The Kaizen Blitz
Make Your Processes Work Again
Organizations of all types and sizes execute work-through processes. Whether simple or complex, processes degrade in effectiveness over time. What was once fit for purpose becomes ineffective, inefficient, and a barrier to success. Needs change and customers, employees, and suppliers require better ways of doing things. Growth itself drives a need for change. When an organization expands by 20% or more, nearly every process breaks and needs replacement or overhaul. The Kaizen Blitz may be your answer to rapidly improve your business processes.
What Is A Kaizen Blitz? It’s A Fast And Powerful Solution
A powerful tool-based method for making processes work again is the kaizen blitz. The name comes from Kaizen, which is Japanese for “to make better” and Blitz, which is German for “Lightening fast.” Together they make for a series of fast steps for driving improvement based on customer defined success. Kaizen Blitz is a team-based, rapid, repeatable problem solving and implementation methodology. Each successive short cycle of change brings you closer to the optimal state.
Kaizen Blitz Phases
The kaizen blitz is split into 3 phases, the length of which is determined by the complexity of the challenge.
Preparation
Kaizen Event
Implementation
Success Factors
A kaizen blitz requires at least 4 elements for success:
An issue that people care about
Disciplined adherence to the 3 phases
A team that is focused and prepared
Leadership support
Kaizen Blitz Benefits
The following are some of the key benefits you will obtain when you implement a Kaizen Bliz:
Challenges the organization to stretch itself to achieve dramatic improvements
Empowers cross functional teams to identify creative improvements and solutions and to implement quickly
Uses simple tools and processes to evaluate work activities to identify and eliminate non value added work
Bases improvements on data and analysis
Emphasizes quick decision making by informed leaders
Delivers quantitative Improvements measured in terms of increased revenue, decreased costs, improved utilization, improved cycle times, and improved customer service
Delivers qualitative Improvements such as increased employee/customer satisfaction, service quality, process robustness, and a culture of continuous improvement
Case Studies
Business Issue
$10B integrated Energy Company that provides power generation and services for industrial and retail residential consumers is growing by rapid acquisition and unable to close their books in a timely manner impacting financial reporting speed and accuracy and effectiveness of key processes.
Approach Used
Five-day Kaizen event spanning baseline of process, identification of improvements, implementation of quick hits and plan for more significant change.
Results
Within 90 days, the team stabilized the process and reduced the peaks associated with new acquisitions. Flow provided Lean Six Sigma training to key stakeholders. The financial closing process was improved by 300% and resources were freed up to drive a variety of key improvements.
Business Issue
A producer of rubber products for the O.E.M. marketplace needs to reduce quality-related customer complaints significantly within year.
Approach Used
Four-day Kaizen to analyze data and identify the root causes of the quality-related customer complaints followed by 90-day implementation.
Results
Defects were reduced by more than 48 percent by the team within the 90-day implementation window.