Improve, improve, improve – key to the Perfect System

Constant improvement. As soon as you have improved a service, process or product, start all over again. And again….

Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “improvement”, or “change for the better” and refers to a philosophy or practice that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, and business management. It has been applied in healthcare,psychotherapy, life-coaching, government, banking, and other industries. When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, Kaizen refers to activities that continually improve all functions, and involves all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. It also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organizational boundaries into the supply chain. By improving standardized activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste. Kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses after the Second World War, influenced in part by American business and quality management teachers who visited the country. (Wikipedia)

It is ironic that the concept is probably American, but it has been perfected by the Japanese. The quest for zero waste, also one of the building blocks of the Perfect System, is integral to Kaizen. During my years in the IT industry, I was always amazed by the changes in the product size or design, every time I received a new order. A PC board will be different from the previous shipment, even if it was just a couple of millimeters smaller than the previous one. When I questioned even these small changes, I was told that they are eliminating waste, and saving a couple of cents on the raw material.

Let us create a culture of constant improvement, and eliminate even the smallest bit of waste. It will add up, increasing our business profit, whilst reducing unnecessary waste (raw material, production cost, labour, electricity and process costs). We owe it to our pockets …. and the environment.