In this lean blog series so far, we’ve identified and discussed two benefits of implementing lean into your manufacturing production: Eliminating waste and organization/cleanliness. It’s clear to see that safety would also be an added benefit to lean manufacturing. When you’ve eliminated waste, put everything in order and used correctly, it is easier to understand all the processes and thus be safer as a whole.
The word Kaizen means “improvement”. Kaizen is a lean idea that focuses on continuous improvement and empowering employees to make and suggest changes, no matter how big or small. Implementing Kaizen mindsets and incentives in the workplace will lead to added safety measures for your business.
So how do you foster a Kaizen work environment?
Hold A Kaizen Event
Kaizen events can lead to some major improvements in a short amount of time. For these events, it is vital to have all the appropriate and necessary employees involved. You will get right down to the real problems that are causing inefficiencies in the company or a specific department.
Choose A Problem and Solve with PDCA
When you have all the right people together, select the most obvious problem that the group is being faced with and commit to solving it using the “PDCA cycle”. PDCA stands for:
- Plan: Find the problem(s) and create a plan
- Do: Implement and test solutions
- Check: Analyze and reflect
- Act: Implement best solution and standardize
When Act is completed, start the PDCA cycle over with a new problem.
Reward Improvement
Make continual improvement rewarding to those who show they are committed to the philosophy. Reward one person or department a month, quarter, or whatever frequency you’d like, who makes the greatest improvement to the company. This will entice employees to participate and show that their actions and commitment don’t go unnoticed and are appreciated.
Coach Growth Mindsets
A growth mindset means you want to evolve and improve your character by continually pushing yourself to learn new skills. People with growth mindsets are more likely to foster a Kaizen work environment. Providing a professional development course on growth mindsets will more quickly develop your employees into the Kaizen culture.
The CIFT manufacturing team is dedicated to the continuous improvement of all our partners. We offer a no strings attached complimentary lean manufacturing assessment of your production.
