Kaizen principles

The Kaizen principles are a guide for everyone who wants to implement Kaizen. Those principles can be implemented in every organization, because they describe how you should approach to every work. You can use those principles even in your private life. As Will Durant (Aristotle critique) wrote: Quality is not an act, it's a habit.

The Kaizen Institute defines general principles including:

• Good processes bring good results
• Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation
• Speak with data, manage by facts
• Take action to contain and correct root causes of problems
• Work as a team
• Kaizen is everybody's business

The important aspects of Kaizen are:

• What is wrong? not who is wrong?
• How to eliminate waste (Muda)
• How to decrease quality costs

After some literature research we can however present more detailed list of Kaizen principles. Some of them with examples and deeper explanation.

Principle 1. Say no to status quo

Old managers teach: if something works, don't touch it. In Kaizen we assume that everything can work better. There no place for methods that cannot be changed. Every aspect of every process can be a subject of improving actions.

Principle 2. If something is wrong, correct it

Many times you see people that don't fix broken things. They say: I can live with that. Don't follow them.

• If you can live without broken thing - remove it.
• Otherwise - repair it.
• If it can work better - improve it.

Principle 3. Accept no excuses and make things happen

Changes have to be implemented. People get used to ways they perform work. It is necessary to convince them that new methods will be better. Increase their motivation, involve them into process of changes, allow "trystorming" (enable workers to try new ways without consequences).

Principle 4. Improve everything continuously

The improvement never ends. After improving one element, others can become not compatible or induce defects. Create a list of elements that require improvement and improve them one by one.

Principle 5. Abolish old, traditional concepts

In every old company you can hear: we have always worked that way. Well, no more. The old methods can survive if they prove their efficiency. Otherwise they should be replaced.

Principle 6. Be economical

Save money through small improvements and spend the saved money on further improvements. In western culture changes have to be substantial in order to be visible. In eastern culture changes sometimes are substantial. But in most cases those are small improvements that lead to small savings. But after many small improvements you'll earn considerable sum of moneny.

Remember that changing technology to the most modern doesn't solve problems. It only replaces old well-known problems with new, yet unknown.

Principle 7. Empower everyone to take part in problems' solving

In Six sigma program the managers have all the wisdom. In Kaizen - everyone can add value to the improvement program. Therefore, everyone should be trained and have chance to engage.

Principle 8. Before making decisions, ask "why" five times to get to the root cause

Kaoru Ishikawa has created a Fish diagram, which enables us to find causes of the problems. Genichi Taguchi once said, that in order to find the real causes of the problem you should step into fifth level of analysis. That is the meaning of "ask why five times": your Ishikawa chart should be 5 levels deep.

Principle 9. Get information and opinions from multiple people

No one knows everything. But all together we know everything. Engineers know the technology, accountants know how to calculate savings, marketing specialists know how to sell the improvement to the public. You should create interdisciplinary teams in order to achieve effective teamwork.

Principle 10. Remember that improvement has no limits. Never stop trying to improve

Never say to your employess: ok, we've done it, now we can do it another ten years without any changes. There is entropy in each process. Customers needs change constantly. New technologies are being implemented. Your competitors still try to make better product. The improvement program is a never ending story.

Advantages of Kaizen principles

Kaizen principles offer a great advantage to any organization, as they provide a framework to improve processes and increase efficiency. The following are the key advantages of these principles:

• Eliminate Waste: Kaizen principles provide organizations with a systematic approach to identify and eliminate waste in processes and operations. This leads to improved efficiency and higher quality of services.
• Continuous Improvement: Kaizen principles focus on continuous improvement of processes and operations, which leads to better customer service and increased customer satisfaction.
• Engaged Employees: Kaizen principles emphasize employee engagement in the process of improvement. This leads to higher employee morale and better work quality.
• Cost Savings: Kaizen principles help organizations to identify and eliminate wasteful processes, which leads to cost savings.
• Increased Productivity: Kaizen principles promote process optimization, which leads to increased productivity. This helps organizations to meet their targets more efficiently and quickly.
• Quality Assurance: Kaizen principles ensure that all processes and operations are optimized for highest quality standards, which leads to improved customer satisfaction.

Limitations of Kaizen principles

The Kaizen principles are a great guide for anyone who wants to implement Kaizen, but there are some limitations that should be taken into account. These include:

• A lack of focus on long-term planning: Kaizen focuses on small, incremental improvements, but it does not address the need for long-term planning.
• An emphasis on incrementalism: Kaizen focuses on small, incremental changes, which can be beneficial in the short-term, but may not be enough to make a lasting impact.
• A lack of flexibility: Kaizen focuses on rigid processes that are designed to be efficient, but this may not provide the flexibility needed to adapt to changing conditions.
• An over-emphasis on process: Kaizen focuses on process rather than on people, so it is important to ensure that the process does not become overly bureaucratic.
• A lack of creativity: Kaizen focuses on the small, incremental changes, and does not provide a framework for creative problem solving.

Other approaches related to Kaizen principles

Kaizen principles are not the only approach to successful organizational management. Other approaches related to Kaizen principles include:

• Total Quality Management (TQM): This approach focuses on improving quality by involving all levels of an organization in the quality management process. The goal of TQM is to ensure that products and services are consistently created with the highest standards.
• Lean Management: This approach seeks to reduce waste and increase efficiency by streamlining processes and eliminating redundant activities. By doing so, organizations can increase their efficiency while reducing costs.
• Six Sigma: This approach emphasizes the use of data and statistical analysis to identify and eliminate defects. By using a data-driven approach, organizations can focus on process improvement and ensure that the highest quality standards are met.

In summary, the Kaizen principles are an important part of successful organizational management, but they are not the only approach. Other approaches, such as Total Quality Management, Lean Management, and Six Sigma, can also be employed to achieve successful results.

Kaizen principles — recommended articles

Kaizen — Philip B. Crosby — Continuous improvement — Quality management — World class manufacturing — Total quality control — Deming 14 points — Lean software development — Total Quality Management

References

• Brunet AP, New S (2003) Kaizen in Japan: an empirical study, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 23:12
• Manos A. (2007) The benefits of Kaizen and Kaizen events, Quality Progress, 40:2

Author: Slawomir Wawak