Daily Opportunities for Kaizen Training

Kaizen is an ideal that many seek and few actually achieve. It means “continuous improvement,” and it is the continuous part that people tend to have trouble with. The common excuse for letting improvement stagnate is to say that you simply don’t have time, but this exposes a fundamental misunderstanding of what Kaizen really means. It’s not something that should distract from work or require huge investments of time outside of initial training. To continue the methods learned in initial Kaizen training it is important to recognize that learning opportunities are a lot more common than people think. Every day is a chance to learn from challenges, and continuous improvement is a matter of acting on these opportunities.

So, what do daily opportunities for Kaizen look like? They look like any problem, set-back, of challenge you encounter on the job. Creating a system for reporting and tracking problems is an important step, but it ultimately comes down to creating an open company culture in which people are not afraid to report problems for fear of being held accountable. Remember that in Lean manufacturing the process is always responsible, and the front-line workers are responsible for monitoring and improving the process. Blaming individuals for a processed based problem will never get to the root cause of the issue.

The next step is making sure that everyone in the organization has the tools and know-how to implement Kaizen on their own. This doesn't have to mean endless seminars. Online learning management systems are an option for Kaizen training that allows you to create custom learning paths to deliver content directly to any employee with access to a computer or mobile device. This allows for flexible and individualized learning without interrupting everyone’s workday for a one-size-fits-all lecture. Beyond accessibility, online training allows information to be delivered visually with video and graphics, and it allows you to track trainee progress and qualifications.

The next time you think you don’t have time for Kaizen, remember the result of Kaizen: more efficient processes. By practising Kaizen, you are creating more time for value-added activity, including training and systematic problem solving. It is a virtuous cycle that sustains itself when practiced. Don’t let time be the guiding factor in whether or not you conduct ongoing improvement. If you don't have time to solve problems, then you already have a very big problem that needs to be solved. Use that as a starting point for your continuous improvement efforts.

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