E-manufacturing trends for international and middle east

Talal Bahabri
Industrial Engineering Department,King Abudlaziz University,Jeddah,Makkah,Saudia Arabia

ABSTRACT: Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee

This is the document that contains the project for per year are written down, shared and

SEMINAR Course (IE395) for SPRING 2011 Semester. The implemented.

project is in the Industrial Engineering major, in
manufacturing, engineering, supporting business In most cases these are not ideas for major changes.
processes, and management. The topic is Kaizen which Kaizen is based on making little changes on a regular
means improvement. This project discusses what is basis: always improving productivity, safety and
Kaizen, how it’s applied in manufacturing, what it
effectiveness while reducing waste. [2]
actually means and examples of industries that follow
this approach.

Kaizen
Introduction:
Kaizen is a Japanese word that means The way of thinking named kaizen as well as
"improvement" or "change for the better", refers to "Japanese style of quality management” became an
philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous object of interest of European
improvement of processes in manufacturing, and American industrialist, when Japanese economy
engineering, supporting business processes, and had achieved success in 80-ies of the XX-th century.
[1]
management. Kaizen was created in Japan At this time, Japanese organizations were seen as a
following World War II. The word Kaizen means kind of ideal and their way to success were perceived
"continuous improvement". It comes from the as myths.
Japanese words 改 ("kai") which means "change" or However, this system is far from ideality-it requires
"to correct" and 善 ("zen") which means "good". strain work in return for relatively low salaries and it
doesn’t guarantee the proper social conditions to
Kaizen is a system that involves every employee - the majority of employees. It also needs small-
from upper management to the cleaning crew. groups activities – informal, voluntary,
Everyone is encouraged to come up with small intercompany groups based on kaizen-minded and
improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is self-disciplined employees.
not a once a month or once a year activity. It is Two functions related to the executable work are
continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and distinguished in Japan:
  maintenance of the existing condition  revising, how to make it, no – why it hadn’t
relying on the operations related to been done,
complying with current standard of  immediate correction of the committed
technology and management, mistakes,
 Improvement of the existing condition-  taking advantage of wisdom, not – mindless
kaizen, being the function playing the main spending the money,
role while the procedures and instructions  Continuous searching the answer to the
are strictly implemented. “why?” question.
First period relies on realizing by each employee the The last period of kaizen implementation is
capability of the occurrence in the processes of application of the system of submitting a motions
different problems and swindling the habit of concerning the improvement of ideas. Form and
searching them. The most popular and the simplest procedure of submitting should be clearly defined.
method of problem identification are observing Assessment groups can be created on various levels
small incompatibilities in the results of work and of organizations. Each enterprise should be also
than finding sources of incompatibilities. Objects of obliged to elaborate clear and fair system of
the improvement can be also actions and estimating the submitted motions. The results of the
operations, which are not the source of visible submitted motions assessment are the basic
incompatibilities. criterion of employees’ work estimation. Results are
declared or published in order to enable the whole
Second phase includes the conceptualization of the
staff the full insight. Such an approach promotes
idea the presentation of other, alternative solutions
creation for positive relation between employee and
taking advantage of inapplicable methods or
work, high culture and continuous improvement of
procedures, and then implementation of the new
the achieved results.
idea. Each employee, who improves course of his
own work by accustoming new concept, has to
observe its efficiency and if it is necessary – take the
necessary correcting operations.
Kaizen and innovation

Indicators for each employee on the way to kaizen

implementation are:
The basis of kaizen are constituted by 5s concept,

 giving up the conventionally established defined by Japanese specialists as a set of good

ideas, customs and manners, deriving from the traditional

 discontinuance of tactic of excuses, critical manner of behavior in house and school.

interpretation of schemes and practices, Determination „5S” dates from the Japanese words :
  seiri-(selection); proper (suitable) investment in newest the instruments and
preparation of a workplace, manner and technologies and involving the specialist.
instrument of work; with the elimination of Such operations lead to considerable and variable
everything useless, changes.
 Seito-order (systemic); tidiness in a Unfortunately, most often, these changes most
workplace and preparation of every often are not the subject of standardization.
required tools in the manner enabling simple In spite of so many differences, the proper
and quickly utilization, combination between kaizen method and

 seiso-clearness (cleaning); order in a operations of the innovative character gives the

workplace allowing on increase of safety of biggest effects and benefits. Innovations allow

workplace, control of equipment and following the newest trends and modern

responsibility for the means of production technologies, kaizen guarantees the continuity

 seiketsu-consolidation (standardization); competences and essential standardization.

