Kaizen Philosophy

I came across this philosophy while reading a book on World Class Manufacturing. The Kaizen principles to be adopted by companies for improvement can also be applied on an individual basis to improve one's life.

Kaizen is the name given by Japanese to the concept of “Continuous Incremental Improvement”. “Kai” means “change” & “Zen” means “good”.
“Kaizen” therefore means making changes for the better on a continual never-ending basis.

Kaizen strategy is the single most important concept in Japanese management – the key to Japanese competitive success. There are two elements that construct Kaizen, improvement/change for the better and ongoing/continuity. Kaizen involves on-going improvement involving every one – top management, managers and workers.
If Kaizen philosophy is in place in an organization, all aspects of the organization should be improving all the time.

Kaizen 5-step plan:

The five step plan is concerned with 5‘S’s namely – Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu & Shitsuke and it is the Japanese approach to implement Kaizen.

1. Seiri – means to Straighten – up or Sort
   It involves differentiating between the necessary and unnecessary & discarding the unnecessary. In the same way, we should also realize what is important for us in life and what matters the most & then accordingly remove all the unimportant concerns, matters from our life.



2. Seiton – means putting things in order – Organize
   Keep the things in order so that they are ready for use when required. Everything should be at its place and there should be place for everything.



3. Seiso – means to Clean Up
   Japanese firms strongly believe in the slogan “keep the work place clean”. We should also keep our mind & environment clean &/or clear from bad thoughts & dirt.



4. Seiketsu – means personal cleanliness – Maintain
   It refers to maintaining personal cleanliness. Some of the Japanese beliefs are – “There is a healthy mind in a healthy body”, “Cleanliness is necessary for Godliness”.



5. Shitsuke – means Discipline
   Japanese believe that only with discipline in following the principles and procedures, one can contribute significantly to personal & organizational success. It is necessary to have discipline in all aspects of life to improve our quality of life.