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Masaaki Imai made the term famous in his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success. [1] In the Toyota Way Fieldbook, Liker and Meier discuss the kaizen blitz and kaizen burst (or kaizen event) approaches to continuous improvement. A kaizen blitz, or rapid improvement, is a focused activity on a particular process or activity.
The term "continual improvement", not "continuous improvement", is used in ISO 14000, and is understood to refer to an ongoing series of small or large-scale improvements which are each done discretely, i.e. in a step-wise fashion. Several differences exist between the CIP concept as it is applied in quality management and environmental management.
Example of a worksheet for structured problem solving and continuous improvement. A3 problem solving is a structured problem-solving and continuous-improvement approach, first employed at Toyota and typically used by lean manufacturing practitioners. [1] It provides a simple and strict procedure that guides problem solving by workers.
Business strategy is the primary driver of BPR initiatives and the other dimensions are governed by strategy's encompassing role. The organization dimension reflects the structural elements of the company, such as hierarchical levels, the composition of organizational units, and the distribution of work between them [citation needed].
The principles of the Toyota Way are divided into the two broad categories of continuous improvement and respect for human resources. [7] [8] [9] The standards for constant improvement include directives to set up a long-term vision, to engage in a step-by-step approach to challenges, to search for the root causes of problems, and to engage in ongoing innovation.
Kaizen refers to a philosophy or practices that focus upon Continuous Improvement regardless of the type of business or process. Masaaki Imai acknowledged that kaizen starts with the detection of needs and problem definition: "The starting point for improvement is to recognize the need. This comes from the recognition of a problem.
PDCA or plan–do–check–act (sometimes called plan–do–check–adjust) is an iterative design and management method used in business for the control and continual improvement of processes and products. [1] It is also known as the Shewhart cycle, or the control circle/cycle. Another version of this PDCA cycle is OPDCA. [2]
Six Sigma (6σ) is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement.It was introduced by American engineer Bill Smith while working at Motorola in 1986. [1] [2]Six Sigma strategies seek to improve manufacturing quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes.