Planning for a Weekly Kaizen Workshop
The success of a kaizen workshop will depend heavily on how well it is planned in advance. This includes identifying the area of focus as identified on the value stream map, setting the scope so that success can be achieved in a single week and choosing the right participants.
Identifying the Area of Focus
To get the most benefit from a week-long improvement activity, it is important to choose an area of focus that has the largest positive impact for the end-customer. In general, positive customer impact is identified as reduced costs, shorter lead-time, or the reduction of defects. A well-established and effective way of identifying such potential areas of focus is the current state value stream map, which shows items such as 1) inventory, 2) the total lead-time, 3) bottlenecks and 4) other processes that yield poor quality or uneven work conditions.
Setting Scope
The rule for scope is to choose a project that can be accomplished within a single week. The amount of work that can be taken on will depend on the company’s existing TPS implementation experience as well as the number of individuals who will be a part of the kaizen team. Generally, the longer the company has been working on eliminating waste, the more competent they will be at conducing week-long continuous improvement activities. This in turn allows the team to take on a larger scope. Of course the more individuals that are part of a team, the more items can be tackled.
Selecting Team Members
The more diverse and cross-functional the improvement team is, the better the chances for exceptional results. This may include managers, engineers, operators and even office personnel who may seldom venture out onto the shop floor. We may be tempted to dismiss the ideas of somebody with limited manufacturing knowledge such as an office worker. However this would be a grave mistake. Often it is individuals with the least knowledge of a process who have the most momentous ideas. Perhaps this is because they arrive without fixed ideas of how things “should” be.
To ensure the acceptance and long-term survival of new ideas, it is important that at least one of the team members be an operator from the actual process. Without this crucial participation and input, it will be harder to convince others to accept the new work methods.
Training
Kaizen workshops are a great opportunity to provide classroom training since trainees will put their new found knowledge into practice that very week. In fact, many workshop leaders choose to spend the entire first day of a workshop in the classroom. Although spending one full day (20% of the week) in the classroom comes at a cost, the benefit of a smarter team is well worth the lost time.
Knowledge for the Workshop Leader
To keep the kaizen team on task throughout the week, a useful tool is the “target sheet”. Usually created on Day 2, directly after the future state is developed, the target sheet is a visual way of showing a quantitative view of the gap between the current and future states. This form is usually maintained by the workshop leader and is reviewed several times a day to show weekly progress. Not only does the form allow each team member to identify the outstanding items that need to be completed, but it also shows which team member is responsible for specific improvements.
Once the workshop is completed, the end state can be compared to the current state at the beginning of the week to calculate cost savings. These numbers should be significant:
- Productivity savings between 30% - 120%
- Lead time reduction between 40% - 80%
- Inventory elimination between 40% - 80%
- Less floor space required by between 30% to 50%
- Quality improvements between 50% to 60%
Anatomy of a kaizen workshop
Below we have listed a sample agenda from a typical workshop. While the specific agenda will vary depending on the area of focus, the information below will allow readers to better understand how to complete a workshop in their own operation.
Sample Kaizen Workshop Agenda
Day One
8:00 - 8:15 Introductions and Overview of Project
8:15 - 9:00 Ground Rules and Spirit of Improvement
9:00 -12:00 Classroom Training
12:00 -1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 Classroom Training
4:00 – 4:45 Process Walk (Begin Current State VSM)
4:45 - 5:00 Debrief
Day Two
8:00 - 8:15 Review Daily Objectives
8:15 - 10:00 Complete Current State VSM
10:00 - 12:00 Discuss / Develop Future State VSM
12:00 - 1:00 Working Lunch: Present Future Vision and Goals to Management
1:00 - 4:45 Begin Implementation
4:45 - 5:00 Debrief
Day Three & Four
8:00 - 8:15 Review and Develop Days Action Plan
8:15 - 4:45 Continue Implementation
4:45 - 5:00 Debrief
Day Five
8:00 - 8:15 Review and Develop Days Action Plan
8:15 - 11:00 Complete Implementation
12:00 - 1:00 Working Lunch: Develop Report Out and Long Term Action Items
1:00 - 2:00 Report Out of Accomplishments to Management, including process walk
2:00 - 4:30 Complete Final Details.
4:30 - 5:00 Celebrate Accomplishments and Adjourn
Management’s Responsibility
On the second (usually Tuesday) and the last day of the workshop (usually Friday), management and perhaps other curious supervisors should expect a formal report-out from the kaizen team. The purpose of these report-outs is twofold. First, it is an excellent way for managers to be knowledgeable about the changes taking place in the operations. Second, by playing an active role in improvement activities, a clear message of support is sent to all within the company.
Although the workshop leader and other management-level members who have presentation experience may be tempted to lead the presentation, they should resist. Instead other team members should be encouraged to complete report the week's findings. TPS teaches to empower employees and to push decision making down to the lowest possible level. Therefore, why not ask the individual operators to report-out on the changes the team made to their work area?
At the end of the kaizen event, a walk-though of the process on the shop floor (gemba) is mandatory. This gives managers the opportunity to see the changes for themselves. Management’s participation in report-outs cannot be overstated: as soon as their enthusiasm for sitting in a 20 minute report-out dwindles, the entire plant’s interest in Lean will certainly follow.
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We hope that this article has been useful. Please let us know if you have questions or would like to provide us with your input or unique experience.
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Article Resources:
Click here for a copy of a kaizen workshop Target Sheet.
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