reminding employees about their duties in

the aspect of care of used tools and
equipment and about keeping the Techniques connected with kaizen
workplace order,
There are no strictly defined principles and
 shitsuke-discipline (self-discipline);
instruments, which must be used by management
adaptation of employees to the principles
and employee, in order to achieve benefits and
accepted by the organization, independent
control the processes of continuous improvement.
elimination of bad custom, training.
However, several definitions and techniques are
connected with kaizen.
Proper implementation of 5s principles allows for
application of kaizen concept – continuous These are:
improving performed by all the employees involved
 Technique 5 why – basic for kaizen and at
in the process of change and including the Whole
the same time the simplest organizing
organization.
technique simultaneously, captivated in
That is why kaizen is unequal to the classic western
motto “when you find a problem, ask why
manner of improvement in the fundamental respect
five times”; it ask so many times as you will
– it creates the process by taking advantage of
find the deepest reason of problem.
human factor. Classic western approach is based
 practice 5s – system of practice ordering the
mainly on the innovative operations being
workplace and increasing involvement of
characterized by necessity of executing considerable
employee in the improvement process,
  7 kinds of productive loss (Muda) – three of this notion are sangenshugi –
everything, which does not bring value ”three reality”,
added; according to the basic classification  Jidoka (autonomation) – control process held,
of the productive loss one can differentiate one of the basic solution improving assurance of
losses resulting from: excessive inventories, the quality production; defects of the processed
over-production, waiting for next operation part are automatically found by the machine,
(raw materials, employee), transport, which immediately stops its working mode,
inappropriate way of processing,  Kaikaku – radical improvement or reform; the
unnecessary un-ergonomic motion, internal most often in area of business processes,
and external incompatibilities,  Nagara – balancing of work concerning only one
 7 instruments of the quality control – operator, not a group; the most popular
practical methods of registration and solution is parallel executing incoherent tasks by
analyses of data; the most popular are: one operator; nagara has the similar meaning to
check list, Pareto diagram, reasons and the word “meanwhile”,
results diagram (so called Ishikawa  PDCA cycle – cycle of continuous improvement;
diagram), histogram, scheme, punctual plan - do - check - act,
diagram, check card most often with x-R
 Poka-Yoke (error proof) – system of means
diagram, eliminating defects being the results of
 Andon – signal used to show the place in the inaccuracy; poka-yoke solutions find application
process requiring additional attention; signal in stable processes and enable to drop of
is given by the employee the defect has been frequency of defects for six sigma level,
noticed by,
 Sensei – guardian, instructor, mentor, very often
 Chaku-chaku (load-load line) – organisation from outside the organization, in assisting
of the productive employee to practice kaizen,
nest in such a manner, in order to operator dealt
 Shoujin ka – productive line with elastic ration of
only with setting-up parts to machines; throwing out labor force; solution applicable in situations,
processed part is realized automatically (hanedashi),
when the priority is full utilization of
 Gemba, Gembutsu, Genjitsu – basic for infrastructure.
kaizen principle of objectivism; solving the
problems, everyone should be concentrated
Kaizen in Toyota Production System
on the workplace, where the problem
appears in which (gemba), on the real object (TPS)
(gembutsu) and on the facts (genjitsu); The famous TPS cannot be reduced to its
organizational techniques of production such as
“just-in-time” and “Jidôka” (making machine tools groups and individual workers, though emphasizing
and production lines autonomous, that is, they stop a compatibility of quality improvement and cost
automatically when an anomaly occurs). Its essence reduction (Imai, 1997). For him, increase in
resides in the method of keeping up and reducing productivity must be the fallout of quality
production costs as well as improving product improvement, which reduces repairing workers and
quality. This method is called “kaizen”. In the time as well as makes “muda” (wastes of human
literature that mentions kaizen is often emphasized resource, materials and time) disappeared, so that
small group activity such as quality circles and/or he neglects kaizen directly aiming at increasing
suggestions made by individual workers. Wormack, productivity such as Parker and Slaughter (1988)
Roos, and Jones (1990), which diffused the notion of shed light on. Adler (1998) also does not enter the
“Lean Production” through the industrial world, top-down mechanisms because NUMMI is giving the
treats the kaizen carried out by quality circles as if all importance rather to the bottom-up process. How
improvement of assembly line was realized by ever, if almost 50% of supervisory staff's tasks were
quality circles organized by working team, surely spent for kaizen (Imai, 1986), and if nearly 90%
though in cooperation with shop engineers. In the
of kaizen realized were come from them and
bible of TPS (Ohno, 1978), which explains kaizen
engineers, we should understand this top- down
methods to increase productivity and product
