By Gene Russell, Manex President and CEO

Kaizen is a system of “improvement” and “self-changing” and refers to practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing.  At Manex, we have Kaizen experts for manufacturers. Manufacturing consulting is our core business so we understand yours. 

With Kaizen, every employee is involved. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis.

Kaizen involves setting standards and then continually improving those standards. To support the higher standards, Kaizen also involves providing the training, materials and supervision that is needed for employees to achieve the higher standards and maintain their ability to meet those standards on an on-going basis Kaizen provides immediate results by continually making small improvements that improve processes and reduce waste.

In Kaizen, problems are opportunities  – rather than negatives – to improve and with Kaizen we want to find, report, and fix problems. Kaizen encourages and rewards the identification of problems by all employees.

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Concept For Continuous Improvement On Virtual Screen

How does Kaizen improve manufacturing processes, production and ROI? 

  • Improved space utilization, product quality, use of capital, communications, production capacity and employee retention.
  • Reduced waste in areas such as inventory, waiting times, transportation, worker motion, employee skills, over production, excess quality and processes.

A team of Kaizen experts for manufacturers

Our Kaizen program at Manex is an excellent hands-on, onsite workshop to help improve your operation and production activities. Kaizen often has immediate and measurable ROI. Read this case study to learn how our Kaizen experts for manufacturers helped La Tortilla Factory dramatically improve their productivity.

Typically, many Kaizen ideas can be implemented quickly using the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) methodology. The PDCA methodology is used to drive continuous improvement in Lean. The cycle assures the continuity of Kaizen to maintain and improve standards.

Manex projects result in more than 600% ROI – that’s a $6 return for every $1 dollar invested. For more information, contact Manex at 925.807.5100 or email [email protected].

 

About the Author

Gene Russell is President and CEO of Manex and has over 30 years of senior executive strategic planning, operational management, and consulting experience in the manufacturing and technology sectors. With his extensive knowledge of manufacturing operations, he has developed and implemented key strategic initiatives for companies, allowing them to improve performance and achieve profitable growth.