Have you been kaizaned today?

Try to accept it a little at a time. (BFG) "It will get better, grasshopper"

Will

You are probably 6 sigma, 5S, and a safety monitor too eh?

We got 5S'd Thursday. What a waste of time. We're already using all their buzzwords.

Steve Walker

I'm in and out of a couple of big companies forced to do that stuff. I'm glad I don't have to participate. It doesn't matter what the buzzword of the day is the concept is an organizational system based on common sense for the masses to follow complete with printed materials on how to accomplish simple tasks in an orderly manner. A great opportunity for consultants. If you have a chaotic shop where management can't restore order a buzzword system is implemented and at least the shop gets cleaned.

Kaynar Technologies had the best implementation of Kaizan I have ever seen. Department managers asked for Kaizan events for their areas and the operators looked forward to them as well as participating in them.

Of course Kaynar was a cash cow and was bought out by Fairchild and then Fairchild by Alcoa so I doubt the program has kept pace. Fairchild if true to form would have reduced or eliminated the process improvement budget to wring out every penny for the short term and the long term be damned.

Tom

Bill Roberto wrote:

In all fairness most of the buzzword of the day systems do some good. The deciding factor is if everyone buys into the program. If everybody says "what the hell lets try this" usually see some benefit. Those who refuse generally cause more harm than if the buzzword wasn't implemented at all.

Bill Roberto wrote in news:X%f7g.6230$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:

I used to despise 5S, but since we 5S'd our little corner workshop at work, it is more efficient when you are building machines or fixturing, etc. You know where things are. The downside of 5S is that a lot of stuff gets thrown away that you may later need, but don't have an immediate need for. Recently had to buy a $16,000 spindle because another department 5s'd the one we had...that kind of thing does put a bad taste in your mouth...

At the very least it organized a previously unorganized area. Where it would have been detrimental is when you already have an organized group. The new method could actually be less efficient than the one they have already implemented themselves.