Kaizen method
What is the Kaizen method? Improve productivity and life
Kaizen is a Japanese term (改善) whose literal meaning is: beneficial change or improvement.
The Kaizen method aims to maximize output through the constant improvement of a company’s productive muscle, which is achieved by identifying inefficiencies and fixing them.
The method was created in Japan in the 1950s, born from the Japanese people’s commitment to rebuilding the country after World War II.
The Kaizen method has become a reference model in today’s marketing. It involves taking actions to continuously improve business strategies and techniques in pursuit of perfection.
1. The five S’s of the Kaizen method
It is also known as the 5S method, as it takes its name from five Japanese words that begin with that letter: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. Each of them represents one of the 5 basic steps that must be carried out to implement the Kaizen methodology in any business.
- Seiri (classify). Tell the useful apart from the useless, keeping what is necessary and removing everything that isn’t needed to do the job.
- Seiton (organize). Arrange what is useful and decide where each object or process belongs, and likewise decide what to do with what is useless.
- Seiso (clean). Clean the workspace daily to improve workers’ well-being, reduce accidents and improve product quality.
- Seiketsu (standardize). Pay attention to personal hygiene to avoid dirt and mess. Improving the workforce’s well-being, in turn, improves their productivity.
- Shitsuke (self-discipline). Promote self-discipline and self-control, so that workers turn the Kaizen philosophy into a habit, both at work and at home.
You will very likely come across sources that refer to the 5 S’s by their English names, in which case you will see: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain.
2. The ten principles of the Kaizen philosophy
The Kaizen philosophy is based on 10 fundamental principles, which are:
- You should discard conventional ideas.
- You have to make things happen, thinking about how to do them and not why they can’t be done.
- There should be no excuses or justifications based on the past; this leads you to question past practices and keep the ones that truly worked.
- If something is wrong or a mistake has been made, you should fix it immediately.
- Don’t look for perfection, do it fast.
- Creativity before capital: use your wisdom and knowledge.
- Your wisdom grows when you face difficulties, which helps you find solutions.
- Ask yourself “Why” five times to get to the root of the problem.
- The wisdom of many people is preferable to the knowledge of just one.
- Finally, never stop improving.
3. Benefits of the Kaizen method
We usually do things because they bring us one or more benefits, and the Kaizen method is no exception. These benefits include:
- Elimination of repetitive and useless processes.
- Increased productivity.
- Greater satisfaction and recognition among workers.
- Promotes talent retention.
- Workers’ commitment is strengthened.
- Improves the company’s competitiveness.
- Customers become more satisfied with our company.
- Enables problems and errors to be solved quickly.
- Reduces the number of workplace accidents.
- Helps processes adapt better to technological advances.
- Helps you be prepared for the changes the market may demand.
This is a strategy that can be applied to all kinds of processes, even email marketing.