1 Lean Office - Kaizen

2 Outline What is Kaizen? What is Kaizen? History History How to Kaizen How to Kaizen The Kaizen Blitz The Kaizen Blitz Roadblocks Roadblocks

3 What is Kaizen? Kaizen (Ky’zen) Kaizen (Ky’zen) “Kai” means “change” “Kai” means “change” “zen” means “good (for the better)” “zen” means “good (for the better)” Gradual, orderly, and continuous improvement Gradual, orderly, and continuous improvement Ongoing improvement involving everyone Ongoing improvement involving everyone

4 Eight Service Industry Wastes 1. Errors in documents 2. Transport of documents 3. Doing unnecessary work not requested 4. Waiting for the next process step 5. Process of getting approvals 6. Unnecessary motions 7. Backlog in work queues 8. Underutilized employees

5 Identify the Current State Crucial first step in process improvement Crucial first step in process improvement Deep understanding of the existing processes and dependencies Deep understanding of the existing processes and dependencies Identify all the activities currently involved in developing a new product Identify all the activities currently involved in developing a new product Observe the process first hand Observe the process first hand Identify Value Added (VA), Non-Value Added Required (NVA-R), and Non-Value Added (NVA) Identify Value Added (VA), Non-Value Added Required (NVA-R), and Non-Value Added (NVA) Generally creates more questions than answers Generally creates more questions than answers

6 Brainstorm and Analyze Kaizen team brainstorming to develop new process Kaizen team brainstorming to develop new process Post improvement ideas on map or by category Post improvement ideas on map or by category Workflow Workflow Technology Technology People / Organization People / Organization Procedures Procedures Develop detailed future state map Develop detailed future state map New workflow New workflow Value Add and Non-Value Add Value Add and Non-Value Add Cycle times Cycle times Identify Kaizen “bursts” (immediate radical change) Identify Kaizen “bursts” (immediate radical change)

7 Kaizen Blitz Total focus on a defined process to create radical improvement in a short period of time Total focus on a defined process to create radical improvement in a short period of time Dramatic improvements in productivity, quality, delivery, lead-time, set-up time, space utilization, work in process, workplace organization Dramatic improvements in productivity, quality, delivery, lead-time, set-up time, space utilization, work in process, workplace organization Typically five days (one week) long Typically five days (one week) long