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News Release from: Society of Manufacturing Engineers
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 13 October 2006
Training manual explains kaisen
implementation
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers has published a new book written by Geoffrey L Mika entitled "The kaisen event implementation manual, Fifth Edition".
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has published a new book written by Geoffrey L Mika entitled "The kaisen event implementation manual, Fifth Edition" Originally used by Toyota, kaisen is a results-oriented tool that fosters continuous improvement
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 28 Sep 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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In the USA, kaisen is usually an event of from three to five days in duration.
It is composed of intensive improvement activities directed at specific areas of a business.
The main goal of kaisen is the elimination of non-value-added activities (waste) through the implementation of one-piece flow, working to takt time, and instituting a pull system.
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The mantra is to manufacture only what is needed by the customer, when it is needed, and in the quantities ordered.
Kaisen has been shown to collapse lead times, dramatically reduce work in process, and reduce scrap and defects while minimising the need for capital expenditures.
Its successful results across industry are real, proven, documented, and confirmed.
The first step to implementing kaisen in any organisation is to provide training on the Toyota Production System (TPS).
"The kaisen event implementation manual, Fifth Edition" begins with this never-before-documented training material, but goes further to explain why the TPS tools, including kaisen, must work in tandem with a new way of thinking to bring about cultural change.
By thinking "lean" and applying kaisen, everyone in the organisation is empowered to eliminate waste, in all of its forms, at all levels, all the time.
Flexibility, simplicity and the quest for constant improvement become the driving goals.
Revised and expanded in its fifth edition: "The kaisen event implementation manual" has seen use in many industries for wide-ranging applications.
It provides workers at all levels of an organisation with a how-to guide for planning, organising, and implementing kaisen events in any setting.
Its hands- on presentation, complete with reusable charts and forms, will bring a level of competence and understanding to event teams and participants as they become self-sufficient in the application and use of kaisen.
A "lean" advocate and implementer for over 20 years, Mika received his formal training on the Toyota Production System in Japan at Toyota Motor Co and Shingijutsu.
He is a Black-belt and Master Kaisen Sensei.
In 1987, he began his own consultancy.
Now known as Kaisen Sensei (formerly World Class Management Consultants), his successful consultancy has facilitated over 360 kaisen implementations in 27 countries.
He is a graduate of Wayne State University, certified by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), and a member of SME and the American Society for Quality (ASQ).
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