Regulars / Continuous improvement | 45processing an order because of material, is easy enough to prioritize Kaizen blitz change for the good. tooling, information error or outage. areas. The execution of the improvement This is no small task for managers and The issues identifed will become a great plans, sometimes called barrier removal, business leaders because they have to learn revelation to the starting point for an requires Kaizen and the best Kaizen team the approach as well. This is not something improvement initiative. Any organization participants are generally people that that occurs for an organization overnight or can build a Pareto of problems from helped identify the problem. Kaizen is a in a few short months. It requires breaking these conversations within a week. To short burst of improvement initiatives old habits, less tolerance for process effectively build an action plan the next focused on changing for the good. As inconsistencies, and a willingness to invest best tool is using 5 Why. This root cause a primary tool for the ‘House of Lean’, time to train and encourage people. This detection method helps pinpoint areas Kaizen drives improvement with employee commitment comes from the top of the that can reduce waste, reduce time and involvement in a continuous way. Fixing organization. Owners have to be patient improve the quality of process all designed the barrier and reporting on actions taken and impatient at the same time. Leaders to beneft customer response. The 5 Why to fx the barrier provides instant feedback and managers have to be trained and this method will effectively lead to the root opportunity to the group that management takes time and a commitment as well. of the process problems, potentially is listening, a key ingredient to cultural Perhaps the real question is whether or back to the beginning when an order is evolution. The beneft of the Kaizen not you are interested in the long game, received. This is more common than most approach is that companies rally resources where continuous improvement keeps you organizations recognize, because it requires for a short period – usually 3-5 days – and in the competitive game, or in the short a company’s self-refection with a tool go to work understanding the problem game where customer loyalty is not part that eliminates preconceived notions and designing fxes to that problem. of the strategy.of performance. I recommend that These problems generally are the result of executives attend a shift kick-off meeting poor handoffs from upstream processes. and then walk GEMBA with the shop foor Improving the quality of the handoff Paul Brauss, former managers and cell leaders weekly. Being reduces time and frustration among CEO of Mark Andy and visual helps demonstrate a commitment individuals. My experience is that nearly a past board member of to improvement. 85 percent of personnel issues are the TLMI, is a consultant The habit of a meaningful shift kickoff result of process quality and process and executive coach. See meeting not only stimulates conversation inconsistency. Solving these issues leads to Braussconsulting.com, but also quickly identifes the most a happier workforce, engaged employees, and buy his book at sensitive improvement areas needed. It and a culture that begins to embrace amzn.to/2NFzXkB SPEND LESSAND DO MORE WITHCOLORDYNE’S UVINKJET3800 SERIES UV - RETROFITLOW CUSTOMIZED EXPANDED SUBSTRATE Add inkjet to your fexo press and take CAPITAL COSTINK SETS COMPATIBILITYadvantage of hybrid inkjet benefts existing in your press room today.Explore UV Inkjet to compare the quality and costs frsthand.www.colordynetech.comJan - Mar 2022