Mejora continua | Mejora productividad | Kaizen
Continuous Improvement aims to enhance productivity in a gradual, methodical, and sustained way. It enables companies to become more effective and efficient, fostering a strong sense of teamwork by making people the center of change. This results in not only measurable gains producitivty-wise but the creation of a safer, less strenuous and more satisfying work environment for employees, leading to higher engagement and sense of belongingness.
Continuous Improvement vs. Lean: Who’s Who?
Continuous Improvement, also known as “Kaizen, a Japanese term literally translated as ‘change for the better,’ is a methodology applied to a company’s production processes with the aim of achieving significant long-term benefits through small changes introduced in a gradual, cumulative, and sustainable way. This business philosophy was first introduced at Toyota in the 1980s and was then brought to the West in 1986 by renowned management consultant Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. Kaizen and Lean are terms often used together, yet they are in fact two distinct concepts that can be combined in the journey of boosting productivity. El lean, traducido como “manufactura esbelta” o “producción ajustada”, es un modelo de negocio, mientras que kaizen o mejora continua puede definirse como una filosofía y una metodología de trabajo. Las compañías utilizan la producción ajustada para reducir residuos y mejorar la calidad y la satisfacción del cliente y el kaizen para crear un entorno de trabajo en el que se incentiva y alienta la mejora continua para alcanzar los objetivos del lean y su reducción del desperdicio. El kaizen se considera a menudo un término paraguas, ya que las herramientas y estrategias que utilizan para impulsar la mejora continua pueden utilizarse para objetivos en el área de producción y en el resto de la compañía.
The objectives of continuous improvement
The philosophy of continuous improvement seeks to enhance both quality and delivery time of the products, as well as to standardize their production processes. This allows for their maximum optimization and the elimination of any wasteful or inefficient use of resources. These objectives might seem obvious to any company, and are clearly not exclusive of the kaizen methodology, however in this philosophy the difference is set in the manner of achieving them.
Continuous Improvement is grounded on the build-up of small, gradual changes which are produced in a sustained manner over time and whose accumulation and consolidation lead to significant and lasting long term impact and to the achievement of objectives. Besides the aggregated value of the accumulation of these small, sustained changes, a key concept underlying the kaizen methodology is the idea that any employee at any time can be the creator of an idea that contributes to the growth and development of the company. As well, when employees recognize their contribution, it strengthens their commitment to the company and to this working methodology. Continuous improvement strategies engage employees at all organizational levels to collaboratively address problems and optimize processes. Being directly involved in processes, employees are highly equipped to identify and address issues with their first-hand perspective, fostering a culture of active participation and collaborative contribution. Communication and training are key components of the continuous improvement methodology, ensuring clarity on its principles and rules while engaging the entire organization in the benefits and impact of continuous improvement.
How to Implement a Continuous Improvement System in the Company
The adoption of continuous improvement as a new way of working requires communication, consistent practice, and process optimization. It is best understood as an evolving process that advances and consolidates over time.
Communication and Active Team Participation in Continuous Improvement
As noted earlier, one of the core pillars of continuous improvement is the involvement of teams. They are in the best position to detect inefficiencies and waste first-hand, and even to propose the necessary changes. Effective communication between management and employees is essential to ensure they recognize their ability to generate impact and contribute to the company, feel engaged and motivated, and to systematically channel their knowledge and the ideas and possible improvements they may come up with.
The Ability to Detect and Address Improvement Opportunities
Applying continuous improvement to business processes is vital—but the key question is where to begin. The process starts with identifying, analyzing, and cataloging all problems and processes that need improvement. Once understood, these issues must be prioritized to determine where to start. From there, continuous improvement evolves into a sustained and gradual journey, addressing remaining challenges and even revisiting and refining areas previously considered “resolved.”
Identifying Solutions, Implementing Them, and Making Them Stick
Once improvement areas are identified, the next step is to seek solutions. Suggestions from employees directly involved in the processes provide extremely valuable insights for trained continuous improvement practitioners tasked with problem-solving. Ideally, assigning problem-solver profiles with relevant experience—and providing them with dedicated time and resources—will generate viable productivity improvement options. Once potential solutions are defined, they should be planned and implemented progressively, learning throughout the process and assessing whether this continuous improvement is delivering measurable and desirable results. Communication with the wider team is equally critical, making them part of progress and standardizing practices to consolidate gains. Selecting a pilot area to apply this approach before scaling across the organization is essential, allowing us to learn from this pilot implementation making implementation in the rest of the organization smoother and more effective.
Tools for Continuous Improvement
In a more structured manner, we compile a comprehensive set of the most common tools used in continuous improvement:
The PDCA Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is structured methodology, a continuous cycle, we consistently use to test continuous improvement hypotheses we plan and put the meaningful changes they promote into action. We start by identifying the problem, analyzing its potential causes, and outlining possible solutions. Next, we implement the solution plan and evaluate whether it generates the desired outcomes. When the change produces a positive effect, we standardize it to ensure consistency and consolidation.
Kaizen events are structured sessions used to implement improvements within a process. They are planned in advance, with steps clearly defined and a responsible team assigned to both conduct the event and determine whether the changes are successful.
Quality circles provide a mechanism to engage employees from all levels of the organization. This approach, central to Kaizen, recognizes employees as experts in the processes they manage on a daily basis. Quality circles are composed of employees from selected areas together with a supervisor. They are designed to encourage continuous improvement through the use of the PDCA cycle as a methodology.
The Five Whys technique aims to pinpoint the root cause of a problem through a sequence of questions that guide problem analysis deeper and deeper until the origin is identified.
The Benefits Of Continuous Improvement
The direct benefits of continuous improvement are many. Key outcomes include improved team performance, higher productivity, the ability to target growth opportunities, reduced costs and cycle times, and enhanced quality. But its implementation can bring much more than that. Indirectly, it reshapes the way we define and use metrics as a fundamental part of processes, how these processes are documented, and how we establish organizational prorities with clarity. The reinforcement of collaboration between departments and the own teams, from which leadership potential and sense of responsability of each employee can flourish, are also indirect benefits that the implantation of such methodology nurtures. Kaizen may be best known for its roots in the automotive industry, as this was the sector in which it was born, but continuous improvement applies to every sector and area of a company. For many years, at SGS Productivity by Leansis we have provided consulting and training services to employees all over a wide variety of industries and businesses, aiding them in the succesfull implementation of continuous improvement. Our experience—and above all, our clients’ results—demonstrate that continuous improvement is not limited to the automotive industry or production processes. It can equally drive excellence and productivity improvements in other sectors and organizational areas, just as it once did at Toyota.
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