Lean Manufacturing The Toyota Way

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Kaizen is an approach to creating continuous improvement based on the idea

that small, ongoing positive changes can reap significant improvements.


Typically, it is based on cooperation and commitment and stands in contrast
to approaches that use radical or top-down changes to achieve
transformation. Kaizen is core to lean manufacturing and the Toyota Way. It
was developed in the manufacturing sector to lower defects, eliminate waste,
boost productivity, encourage worker purpose and accountability and promote
innovation.

As a broad concept that carries myriad interpretations, it has been adopted in


many other industries, including healthcare. It can be applied to any area of
business and even on the individual level. Kaizen can use a number of
approaches and tools, such as value stream mapping -- which documents,
analyzes and improves information or material flows required to produce a
product or service -- and Total Quality Management -- which is a management
framework that enlists workers at all levels to focus on quality improvements.
Regardless of methodology, in an organizational setting, the successful use of
Kaizen rests on gaining support for the approach across the organization and
from the CEO down.

Kaizen is a compound of two Japanese words that together translate as "good


change" or "improvement." However, Kaizen has come to mean "continuous
improvement" through its association with lean methodology and principles.

Kaizen has its origins in post-World War II Japanese quality circles. These
circles or groups of workers focused on preventing defects at Toyota. They
were developed partly in response to American management and productivity
consultants who visited the country, especially W. Edwards Deming, who
argued that quality control should be put more directly in the hands of line
workers. Kaizen was brought to the West and popularized by Masaaki Imai via
his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success in 1986.
5S for the Office
The office, by any name, is a paperwork factory. To become a Lean enterprise, office activities must
fully support shop-floor manufacturing operations to eliminate waste. The adoption of 5S throughout
all office functions is the first step to increase efficiency. 5S principles are dedicated to organizing
the workplace, keeping it neat and clean, and maintaining the standardized conditions and discipline
needed to do a good job. 

This Office 5S PPT training presentation provides a blueprint for building a Lean foundation for your
office. You will learn how to mobilize and align your management team to launch or improve 5S in
your office. The presentation covers 5S and Visual Management key concepts, best practices, step-
by-step implementation guidance, and the best ways to integrate 5S into the organization's culture to
achieve sustainable world-class excellence.

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