Countdown to Kaizen: the Kaizen Event Planning Process
In my article, “Driving Results from the Kaizen Pipeline and Kaizen Calendar” I promised to cover the Kaizen Event Planning Process. This will be an overview of some of the high points of the Planning Process, with tips on setting the Scope and Objectives, selection of the team, and prework to ensure you are prepared for your event.
Planning Your Kaizen Event
Once Continuous Improvement opportunities have been identified from the three main sources (see “Building the Kaizen Pipeline: Where do Continuous Improvement Ideas Come From?”) and are in the Kaizen Pipeline and on the Kaizen Calendar, there is a lot of preparation work to do before each event.
Scoping
The first step in planning is to define the scope of the event. This can be done in many formats, but some that work well:
From “Point A” to “Point B”, where A and B are either physical points in the physical flow of materials or the flow of process
All processes included in the “X” work area (physical boundaries are important here)
Process “Y”
Review the current state of the area or process to verify that you are not biting off too big of a scope during the event. When the scope is too large it is difficult to manage the team, and maintain focus to achieve results during the event. Remember when developing scope to be clear on what is included and what is not included. Be specific, and note exclusions. This is a key part of managing expectations from the event with management.
Objectives
Your goal should be to write objectives that will yield measurable results during the event. Objectives should be:
Measurable, with a defined value before and after an event.
Aggressive, but not impossible to achieve – you want the objective to be tough enough to challenge current methods and thinking to drive creative solutions. In short, an objective needs to pass the “Goldilocks Test”: not too big, not too small, but just right.
Tied to business and strategic objectives through the Kaizen Pipeline sources of Problems, Value Stream Mapping, or Strategy Deployment Planning Roadmaps.
Ideally, you should have no more than three to five expected outcomes from the event. When you add in the “boilerplate” required Safety/ Ergo/ 5S improvements and/or documentation of Standard Work, adding more than three to five objectives has the similar negative impact as having a too large scope: focus is lost and results may not be achieved.
Selecting Your Team
Careful thought should be put into selecting the team. A typical Kaizen event will have five to seven team members, depending on scope and how cross functional the process is. A mix of people from different areas of your company – either different departments or functional areas, and the target area should be included. A blend of experienced and new kaizen practitioners is helpful: always make sure you have people with deep knowledge as well as “fresh eyes” on your team.
Think ahead to the various roles on the Kaizen team to ensure that you have the right skill sets available.
When you ask for someone and the area manager says, “I can’t let you have him/her – he/she is too valuable” you know you picked well. Don’t back off your request – but do recognize that you cannot tax the same people over and over in all your kaizen activities. Plan – and sometimes utilize these folks as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) instead of having them participate full time on the team.
Three to Four Weeks Prior to Kaizen Week
Three to four weeks prior to your event, review the Scope, Objectives, and Team with the Kaizen Champion and other stakeholders. Be willing to compromise but do not lose the original intent of the event as it was documented in the Kaizen Pipeline.
Prepare and send invitations to the event, including notes about logistics (a full agenda, date and times, appropriate attire and PPE requirements, food, overtime/schedule adjustments, maps, where to stay for out of town guests).
Notify key support resources that the event will happen. In a Classic Shop Floor event this will include Maintenance, IT, Production Scheduling, Materials Management, Quality, Engineering, Operations, and the area Team Leaders and Production personnel. For a Business Process event, include the leadership team for the core process as well as upstream and downstream processes, IT, and other stakeholders.
Reserve conference rooms, projectors, laptops as needed. Order supplies or go shopping if you don’t already have a Kaizen kit prepared: stop watches, calculators, scissors, sticky notes, white butcher block paper, markers, flip charts, clip boards, snacks and drinks will all be useful. If your organization gives certificates or gifts to participants (such as the ubiquitous Kaizen t-shirt), make certain you have enough of these items.
Gather data – process and product metrics from before the event, safety and quality data, standard work, area layouts. Obtain a forecast of the flow through the area to enable a takt time calculation.
Take time to review your training materials. Something I learned when I moved to Michigan is that there is a tremendous focus on play based learning in early childhood education in the state. A key component of play based education is that people learn more when they are having fun: this applies whether a learner is aged 2 or 102. It follows then that if you want folks to remember what you teach your training should not be all boring slide decks and lectures. To keep training fresh, tailor your message to your audience without deviating from basic principles, add interactive games, videos or new examples to keep the training interesting and value-added for participants.
Two Weeks Prior to Kaizen Week
Some things you should be doing two weeks before the event:
Remind everyone about the event
Attend start of shift meetings to let area personnel know about the event
Solicit input from area workers
Walk the area frequently and note safety/ergo issues, abnormalities, waste, variability, and challenges
Take photos of the area
Gather data, supplies, and finalize plans
Test out your training if you are doing something new
Review data, analyze it and make sure you understand what the numbers are telling you
Run the takt time calculations
If you haven’t done so already, make an effort to enlist a charismatic leader to kick off your event with a few inspiring words. Make sure the leader you have selected understands why the event is important and how it fits into the "big picture".
This is an opportunity for you to network and gain a powerful advocate for Continuous Improvement: be prepared to make the most of your meeting, be gracious, be on time and respect the time of the person you are asking for assistance from. If they agree to help you, make sure you get input from them and keep them up to date on how the event progresses, and invite them to the report out at the end of the event.
One Week Prior to Kaizen Week
Remind everyone about the event, again. It may seem you are doing nothing but communicating, but the adage about it not being possible to overcommunicate is true. Trust me on this: no matter how many times you alert people that you are holding an event - someone WILL be surprised and will ask you, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Go back through all your planning documentation and checklists to ensure nothing is missing and everything is ready. Post a flip chart with the event scope and objectives in the area and solicit input from workers prior to the event (be sure to address any feedback during the event, and communicate daily with area personnel about Kaizen progress).
Review team roles with key team members, and verify that lunches or other food arrangements have been finalized.
Continue to walk the area to learn and gain in depth understanding: spend as much time as you can “in the process” in the days prior to the event.
Print out any forms that will be required during the event. Make sure the kaizen room is set up the way you want it: normally tables in a “U” shape, two flip charts in the front, projector display, speakers and facilitator station set up and tested, all supplies ready to go and within easy reach.
Setting the Stage for a Successful Kaizen Event Week
Good preparation ensures not only that all of the logistics are covered, but that appropriate communication about the event has taken place and that the target process has been studied at a fundamental level. If you have done everything up to this point effectively, you should be ready for your Kaizen event.
Successfully running Kaizen events requires solid understanding of lean principles in addition to strong leadership and facilitation skills. It's a good idea to seek assistance from an experienced facilitator or outside consultant for your first several events until you learn the basics. For practical tips for facilitating your own event, please see my Kaizen Event Leadership article series.
©2018 Dawn A. Armfield, ValueFlo Consulting LLC
