The goal of kaizen, a prominent Japanese management theory, is to help leaders achieve performance improvements and shape a continuous improvement culture. Kaizen means to change for the better, every day, in all areas of a company, involving all employees.
A new downloadable guide from Tork® titled Equipped to Improve™ details five tips for making kaizen an integral part of your business on a daily basis.
Preventive maintenance is key to kaizen
One way that kaizen leads to positive results is through preventive maintenance. Recent data reveals:
- 89% of machine operators believe that continuing to improve preventive maintenance routines is important to their company
- 87% of machine operators agreed that preventive maintenance reduces breakdowns of machines and lost production time
- 89% of machine operators agree that having robust, professional industrial wiper dispensers placed exactly where they need them would support efficient cleaning and preventive maintenance
Creating a culture of continuous improvement
Those findings suggest the great potential of kaizen in the workplace. “The goal of kaizen is to establish a culture of continuous improvement by changing behaviors,” says Jonas Svanäng.
After learning and studying kaizen firsthand while improving Toyota’s factories, he has shared his thoughts on this approach at international conferences. “When your company adopts a kaizen mindset where employees are given the opportunity to influence their workplace, it will lead to more motivated employees.”
Five kaizen tips for your manufacturing facility
Download the Tork guide now for a deeper exploration of the following five key tips for improving productivity:
1. Focus on small changes.
“Improvement can sometimes come from unexpected places,” says Svanäng. Identify smaller problems and take small, achievable steps towards resolving them.
2. Empower your employees.
Strive to create an environment where everyone is working together. For example: encourage your operators to identify problems and make recommendations regarding their work areas.
3. Ensure organizational buy-in.
Engage everyone in your company, and make sure that your organization understands the importance of kaizen to your bottom line. Plus make sure your leaders are involved and actively support kaizen throughout the organization.
4. Speak with data, manage with facts.
To analyze issues in an objective way, you will need facts and figures. Communicate to your operators and team leaders the need to speak with data.
5. Cleaning is checking.
Research shows that 89% of machine operators believe it is easier to inspect and detect faults on a clean machine.Implementing autonomous cleaning routines can help eliminate leakages, improve access to check points, and more.
Tork supports kaizen and adds value
Professional wiping and cleaning solutions from Tork can be especially useful in supporting kaizen. Tork offers a variety of wipers/cleaning cloths and dispensers that can be placed within easy reach of a machine operator. All of these supports what is meant by the word “Gemba,” which refers to the place where value is created for the customer—such as individual operator stations throughout a factory.
To learn more about implementing Kaizen in your workplace, download the Tork guide Equipped to Improve.