Category Archives: Lean

Here, you will see all the posts (articles and templates) that have been published so far on this topic.

Observations and Gemba Walks

An Observation is a data collection method used to gather detailed information about a process or a situation. It allows the observer to collects data in real time at the location where the data is generated. Observations are commonly used during process improvement and change management initiatives as well as in customer service environments. They are often used to fully document the value stream of a process, measure the actual performance against organizational goals, and acquire benchmark information to get an idea of the current performance levels against competitors and industry leaders.

An ideal process must produce without defects and without rework. To expose these unnecessary and costly inefficiencies, you should have appropriate performance metrics to measure process yield, or otherwise, the true process yield might be underestimated. Process yield measures should be able to expose even the smallest inefficiencies in a process, which will enable operations to understand their true process yield in order to set realistic improvement targets.

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Kaizen Events are focused improvement activities designed to improve a process or work area. They emphasize on the elimination of unnecessary non-value added activities. This will result in improved quality, efficiency, delivery, cost saving, standardized systems and employee engagement. You can think of a Kaizen event as a continuous improvement activity at the micro level as opposed to some of the other large-scale efforts such as Lean and Six Sigma.

Landscape | Portrait

A Kaizen Report is a form that documents and summarizes continuous improvement activities. It is used to share improvements and best practices across an organization, division or group. There are many ways to share Kaizen reports including public display boards, dedicated Kaizen bulletin boards, emails and the intranet. In all cases, Kaizen activities should be written clear and simple so that every team member can easily understand them. Additionally, Kaizen reports with photos and drawings tend to capture more attention.

A Flow Process Chat is a symbolic representation that illustrates the sequence of activities within a process. It is used to record and analyze the activities that make up a process to determine which add value and which do not. Activities can be any operation, inspection, storage, transportation, and delay actions that are carried out by an individual person, a team, a machine, a computer system, or a combinations of all.

Manufacturing | Offices

5S is a Lean technique that involves activities designed to create and maintain a disciplined workplace. It helps create a better working environment and can be implemented to eliminate waste and improve the flow of work. 5S audits are often used to evaluate the performance of 5S implementation in any workplace. This 5S audit checklist will help ensuring that 5S standards and workplace organization are being met. It enables the observer to better address compliance gaps and provides opportunities for continuous improvement.

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Category Archives: Lean

Observations and Gemba Walks

Process Yield Measures

Kaizen Event Charter Template

Flow Process Chart

5S Audit Checklist