Introduction of Kaizen

What is KAIZEN?

The word Kaizen can be separate into 2 parts: KAI and ZEN.  KAI (改) is defined as Improvement. Everything can be improved, any product, technology, work activity and production system, all can be improved as it mean. ZEN (善) is defined as Constantly improving, responds to each new opportunity, changing conditions, new information and can participate in it every worker (Kovacova,2012). Another definition of the Japanese meaning of Kaizen is "to take apart and put back together in a better way" (Mintion, 1998, p.19). It is a practice or philosophy that focuses on the continuous improvement of engineering, business management and manufacturing processes whilst reducing costs. For example, Kaizen is like Lean Manufacturing, during the improving standard tasks and activities in the production processes, it focuses on eliminating waste. 

by Tan Houng Chien

History of KAIZEN

Kaizen originated after the World War 2 (WWII) in Japan in 1950 when management and the government acknowledge that there was a problem in the current confrontation management system and a pending labour shortage. Japan sought to resolve this problem in cooperation with the workforce. The story of Kaizen miracle started in year 1930s where the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda which manufactured automatic looms at the time, liked to tell his co-workers: “Open the window; It is a big world out there”.

In the year 1950, Toyota implemented quality circles leading to the development of Toyota’s unique “Toyota Production System”. This Toyota system is a system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership.

In 1986 Masaaki Imai only introduced to the Western world the Japanese term Kaizen and made it famous through his book, Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success. Translated in fourteen languages, Kaizen became a fad the world over.

The 1993 edition of the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary recognized the word Kaizen as an English word. The dictionary defines Kaizen as “continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc., as a business philosophy.”

In year 1997, Imai introduced an evolved form of Kaizen in his book Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management, to reassert the importance of the shop floor in bringing about continual improvement in an organization. In essence, that translates into something of a corporate 'back to basics' philosophy. Gemba is where the product is actually manufactured, which could mean the assembly line in a manufacturing plant or the place where employees interact with customers in the service sector. It is "the place where the real work is done", as Imai likes to put it.

by Tan Houng Chien