Kaizen
Facilitation
A Kaizen Event is a focused improvement effort. It is a proven methodology to address process
problems, and to re-design entire processes altogether. During a kaizen event a dedicated team of
people address a specific problem or process and will most often implement the
agreed upon changes during the event itself.
The team will rapidly go through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle with
the emphasis on “Do”. Such concentrated
efforts have proven more effective than having people within an organization
implement change “in their spare time”.
The approach has been used to successfully implement most all of the
Lean / World Class tools.
However, it is important to properly prepare for a
kaizen event, and they must be carefully facilitated throughout. Change
Management Associates (CMA) has facilitated hundreds of kaizen events
representing a wide spectrum of subjects and objectives such as Standard Work,
Visual Management, Continuous Flow, Pull Systems, Quick Changeover, Office
Kaizens, 5S, TPM and others. While CMA can provide such services, it is
better if an organization develops the internal resources to facilitate such
events over time. In this way, an
organization can reduce its dependency on external resources.
To this end, CMA
offers “train-the-trainer” services in the subject of Kaizen facilitation –
both for production and the office. In a
typical train-the-trainer program, a small group of internal resources are
identified to participate. CMA will work closely with these individuals
to develop the requisite skills and knowledge to lead events in the
future. Typically, the program is
completed after three “cycles of learning” where the participants will learn
through practical application, all the while supported by CMA.
CMA will also work with an organization to develop a
standard process to conducting kaizen events, and continuous improvement
in general. Here standard Kaizen event
planning sheets are developed, along with standard kaizen report formats. Kaizen “kits” with many of the materials most
often needed during an event are assembled.
CMA will even license the
educational materials that are used as part of all kaizen events. The end result is a self sustaining
improvement process.
For more information on this and other
“train-the-trainer” programs, please contact us.
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Change
Management Associates Tele: 856-235-8051 • Website:
cma4results.com |
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