Implementing Kaizen for Business Improvement

admin — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 00:32:49 +0000

Let’s take a look at Kaizen’s core goal, plus some important facts about waste:

To find and eliminate any and all waste from a process.
Waste is anything that doesn’t add value.
Muda is Japanese for waste
Please note that “Muda” is required by law; such as financial statements, personal files, any documents used as paper trail for other reasons.

Types of Waste

Overproduction: Among other reasons for this being the worst type of waste, tying up business capital is the main reason to avoid this.
Waiting: When the manufacturing process is out of sync, machines and staff sit idle.
Overprocessing: Any redundancy in efforts, rechecking, verifying, confirming. The checking should be done in the original processing, so when it leaves the process it is done.
Motion: Unnecessary activity of staff while performing the processing. Arrange machines and supplies in an order that would eliminate any unnecessary movement.
Transportation: Having to move from one location to another between processes.
Defects: Everything from design flaws to data entry errors, invoice errors.
Inventory: Unneeded piles of anything, even emails.

The Importance of a Kaizen Event

The Kaizen event works on many levels, from creating true teamwork to company loyalty. Since team members of all levels work together, there aren’t any subordinates, so everyone has their contribution to give.

A Kaizen event is an excellent way to make small quick changes that will make noticeable improvements immediately. Continuous improvements are key for a successful business, and Kaizen is a foolproof way of identifying and fixing continuously for a successful end result. As a business owner, you have to look at the whole picture and how little changes made over a period of time can save money in production costs. Less money spent is money in your pocket.

For more information on our Six Sigma courses or services, please visit 6sigma.com’s schedule of classes.

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7 Reasons Your Business is Losing Money

admin — Sun, 22 May 2016 01:57:23 +0000

If you find your company is losing money, the solution may be in one of the best kept secrets: Lean Six Sigma tools! These tools transcend in excellence and are poised to fix many of today’s maladies, in business — and even in our personal lives.

The Road to Waste is Filled with Good Intentions

Being wasteful wears many disguises. Perhaps you buy extra items you don’t need because it is on sale. So in the guise of saving money, you spend more money.

Now, you may have excess items you have to find space for, causing you to waste more time looking for something you need, because of the excess items you bought. Who knows if you will still use those extra items in the future.

Lean Six Sigma describes waste as anything that does NOT add value to your product or service or life.

7 Categories of Waste in the Value Stream (and 7 Reasons Your Business is Losing Money)

Transport: Any movement of product or material that isn’t necessary.
Waiting: For any reason, where a worker’s hands are idle is considered waste.
Overproduction: Producing more than your customer requires will create an imbalance in inventory as well as production costs.
Defects: Any corrections, repairs, and rejects that have to be made, because product that does not meet specifications is considered waste.
Inventory: Any inventory in the value stream is considered waste, because it is not adding value to the actual product.
Motion or Movement: Any movement of your staff that does not add value to the product’s manufacturing. This is excess walking, bending, twisting, and reaching that wouldn’t be needed if better placement were implemented.
Extra Processing: That which does NOT add value to the actual product. This would include quality prevention or in-processing protective packaging.

Type Muda 1 & Type Muda 2

Some of these wastes are deemed necessary for other reasons such as regulatory obligations, accounting requirements or just the nature of things. It is for this reason that Lean Six Sigma came up with the two separate categories of wastes: Type 1 Muda and Type 2 Muda.

Type 1 Muda: These are actions that do not add value, but are deemed necessary. This type of waste cannot be eliminated right away.

Type 2 Muda: These are actions that do not add value and are also not necessary, so these would be the first ones we eliminate.

Learn more information about 6Sigma.com’s Lean Six Sigma training coursework, available as classroom, onsite, or online options.

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waste six sigma Archives - 6sigma

Implementing Kaizen for Business Improvement

7 Reasons Your Business is Losing Money

The Road to Waste is Filled with Good Intentions

7 Categories of Waste in the Value Stream (and 7 Reasons Your Business is Losing Money)

Type Muda 1 & Type Muda 2