Kaizen means continual (step by step) improvement. there are two most common methods to identify Kaizen projects in an organisation. Kaizen projects can be identified by doing Value stream mapping and by Conducting Kaizen assessment.
Key objectives of conducting a Kaizen assessment are:
- Identify gaps and opportunities for improvement
- Identify priorities and set Targets for improvement
- Create a Kaizen implementation roadmap
Kaizen assessment methodology is based on genchi genbutsu approach, emphasizing the significance of firsthand observation. ‘Genchi genbutsu’ translates to ‘going to the actual work place and seeing for yourself.’ Kaizen assessment involves a focused examination of Gemba processes, recognizing that true value is created at that level.
Key Elements of Kaizen Assessment are:
Resources Capacity Utilization Assessment: Utilisation of all key resources such as Material, Ma
chinery, Manpower & Space is assessed by identification of material losses, equipment downtimes, OEE losses, manpower productivity losses and space utilisation. Capacity utilisation can be assessed by shop floor observations, collecting live data, analysis on historic data and gathering facts on shop floor through meetings and discussions with shop floor team members and management.
Operational Performance Assessment: this covers assessing the operational performanceparameters such as Lead time, Customer complaints, Major costs etc. An in-depth analysis of your material and information flow to ascertain lead time, waste (muda), material stagnation, bottlenecks, etc. is conducted. This involves measuring various processes to gather accurate data, including lead times, cycle times, takt times, setup times, process fluctuation, etc.
Leadership & Management: The foundation of a successful lean implementation lies in management commitment. Assessment of management practices, such as daily meetings, management boards, and daily work involvement is required to understand the management commitment. This is done by conducting interviews with key personnel in the orrganization, including top and middle management, support functions, and operators, this provides valuable insights into your current leadership and management dynamics
After conducting the assessment on all Key elements, improvement priorities are identified based on major gaps. 80/20 rule is used to set the priorities for improvement and for creating a Kaizen implementation roadmap.
