Inside the organization, change is always bound to happen. Often times, they are initiated by LGI’s or Large Group Interventions; and one of the many LGI’s is the Gemba Kaizen that was developed by Edward Deming. The name came from its origin, Gemba Japan, and the two Japanese words: “kai” for change and “zen” for the good.
Gemba Kaizen is a process by which organizations changes in a day to day basis that in turn will result to long-term change for the organization implementing it. This long-term change is achieved because in the course of the implementation members of the organization slowly creates and adapts a culture that is geared to the success of the organization. And in this new culture, which they would be creating and adapting, puts an emphasis on maintenance and improvement. Through this new organization culture, organizations can become more efficient in their tasks.
Aside from the creation of a new proactive culture, using Gemba Kaizen also gives an organization elbow room in their marketing and advertising efforts because this LGI focuses on the internal parts of the organizations. It focuses on the outputs, process, and the people who are involved in the process. By doing so, the quality of their products increase that will in turn mark an effect on the consumer’s/environment’s preferences, which would be favorable to the organization.
Gemba Kaizen has basically 4 procedures: plan, execute, check, and act; and it lasts from the preparation up to the evaluation. First, organizations should be able to identify what they want to achieve at the end or even during the process; after doing so, they must point out methods by which they want it to be achieved. Second, after gathering the information and understanding the objectives and processes by which they will be achieved; you then execute properly the plan that you have created. Third, after executing the plan you check the results and you compare them to the objectives you have identified; and ask the questions such as: “were we able to achieve it?”, “what were the things we did right/wrong?”, “what are the things that went right/wrong?”, and “how can we improve on them?”. Last, after figuring out what has occurred in the change process you then attempt to fix them.
The process of Gemba Kaizen has 5 S’s; mainly, Sort, Straighten, Scrub, Systemize, and Standardize. First, you simply sort out the different elements in the organization. In other words you simply have to organize. Second, you straighten everything for it to function more effectively. You simply improve what is already working. Third, you scrub the organization of the elements that hinder it from fully achieving the organizational goals. Fourth, you assign tasks to each element for it also to function more effectively. An example of this would be a standard procedure for every employee in the organization. Last, you have to be able to standardize everything by embedding it in the new culture that will be adapted by the organization members.
The process of Gemba Kaizen cannot be applied to any organization and expect positive results. Gemba Kaizen must only be used in organizations that are ineffective or inefficient. The process is not suitable for organizations that define problems vaugly, and possesses a complex system. And for it to be successful, top management should be committed in the process and basically almost everyone is promoting the process. Proper appointment and training also play a significant role in the success. And most importantly, the process should be established and followed accordingly.
Reference:
Gemba Kaizen Presentation
http://practicethis.com/2008/11/14/gemba-kaizen-three-step-approach-for-kick-5-ss-management/
http://www.gemba.com/tool-kit.cfm
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