Engineering

Management &
Economics
Continuous Quality and Process
Improvement - CQPI
 Kaizen
• A management philosophy and strategy for
running a company. It involves gradual,
unending improvement, doing little things better,
continuously setting and reaching goals, and
thereby establishing ever-higher standards of
excellence.
• Kaizen is a continuous process, not a project
Kaizen is cornerstone of TQM
EXAMPLE
Learning is a continuous process of gaining knowledge, insight,
understanding, and wisdom.
Education is a strategy to foster learning
 Kaizen
• Kaizen solves problems by establishing a culture in
which everyone (senior management, managers,
hourly personnel) can freely admit problems and work
together to prevent their recurrence.

• Kaizen is also a customer driven strategy for

continuous improvement in the processes that affect
quality, cost, and delivery (QCD).

KAIZEN CQPI (Continuous Quality & Process

Improvement )
 Key Elements of Kaizen
• Teamwork
– People focused, not technology focused approach to achieve
competitiveness
– Emphasize team to gain collective knowledge and energies
– Foster cooperation, mutual respect, and common goals
– Pool ideas and knowledge
• Communication
– Involve people in solutions
– A culture where people are free to make and admit mistakes
– Listen first, speak second
– Non-blaming, non-judgmental views
• Elimination of Waste
– Identify and eliminate waste, enhance value for customer (internal and
external). Don’t get it, don’t make it, and don’t send it.
– Practice “process-oriented” thinking
• Continuous Small Steps
– Incremental but continuous – baby steps
 Key Elements of Kaizen
Continued
• Quality first
• Process vs. Result
• Standardization
• PDCA Improvement Cycle
• 5S Housekeeping
• Speak with Data
• Next process is the customer
 Why is Change Necessary?
• Changing customer needs/expectations
• Competition
• Poor systems and processes
• Organization is plagued with high levels of
waste
• New equipment and expensive technology is
not always feasible or an answer
• Change in business strategy
 Managing Change
“Our job is to manage change. If we fail,
we must change management.”

To achieve the mission a company needs to

manage change involving continuous
improvement in its processes and
practices.
 Types of change
1. Abrupt change: Innovation

Typically dependent on: Large investment and Big Breakthroughs

Due to: Technology, Equipment, and Massive Change

Situation: TRYING TO GET AHEAD BY A “GREAT

INNOVATION LEAP FORWARD”
Problems: MONEY NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE, ONLY A
SELECT FEW PEOPLE INVOLVED
Implications: Spending lots of money for low probability payback
Overlook contributions from total company
Result oriented
Higher costs
Fast-growth economy
 Types of Change
1. Gradual change: KAIZEN
Typically dependent on: Little (or no) investment and On-going
Small improvements in Current “Standards”
Due to: Total People Involvement in Doing Things Better

KAIZEN INNOVATION
Small Steps Big Steps
Many Involved Few Involved
Conventional Know-how Technological
Breakthrough
Requires Efforts Requires Investment
Process-oriented Results Oriented
Slow Growth Economy Fast Growth Economy
People Technology
 Efforts Focus

Senior
Management

Middle
Management

Shopfloor Activities directed to maintaining

current technological, managerial,
Associates and standard operating procedures
(SOP).
•Establish policies, rules, directives,
and standard procedures
•Provide training
•Maintain discipline
 Invention vs. Kaizen
What should be
(standard)
Invention Alone
What should be Maintenance
(standard) Innovation
What actually is
Maintenance
Innovation What actually is

Time

New standard
CQPI
Invention plus
CQPI Innovation
New standard
CQPI

Innovation

Time
 5S – A starting point for
Kaizen
• Sort – Separate out all that is unnecessary and
eliminate it.
• Straighten – Put essential things in order so that they
can be easily accessed.
• Scrub – Clean everything – tools and workplaces –
removing stains, spots, debris, and eradicating sources
of dust.
• Systemize – Make cleaning and checking routine.
• Standardize – Standardize the previous four steps to
make the process one that never ends and can be
improved upon.
 Process and Results
• The Kaizen concept stresses management’s supportive and
stimulative role for people’s efforts to improve the process and
thus get the needed results.

