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Take a strategic approach-and let plant-floor events drive culture change.
HOW CAN COMPANIES ENHANCE THE likelihood that a kaizen program will have a significant impact on competitiveness? Among the success factors stressed by kaizen experts:
Approach it from a strategic perspective-and plan kaizen events that support the organization's vision and goals.
When plant-floor events are orchestrated as part of a broader strategywhere management has established specific goals-"it tells you where to focus your kaizen activity," says Bill Schwartz, a partner with TBM Consulting Group Inc. "It is much more powerful when the CEO and corporate management embrace it as a corporate strategy."
In working with clients, TBM focuses primarily on time-based strategies, using kaizen as a tool. And in selecting projects, the consulting firm recommends picking target areas that will have the most noticeable impact on customers.
TBM President Anand Sharma points out that manufacturing operations are "where you can make the biggest and quickest impact on the customer. From manufacturing, we go up and down the value chain-to order entry, for example, or distribution and after-sales service." Companies that are serious about kaizen initiatives, he says, create kaizen promotion offices (KPOs) to ensure alignment between kaizen activities and the strategic vision.
Ken McGuire, president of the Manufacturing Excellence Action Coalition, agrees that kaizen events should be strategically focused. Otherwise, he observes, they simply become "random acts of improvement"...