Kaizen
Kaizen is a familiar word to the Japanese and they are the inventor of this word. They implement the kaizen theory in their processing of products and they got the results continuously. It is important for getting quality products.
Additionally, Kaizen is the Japanese word for “good change” in English. Here, Kai = change, Zen = good, and stands for the continuous improvement of all corporate functions, at all levels of the hierarchy in an organization.
Elements of Kaizen
Kaizen has two elements. There are two elements that construct KAIZEN:
- Improvement/Change for the better: Kaizen is use for change for good. It always improves the quality of the process. By this way, one can get the perfect products having fewer defects.
- Ongoing/Continuity/Maintenance: Kaizen is an ongoing process. One should continue this process until reach the goal.
Lacking one of those elements will not consider KAIZEN.
Philosophy of Kaizen:
The philosophy of Kaizen has kindled considerable interest among researchers because it increases the productivity of the company and helps to produce high-quality products with minimum effort. They are-
- Firstly, Kaizen can be roughly translate from Japanese to mean “good change.”
- Secondly, the philosophy behind kaizen is often credit goes to Dr. W. Edwards Deming.
- Thirdly, Deming was invited by Japanese industrial leaders and engineers to help rebuild Japan after World War II.
- Then, He was honored for his contributions by Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers.
- Kaizen, also known as continuous improvement, is a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality.
- After that, Kaizen can apply to any kind of work, but it is perhaps best use in lean manufacturing and lean programming.
- Lastly, if a work environment practices kaizen, continuous improvement is the responsibility of every worker, not just a selected few.
Finally, Kaizen improves the condition, quality of the products by means of group work. Hence, this is the main difference between the western system of work with Japanese system. As a result, Kaizen changes the face of Japan.
