Benchmarking for Business :

Benchmarking is essential for comparing company’s business performance metrics to best industry business performance metrics. Measures are productivity, efficiency, quality, cost and delivery. Improvements mean doing things better, faster, and cheaper. Benchmarking is mostly used to measure performance using a specific indicator resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others. Organization has to develop plans to make improvements or adopt specific best practices with the aim of increasing trend of performance. Cobblers used benchmarking to measure people's feet for shoes. They place foot on a "bench" and mark it out to make the pattern for the shoes. Benchmarking is mostly used for the key performance indicators of the business. Benchmarking shows the status of the key performance indicators, whether we are in green zone or in red zone. Green zone means we achieved Key performance indicator (KPI) i.e. we achieved KPI above the target value means we are in green zone. If KPI is below the target value we are in red zone. To achieve KPI we have to prepare action plan that in what way we are going to achieve KPI. To achieve KPI we have to initiate Continual Improvement Projects .CI Project is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes.. These CI projects are for the period of three to six months. To complete the projects tools are used i.e. 5S, TPM, Quality circles, Kaizen, Poka-yokes, etc.

Kaizen :

Kaizen is... Defined as to move towards excellence by continually improving the existing conditions in each field through innovation. In this activity all employees, supervisors, engineers, Managers, General Managers are involved. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis.Kaizen is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to lower management. This is not a one or two month activity, It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year and they are written down, shared and implemented. Suggestions are not limited to a specific area such as production, quality, stores, dispatch, etc. Each & every department in the organization is responsible for Kaizen.

Why Kaizen?

The Intangible benefits are : High Employee morale leads to enormous motivation. Internal motivation is long-lasting. HEART + HEAD + HANDS get in action Motivation + Knowledge + Skill leads to Excellence. It Changes the Attitude and ultimately the culture of the organization and hence the Nation. It Elevate speakers due to monthly kaizen meetings. Self managed workforce through kaizen teams. Flexible workforce. Coming out of the meeting thinks "what kaizen next?" Every problem considered as an Opportunity....an Opportunity for improvement. Attitude towards suggestion.... an opportunity. Small improvements : Enable a person to grow & contribute more : Accumulate & soon the total is substantial. Jealousy is down. Interdepartmental walls broken, promotes Team-work. Help improving Inter-personal skills. The Tangible benefits are : Productivity & Quality Improvement, Cost & throughput time reduction. Safety Improvement, higher Human capital Index.

Expectations :

Expectations from subordinates for successful implementation of kaizen –

Obedient Understanding Willing and having linking for work Capable of working in adverse conditions

Futuristic and planner Giving feedback promptly Knowing importance of time & job.

A continuous learner Taking responsibility Expectation from superiors for successful implementation of kaizen Pardoning failures

A guide

A motivator

Trusting Empowering

Not moody

Types of kaizens :

1) Normal work done by different methods.
2) No pending work for want of time.

3) Work done away from the normal work e.g. experiment, help ,encourage participation, copy kaizen etc.
4) Any “problem” taken as challenge and found “solution” to it.
5) Eliminate waste by right diagnosis!Question your methods and systems, challenge status quo by asking 5 W & 1 H at every stage of design, processing, inspection, waiting, stocking, transit, handling.
6) Just eliminate any activity not adding value to the end product or service.

7) Safety Improvement!
8) House-keeping always kaizen. “5 S “
9) Find alternatives to eliminate 3D ( Difficult, dangerous, dirty)

Tips Regarding Kaizen :

Do not start with high – expectations! Otherwise you are bound to fail. Your power lies in your people. First aim at tangible results such as positive work attitude leading to positive behavior and positive actions. Start with your own! Don’t wait for followers. It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness! Be a Catalyst / Change agent / Motivator / Leader yourself first! Walk, Talk, Breath Kaizen! Though Kaizen is Bottom –up management, it must start from top. Top management must exceed subordinates in enthusiasm for kaizen by wanting kaizen, just as a baby wants a toy badly. Don’t be afraid of Unions – start with motivated staff and prove it. Workers will follow, initially partially though. Slowly, critics will get isolated. A good Redressal System must respond to small group activities – an alternative to unionism. Otherwise human beings quietly follow the path of least resistance to solve grievances, accepting the inevitable at times and accumulating them. THINK UNCONVENTIONAL! Have a lot of patience, perseverance and confidence that kaizen will work. It is painful, slow, long drawn process.

Kaizen methodology :

Lease and capitalize on change agents, catalysts all the time. Stress the point that KAIZEN is for Excellence! For Self Development first! Team and core team are very important. KAIZEN BOARD and write up with sketches. Be innovative in KAIZEN NEWS /BULLETIN / PHOTOGRAPHS. Let your kaizen starts with Kaizen board. Help subordinates to CHALLENGE the status Quo! Even if you do not use an idea, make sure that everyone knows who contributed it and how much you appreciate that. Pardon failures in experiments! Listen carefully, every time somebody approaches you. If communication is bad implementation takes longer. Have five minutes “morning meeting” to avoid grapevine. Implement slogans Remove de-motivators, if you can’t motivate! Fixed date of kaizen meetings:- Attendance compulsory. If critics do not join after efforts strong signals of displeasure be sent. Top man, Top management, co-ordinators must show total, visual support and commitment without bothering about savings.

Kaizen system emphasizes :

Starting from top management then to total employee involvement by supporting and encouraging self-directed kaizen teams. Empowering people and giving them protected freedom for doing more kaizen. Listening to them for problems in their area. Promoting zero investment for improvements. Personal Performance helps for the efforts in kaizen evaluation and performance appraisal.

Kaizen – Points to ponder :

Miser ( Merge, improve, simplify, eliminate, reduce) and make the work easier, better and faster but with lesser efforts. Chase and control “Harmony” rather than performance. Feel and perceive the current methods of working and think beyond facts. Use common sense and not common knowledge. Never accept the status quo. Look for solutions in problems and for the problems in the solutions. Identify waste in an area where you think no one exists (Juran calls these as chronic –waste areas) Listen to your methods of working in silence. Waiting is a waste, reduce waiting.

Motivational benefits of Kaizen :

1) The first and foremost benefit kaizen gives is, it brings about attitudinal changes among employees towards improvement and their routine work. Hence a new work culture is created in the organization.


2) Once the culture is transformed, the way gets cleared for introducing other productivity improvement systems like JIT, KANBAN, etc.


3) Kaizen system reduces resistance to change.


4) It improves an opportunity for employees to use their talent and skills thereby it stimulates their creativity.


5) Ownership of work improves in kaizen system. it is the inner voice of the employees the drives them to make improvements, rather then the orders given down through the hierarchy.


6) It provides a sense of job satisfaction to the employees and reduces boredom and monotony of the job.


7) Barriers among the departments also begin to breakdown due to implementation of this system.


8) Kaizen creats an excellent prelude to the implementation suggestion scheme.


9) Kaizen also helps in carrying out performance appraisal of employees objectively.


10) Kaizen helps in value addition to the product or service by reducing wastage of any kind in the organization. Thereby this contributes significantly to the overall productivity improvements.