CONCEPT OF KAIZEN Jabong Imai has brought together various management theories, philosophies and tools that have

been popular in Japan over the years, as a single concept, Kaizen. There are many quality experts, whose principles formed the basis of the Kaizen concept. Kaizen means continuous improvement involving everybody. The philosophy advocates ongoing improvement, not only in ones working life, but also in personal life, home life and social life. The term Kaizen originates from the Japanese words, Kai that means change, whereas, zen means for the better, therefore, it means change for the better. It signifies constant and gradual improvement, no matter how small it is. It should be taking place all the time in every process, involving everyone from all the ranks of management and the workforce. In brief, the system includes: Total employee involvement starting from top management; Empowering people; Listening to them; Promoting zero investment improvements; and Focus on efforts rather than results in Kaizen evaluation and performance appraisal. The four phases of Kaizen are: Motivation management; Human resource development; Improvement; and Institutionalization. The Kaizen umbrella, as shown in Figure is quite comprehensive. It is not any one technique rather a philosophy of continuous quality improvement.

Continuous Improvement (CI) Continuous improvement (CI) is a management philosophy that approaches the challenge of product and process improvement as a never-ending process of achieving small wins. It is an integral part of a total quality management system. Continuous improvement seeks continual improvement of machinery, materials, labor utilization, and production methods through application of suggestions and ideas of team members. Though pioneered by U.S. firms, this philosophy has become the cornerstone of the Japanese approach to operations.

Although management in both Japan and the West historically have implemented CI in manufacturing plants, it has become quite common in services as well. The Key features of continuous improvement strategies are: Accountability is built in. Incorporation of systematic learning (e.g., plan, do, check, act). Decisions based on facts. Diagnostic and remedial journey. Involvement of everyone within an organization. Linkage of improvement activity with organizational goal. Processes are divided into clear deliverables. Consideration of several solutions before implementing the best. Tools & Procedures of CI 1. Varies from simple suggestion system based on brain storming to structured programmes utilizing statistical process control tools (SPC Tools) 2. Deming wheel (PDCA) cycle 3. Zero defect concept 4. Bench Marking 5. Six sigma SPC Tools (Also known as Tools of TQC) Stratification Check Sheet Process flow chart Pareto analysis Run chart Histogram Scatter diagram Causes & effect diagram (Fish Bone /Ishikawa Diagram) Control charts Deming wheel (PDCA cycle) Another Tool is PDCA cycle: P= Plan D=Do C=Check A=Act It is often called Deming wheel

PLAN PHASE (Also Known As Theme) In this Phase, specific problem is identified and analysis is done using 5W2H Method 5W = - WHAT , WHY, WHERE, WHEN, WHO, HOW , HOW MUCH DO PHASE: Is implementing the change . - Should be done in a small scale first CHECK PHASE: evaluating data collected during the implementation. Compare original goal vs. actual results ACT PHASE: Improvement is codified as the new standard procedure & replicated in similar processes throughout the organization. Just-In-Time (JIT) Just-in-Time (JIT) is an integrated set of activities designed to achieve high-volume production using minimal inventories of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods. Parts arrive at the next work station Just in Time and are completed and move through the operation quickly. Just-In-Time is also based on the logic that nothing will be produced until it is needed. Need is created by the actual demand of the product. When an item is sold, the market pulls a replacement from the last position in the system final assembly in this case & the chain moves on. To enable this pull process to work smoothly, JIT demands high levels of quality at each stage of the process, strong vendor relations and a fairly predictable demand for the end product.

Six Major reasons for wide acceptance of exponential smoothing 1. Exponential models are surprisingly accurate 2. Formulating an exponential models relatively easy. 3. The user can understand how the model works. 4. Little computation is required to use the model. 5. Computer storage requirements are small because of limited use of historical data. 6. Tests for accuracy as to how well the model is performing are easy to compute. Smoothing Constant () Alpha: In exponential smoothing only three pieces of data are needed to forecast the future. i) The most recent forecast ii) The actual demand that occurred for that period iii) A smoothing constant () This smoothing constant determines the level of smoothing and speed of reaction to differentiate between forecasts and actual occurances. The more rapid the growth, the higher the reaction rate should be. Trend Effects in Exponential Smoothing: The higher the value of , the more closely the forecast follows the actual. An upward or downward trend in data collected over a sequence of time periods causes the exponential forecast, to lag behind (be above or below) the actual occurences.