for improvement is to recognize the need. This comes from recognition of a problem. If no problem is recognized, there is no recognition of the need for improvement [..] Therefore, Kaizen emphasizes problem-awareness and provides clues for identifying problems” (Masaaki, Imai, 1986, p. 9).

Massaki claims that once a problem has been identified it must be solved and therefore does the concept of Kaizen also contain various problem-solving tools. Another core idea of the Kaizen concept is that all employees in the organization have the capability and the will to contribute to the continuous refinement and betterment of the existing activities (Styhre, A., 2001, p. 797). Instead of seeking to control and measure the activities of the employee, the managers should act as coaches, supporting the improvement activities carried out by the employees in the kaizen teams. This behaviour is facilitated in order to support a bottom-up approach where the individual employee has a say in the way problems are solved (Styhre, A., 2001, p. 801).

In his book “Kaizen - The Key to Japan’s Competitive Succes” from 1986 Massaki provides both analytical problem-solving tools based on attainable data, and more collaborative problem-solving tools based on verbal date. These methods are still valid and well-recognized. They are used frequently in Kaizen Event in companies around the world, but should be carefully selected relative to the scope of the Kaizen event.