Lean six sigma process improvement tools and techniques by donna summers chapter 13

Kaizen and Error Proofing
Chapter 13

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• ‘Strive to improve work procedures and
think through solutions to simplify them’

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Kaizen is the combination of two Japanese
words:
– ‘kai’ means ‘little’, ‘ongoing’, and ‘good’.
– ‘Zen’ means ‘for the better’ and ‘good’.
– Pronounced ‘k-eye-zen’

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Kaizen improvement efforts are little
ongoing good improvements that make
things better.
• Kaizen events are short, highly focused
projects that improve the activities in a
work area.

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Kaizen
– Guiding words
• Combine
• Simplify
• Eliminate

– Kaizen seeks to standardize work processes
while eliminating waste.

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques

Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
•

Dr. Deming’s 14 points as a continuous improvement efforts
foundation:
– Create a constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and
service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business and
to provide jobs.
• This first point encourages leadership to constantly improve their products or
services through innovation, research, education, and continual improvement in
all facets of their company.

– Constantly and forever improve the system of production and service.
• An organization cannot remain truly competitive unless it strives to continually
enhance its business processes that provide the products and services their
customers want.

– Remove barriers that rob people of their right to pride in workmanship.
• Barriers are any aspect of a job that prevents employees from doing their jobs
well. By removing them, leadership creates an environment supportive of their
employees and the continuous improvement of their day-to-day activities.

– Institute training on the job
• Continual education and training creates an atmosphere that encourages the

discovery of new ideas and methods.

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Kaizen activities may take two forms:
– flow kaizen
• focus on value stream improvement
• Flow kaizen events study the value stream
associated with providing a product or a service.

– process kaizen
• focus on the elimination of waste.

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Poka-yoke = foolproof mechanism.
– Poka-yoke or error proofing is used to
counteract human variation or error. (Shigeo

Shingo)

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Poka-yoke
– Kaizen events often focus on error proofing by
developing simple methods of preventing
human errors from occurring in a process.
– Error proof designs do not hinder worker
performance, instead they eliminate the
chance for error by putting mechanisms in
place that prevent wrong action.

Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.


Kaizen and Error Proofing
• Error Proofing (Poka-yoke)
– Error proofing has five principles:
•

•
•
•
•

Elimination
Replacement
Facilitation
Detection
Mitigation

– Error proofing seeks to improve a worker’s
ability to do their job by improving how they do
their work.
Lean Six Sigma: Process Improvement Tools and Techniques
Donna C. Summers

© 2011 Pearson Higher Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.