Kaizen – continuous improvement

Kaizen is a Japanese word, which literally means change for the "better". We call it Kaizen – continuous improvement. Kaizens are required to implement each of the modules of World Class Manufacturing. Kaizens guarantee us, that we never stop developing and improving. With this module we aim to implement a system in production, through which every single employee in the organization is motivated to propose and implement kaizens every day.

In most factories, managers think, that if they put a box, in which employees can post their written proposals, it will start to fill up. Perhaps many of you have tried this approach and seen for yourself, that he does not work. If we want to create a working system for generating kaizens, we must first think about the reasons why people do not put proposals in the box, namely:

The level of most of the employees in our factories is so low, that they cannot be afraid to take a paper and a pen and write a proposal. They are afraid that someone will scold them for it, what they wrote or just to make fun of them
Even if there is someone, who dares to write anything, the feedback process is so long, that the person forgets what they wrote or it is no longer valid
Top and middle management are not involved in the process
We know how to eliminate the causes and create a working system. For this purpose, it is necessary to build a completely new structure in the organization, in which production is divided into teams of approx 10 person and for each team is responsible not only for its leader but also for its coach. All representatives of the administration become coaches and give their direct contribution to the production. It is they who encourage and motivate the operators to take part in the process of continuous improvement - kaizens. In the structure thus created, the team with the most kaizens, as well as his trainer have a chance to be the best after a fair competition with clear criteria. Through this approach, we encourage the competitive spirit in people, but not in the selfish, profit sense, but as a desire to surpass others.