to avoid errors

(Entry 1 of 2) 1a : a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (such as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together. b : an arched device formerly laid on the neck of a defeated person.

Kaizen is an approach adopted by everyone in the organization with the belief that over time, these small changes will lead to major improvements over time. Poka Yoke: Also a Japanese term, Poka Yoke translates to mean mistake-proofing.

Why is Poka-Yoke Important? The value of using Poka-Yoke is that they help people and processes work right the first time, which makes mistakes impossible to happen. These techniques can significantly improve the quality and reliability of products and processes by eliminating defects.

Here are 10 examples of Poka-Yoke in our everyday lives:

1. Car safety features.
2. Treadmills.
3. Microwaves, washing machines, dishwashers, and other household appliances.
4. Elevators & garage doors.
5. Spell-check functions.
6. Leak-proof water bottles & travel mugs.
7. Power outlets and USB plugs.
8. Overflow outlets in sinks.

change for the better

The 3 Pillars of Kaizen

• Housekeeping. Housekeeping is the first pillar of Kaizen.
• Elimination of Waste. Eliminating waste is the second main pillar of Kaizen.
• Standardization. Standardization is the process of developing standards to which production is performed.

Kaizen helps employees learn how to complete their tasks in the most effective way and then how to standardize practices so everyone in the workplace can take advantage of the improved process. These are 5 steps all beginning with ‘S’ and are: sort, straighten, shine, standardize, and sustain.

The Kaizen approach consists of 5 founding elements :

• teamwork,
• personal discipline,
• improved morale,
• quality circles,
• suggestions for improvement.

According to Womack and Jones, there are five key lean principles: value, value stream, flow, pull, and perfection.

The Kaizen leader is an individual, who is responsible for a group of people, who will be working toward identifying quality improvement processes in a given company or facility. The leader will also be responsible for planning and helping to facilitate any Kaizen events for the team.

Lean is focused on eliminating waste, and increasing productivity and value adds for the consumer while Kaizen focuses on continuous improvement. This transformation is not a short term fix for the problem of the day.

Kaizen tries to improve the business as a whole by creating a standard way of working, increasing efficiency and eliminating business waste. Six Sigma is more focused on quality output (the final product). This is facilitated through finding and eliminating the causes of defects.

Kaizen Teian: Bottom-Up Improvement

• Defects: Scrap or products that require rework.
• Excess processing: Products that must be repaired to satisfy customers needs.
• Overproduction: When there are more parts in production than customers are purchasing.
• Waiting: A person or process inaction on the manufacturing line.

5S is focused on eliminating waste and inefficiencies in the workplace. This can be applied to every department and action that takes place. Six Sigma, on the other hand, is a process improvement strategy that looks to eliminate defects by implementing standard processes, identifying problem areas, and more.

In Japanese, the five S’s are Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. In English, the five S’s are translated as Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.

The Five S’s

Six Sigma has many tools that will work to improve production and efficiency in any type of business. Today, we are going to highlight the 5S tool and why it is so important. The 5S tool is a great system for handling workplace organization.

The 5S System is a lean manufacturing tool that helps to clean and organize the workplace, as well as improve how things are done through standardization. Sustain: Make 5S part of your daily routine by repeating each step on a daily basis.

5S audit is the process of evaluating the proper implementation of 5S in the workplace. Conducting 5S audits help ensure that the workplace is consistently following the 5S principles: Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Systematize), Seiso (Shining), Seiketsu (Standardizing), and Shitsuke (Sustaining).

To systematize or organize means making tools, gadgets, implements, equipment, supplies and almost everything required for work easily accessible. Not only in accessing, but equally important is in the right way of returning them.

standardized cleanup

 5S is a workplace organization methodology that uses a list of five Japanese words which are seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu an d shitsuke. Translated into English, theystand for: Sorting (seiri) Straightening (seiton) Systematic cleaning (seiso) Standardizing (seiketsu) Sustaining (shitsuke) 4.

In 5S, sweep refers to the routine act of inspecting the cleanliness of an area in such a way as to identify reoccurring contamination in order to eliminate its root cause. For repeated messes, determine the root cause and eliminate them.

Keys and Tips to Implement the 5S Methodology

1. SEIRI (Sort) Seiri is about organizing and eliminating unnecessary items.
2. SEITON (Set in order) Seiton means setting in order the necessary elements so that they are easy to find and use by anyone.
3. SEISO (Shine)
4. SEIKETSU (Standardize)
5. SHITSUKE (Sustain)

The 5 steps to do to get a clean and organize workplace as per in 5S are: Seiri means Sort, Seiton means Set In Order, Seiso means Shine, Seiketsu means Standardize and Shitsuke means Sustain.

Kaizen strategy is the single most important concept in Japanese management – the key to successful Japanese companies such as Toyota. Kaizen, which simply means continuous improvement, is the foundation for all Lean improvements. Kaizen events are opportunities to make focused changes in the workplace.

For example, the purchase of a new forklift which optimizes two or more production stations would be flow kaizen. This type of kaizen focuses on removing waste from individual processes. For example, the operator of the forklift moves some inventory around to allow for a faster loading and unloading time at a station.

It is not a specific tool or set of tools to improve quality. Kaizen is a journey and not a destination. The objective of Kaizen is to improve productivity, reduce waste, eliminate unnecessary hard work and humanize the workplace. Kaizen is effective at identifying the three basic types of waste: Muda, Mura and Muri.

7 Kaizen tools to reduce waste and improve Lean Process

• Value Stream Mapping, (VSM)
• Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs & Customers, (SIPOC)
• Fishbone Diagrammatic Approach.
• Pareto Analysis.
• 5S.
• Target Progress Report.
• Kaizen Newspaper.