• Result oriented thinking - “I don’t care how you get it done, just
give me the results.”

• Process Criteria
– Support process •Results Criteria
– Efforts for improvement •Control with Carrot Stick
–A>B>C>D>E •Performance
•E
Improved processes yield improved results
 Practice DRPT
• Data not Opinions “I often say that when you can measure
what you are speaking about, and
express it in numbers, you know
something about it; but when you cannot

• Root Cause not Symptoms

measure it, cannot express it in numbers,
your knowledge is of a very meager and
unsatisfactory kind.” – Lord Kelvin 1894

• Permanent Solutions not Quick Fixes

• Teamwork not Individual Efforts

 STANDARDIZE

“Where there is no standard, there

can be no kaizen.”

Taiichi Ohno
Effective Kaizen Depends
on Work Standards
• A work (operational) standard is the compilation of
know-how. It is a method to consistently define how
to do the job of making good quality products safely,
cost effectively, and quickly.
• Good work standards speak of a higher level of
organization skill level.
• It is difficult to practice CQPI without defined work
standards.
• Work standards are used as a baseline for
improvement.
• Work standards allow us to analyze a process for
waste elimination and value addition.
• Work standards improve consistency, helping in daily
maintenance of system and its processes.
 Work Standards Continued
• Are they fixed?

Examples of work standards:

Policies – System guidelines supporting Mission
Procedures – What, When, Where, Who
Work Instructions – How?
PITFALL – Make work standards without any
workforce input.
 Bottom up Improvement

• Kaizen starts with recognition and acknowledgement

of problems and opportunities for improvement.
• Where no problem is perceived, there can be no
improvement.
• Workers closest to the opportunity area are best able
to recognize and bring about the improvement.
• Only 3 out of 100 problems are actually known at the
senior management level.
 It requires leadership support and continuous
involvement.
 PDCA Cycle
•Initially, select problems areas where
success is most likely; success is a
great motivator for future
improvement.
•Define the problematic process in a
concise manner. Prioritize and select
problems that eliminate the most
waste; BIGGEST BANG FOR THE
BUCK!
•Identify the “inputs” (the suppliers)
and the “outputs” (customers; internal
and external) of the process.
•Set goals and objectives based on
customer needs and expectations.
•Analyze the previous processes to
seek out the cause(s) of the problem.
•Collect data to use a basis for
decision-making.
•Define clear performance measures.
• Use a team of people; pool their
skills, talents, and knowledge. Involve
people who actually work with the
process being studied.
•Develop and implement the action
plan. Use pilot runs for a large project)
•Monitor and confirm results by
gathering data.
•Incorporate feedback.
•Standardize the new process.
 Plan
• Gather data and define the problem (opportunity!)
• Understand customer’s needs
There are several tools available to
• Study the problem address problems within a work
environment. Before we can solve
• Define performance measures these we must first identify and
• Identify the root cause(s) define the problem itself. Defining
the problem improperly results in the
• Establish a solution and implementation plan
loss of many resources. Correct
identification of the problem and root
cause analysis is essential for
success.

Remember 5 WHY’s!!
 Do
• Implement the improvement
• Train the people on new process

Use the following criteria to

develop appropriate solutions:
•Customer Satisfaction
•Cost
•Time
•Ease of implementation
 Check
• Collect appropriate performance data
• Analyze and display the data
• Check actual vs. desired results
• Review problems/errors
• Apply first aid, if necessary
Three key measures:
Thruput:
Inventory:
Operating Expense:
Monitor the process to determine
effectiveness of changes:
•Have improvements been made?
•Are the improvements permanent or
temporary?
•Have other problems been created?
 Act
• Standardize the improvement
• Communicate to appropriate
areas/personnel
• Identify new opportunities for
improvement
 Improvement Cycle

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