True Kaizen: Management's Role in Improving Work Climate and Culture

251 Pages·2018·33.03 MB·English

by  Toshihiko Miura

Advance Praise
“Collin McLoughlin has written a must-read primer for anyone considering
a Lean turnaround and a complete guide to implement the best productivity
tools available for any industry… Read this book—and learn from one of the
best books I’ve ever read.”
Luis Socconini
President, Lean Six Sigma Institute 
CEO/Master Black Belt
Lean Six Sigma Institute 
www.leansixsigmainstitute.org
“In writing True Kaizen, Collin McLoughlin and Toshihiko Miura have cre-
ated an insight into Kaizen that cleverly intertwines its practical application
with its underlying philosophy. A great example of this was the explanation
of tackling the ‘Elephant in the Room’, a metaphor that most of us are famil-
iar with, but by providing insight into the way that Taiichi Ohno managed
these types of scenarios. McLoughlin and Miura are true practitioners of
Lean thinking and I can recommend this book as a ‘must-read’ for anyone
wishing to embed a Kaizen culture into their organization. You don’t often
get the opportunity to peek inside of the minds of two great business advi-
sors, and this is one opportunity that you must take.”
Philip Holt
Head of Operational Excellence
Accounting Operations
Royal Philips
www.philips.com
True Kaizen is a guide into the mindset of Kaizen as originally envisioned
by Taiichi Ohno. The book focuses on three critical elements of leadership
and management: (1) addressing and improving the perspective (mindset)
of management, (2) exploring and improving the workplace environment,
and (3) observing and eliminating wasteful work processes. While there
have been many publications focused on the third element, far too little has
been written about the mindset of leaders and the impact this can have on
the work environment. The principles throughout the book are illustrated by
numerous examples from companies in many industries in Japan and other
countries. I am thankful that Collin McLoughlin and Toshihiko Miura have
transcribed the teachings of Mr. Ohno and Mr. Yamada into clear and logi-
cal lessons that leaders everywhere will be able to use to improve the morale
and performance of their workplace.
Lynn D. Martin, MD, MBA
Medical Director, Continuous Performance Improvement
Interim Director, Bellevue Surgery Center
Seattle Children’s
Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics (Adj.)
University of Washington School of Medicine
http://www.seattlechildrens.org/
True Kaizen
Management’s Role in Improving
Work Climate and Culture
http://taylorandfrancis.com
True Kaizen
Management’s Role in Improving
Work Climate and Culture
Collin McLoughlin
Toshihiko Miura
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2018 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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Contents
List of Figures ........................................................................................xi
Foreword .............................................................................................xvii
Preface ..................................................................................................xxi
Authors ................................................................................................xxv
Chapter 1 Why Leadership Matters ...................................................1
Maintaining a Holistic Perspective ............................................3
Diagnosing ................................................................................3
Adapting ....................................................................................3
Communicating .......................................................................4
The Ability to Assess a Situation ................................................5
Effectiveness: Doing the Right Thing Efficiently ......................7
Effective Observation .................................................................12
Management by Walking Around ...........................................15
Management Two Layers Down ...............................................16
Starting with a Theme ................................................................17
Conclusion ...................................................................................19
Chapter 2 The True Meaning of Kaizen ..........................................21
Difference between Kaizen and Improvement .......................24
Who Performs Kaizen in Your Company? .............................26
The Power of 100 Ideas a Year ..................................................28
The Contagious Power of Kaizen .............................................29
Inspiration Directly into Practice on the Shop Floor ...........30
The Process of Kaizen ................................................................31
Conclusion ...................................................................................32
Chapter 3 Monozukuri ......................................................................33
The Art of Making: Monozukuri .............................................33
Employees’ Collective Mindset .................................................36
Work Environment Affects Performance ..............................44
It’s All About Trust ....................................................................46
Conclusion ...................................................................................49
vii
viii • Contents
Chapter 4 Communicating the Workplace Culture ........................51
Toyota’s Two Pillars ....................................................................53
Workplace Communication .....................................................56
The Importance of Frontline Supervisors ...............................61
Skills to Management Level .....................................................64
Conclusion ..................................................................................66
Chapter 5 Management Mindset ......................................................67
Confronting Waste .....................................................................69
Providing a Challenging Environment Is Essential ..............69
Setting Challenging Goals .........................................................70
Blending Kaizen and a Management Mindset .......................73
Kaizen Suggestion System ....................................................73
TOTO ..................................................................................74
OM Sangyo ........................................................................77
Sinko Air Conditioning ..................................................80
Kaizen Activity Visualization Board ..................................83
Department-Based Kaizen Boards .....................................84
Yamaguchi Seiki Kogyo ..................................................84
Conclusion ..................................................................................86
Chapter 6 How to Assess Shop Floor Morale ..................................87
Morale ..........................................................................................89
Enthusiastically Greeting the Day ............................................91
Greeting Visitors .........................................................................92
Moving in the Morning .............................................................92
Morale and Physical Workplace Conditions ..........................93
Business Entrances .....................................................................95
Additional Efforts .......................................................................95
Parking Lots ................................................................................95
Introduction to the Company ...................................................98
Welcome Signs ...........................................................................99
Department Boards ...................................................................99
Purposely Arranged Operations ...........................................100
Raise Your Voice to Raise Morale ..........................................105
The Elephant in Chains............................................................106
Yaruzo Call ................................................................................106
Conclusion .................................................................................109
Contents • ix
Chapter 7 Identifying and Removing Waste ..................................111
Defining Waste ..........................................................................112
Removing Waste Once Identified ...........................................117
Implementing the 5S’s ..............................................................117
Maintaining 5S ..........................................................................118
Wastes of Stagnation and Motion ..........................................119
How Can We Identify Stagnation Waste? .............................121
The Store and the Fridge .........................................................123
Give Your Materials the 3F ......................................................125
Using Kanban to Eliminate Stagnation Waste .....................125
Conclusion ................................................................................128
Chapter 8 Using Production Boards for Time Management ........129
Daily Challenges of a Manager ...............................................129
Prestart Activities .....................................................................130
Management’s Daily Standard Work .....................................131
To Prepare, You Must Have Daily Data .................................131
Everyone Can Contribute to Tracking Data .........................132
Visualizing the Data .................................................................133
Visualizing Production Management ...................................134
Transitioning from Daily to Hourly Management ..............136
Hourly Production Example—Nabeya ..................................138
Leveling Your Production .......................................................139
Management by Time Units ....................................................141
Production Management Boards vs. Electronic
Scoreboards ...............................................................................142
Update the Board by Hand ......................................................143
Using Visual Management Boards to Reduce Overtime ....144
Eliminating the Waste of Stagnation by Applying Time
Management ..............................................................................145
Putting Production Boards into Action—Tanaka Foods ....152
Reducing Production Breakdowns........................................154
Equipment Maintenance .........................................................155
An Example of Daily Maintenance in Practice ....................156
Material Checking ....................................................................158
The First-In, First-Out Method ...............................................159
Having the Right Materials .....................................................159
Conclusion .................................................................................161