mechanism and their kaizen activities. In this regard,
quality, Taiichi Ohno does not talk about
Monden (1995) explains Toyota's cost reduction
themanagement of kaizenactivities. Monden
management starting from “target costing” in the
(1985)also have atendency to reduce kaizen
product development phase and carrying through to
activities to those of quality circles. On the contrary,
“kaizen costing” in the production phase. As far as it
Masaaki Imai and Paul Adler mention the kaizen
concerns us, “kaizen costing” has to constitute the
carried out by supervisory staff and engineers. Imai
kaizen norm imposed upon employees, but he does
(1986), though generalizing the notion of kaizen,
not explain kaizen activities organized under this
gives the fact that there exist three levels of kaizen
“kaizen costing”. In this respect, only Japanese
activities and a division of labor among them, i.e.,
literature on industrial relations is available: Masami
kaizen made by shop managers and engineers, by
Nomura (Nomura, 1993) makes clear the
small groups such as quality circle, and by individual
management of production efficiency doing with a
workers through a suggestion system. About
part of employees' wage, which compels supervisory
NUMMI, Adler (1998) also does not forget to note
staff to be engaged in kaizen activities for increasing
down the co-existence of bottom-up mechanisms
productivity.4 But he odes not show the relationship
and of top-down mechanisms in kaizen. However,
between cost management and kaizen activities.
Imai as a consultant of kaizen is giving the priority of
These two studies are surely complementary, if we
kaizen to the quality improvement made by small
find the ways which organize kaizen under the cost
management. Consequently, in contrast with the imposed by rigid just-in-time principles of
stereotyped opinion about kaizen at Japanese firms, production were loosened as a new-segmented
there are two kinds of kaizen activities at Toyota: assembly line saw the introduction of buffers.
kaizen made by the supervisory staff and engineers Ergonomics measures were often systematically
as their functions, and that made by workers pursued. The wage system in which the weight of
through the quality circles and suggestion system. production allowance became so heavy (60% of
The latter is well known in the Western world as standard wage without overtime payment) was
worker's voluntary activities that bring high quality, rationalized so as to be 5 more equitable and
while a essential part of economic gains realized by comprehensible for employees. Professional training
kaizen — cost reduction and productivity increase was also systematized in order to give workers a
— comes from the former with regards to the cost more interesting working environment and so on. All
management. This paper then aims to explain the these measures taken by management turned
conventions in the kaizen activities organized under towards a humanization of work that evokes the
the cost management system at Toyota Motor Co., Scandinavian system (see Sandberg, 1995) although
without neglecting of course the role of worker’s Toyota pursued its own distinctive path in this
voluntary kaizen activities. However Toyota’s cost regard. However it follows at least that the “Lean
management met radical changes at the beginning Production” is not the promised land in the twenty-
of 1990s after being kept essentially the same for first century contrary to the thesis of Wormack,
almost forty years. As Shimizu (1995a, b) shows, it Roos and Jones (1990) (see Shimizu, 1999, and also
was a matter of production efficiency management Freyssenet, Mair, Shimizu, Volpato, 1998; Boyer,
related to labor cost. In the phase of the economic Charron, Jürgens, Tolliday, 1998; Durand, Stewart,
boom (the so-called bubble economy) during 1987- Castillo, 1998). As a result, even if TPS always
1991, Toyota in addition to other Japanese remains Toyota’s method to reduce cost, theway to
carmakers encountered a labor crisis – labor bring thissystem about, hasbeen radically modified.
shortage and an aging work force. The necessity to Toshow the importance of the change in Toyota's
make the work attractive in order to employ a cost and kaizen management, we have to start to
younger labor force including high school graduated look over therelationship between cost
girls and to enable workers over forty years old to management andkaizen activities, observed until the
work on the assembly line led Toyota’s management end of 1980s.
to modify and rationalize its production and human
The TPS can be understood as a set of systematized
resources management. Concerning the production
ways to reduce the cost per vehicle. These cost
efficiency management, unilateral control made by
reduction activities start from the product design
top management was altered for autonomous
stage. After that, the management sets a reference
control at the level of factories. The constraints
cost of each of the parts and a standard time for
their production. Then the shop floor that produces
these parts and vehicles firstly endeavors to attain
these costs and standard time, and then reduces
them by carrying on kaizen activities. It is the group
leaders, chief leaders and engineers whose
responsibility it is to execute these activities. These
activities and the kaizen gains are supervised and
controlled by management. Thus we call these
kaizen activities “organized kaizen activities”. For
this reason, it is important to understand the
framework in which kaizen activities are organized,
and accordingly, we start with an explanation of
Toyota’s cost management system.

Conclusion