A Practical Approach To The Successful Practice Of 5S
By Tony Jacowski

In real terms, 5S can be described as a complete quality improvement system that aims at making continuous improvements in the immediate work environment as well as in the work conditions. To understand how it actually works, let us study each one of the given methodologies in detail:

Seiri

The Japanese word Seiri basically means ‘to sort’ and as such the given methodology deals with sorting out the equipment associated with a workplace. The sorting is done to identify and remove all the unnecessary items from the workplace so as to achieve a higher level of efficiency.

The sorting is based on the simple logic that items that are used every hour and every day should be kept within arms reach; items used once or twice a week or month should be kept within the work area; and items used even more infrequently should be kept in a more distant location. Apart from these, items that are tagged as unnecessary should be completely removed from the workplace.

Seiton

Systematize, or Seiton in Japanese, this methodology basically aims at putting the required items at appropriate places. This is done by using a workflow analysis chart that indicates all the items that will be required for a given process in a systematic order. Sometimes, inputs and suggestions sourced from the employees are also used for placing the required items in appropriate places.

Seiso

Sweep, or Seiso in Japanese, aims at keeping the workplace clean and fully functional year round. Equipment and other mechanical items are cleaned and inspected regularly to ensure that production is not affected by small problems. For most items, the cleaning and inspection is to be done on a daily basis, but if the organization feels otherwise, it can create a cleaning and inspection schedule based on the cleaning requirements of individual pieces of equipment.

Seiketsu

Standardize, or Seiketsu in Japanese, this methodology aims at developing visual controls and guidelines in order to keep the workplace organized and clean. The purpose is to achieve a level of standardization that can then be implemented on a daily basis. The standardization process is heavily dependent on the 3S explained above and as such it is necessary to ensure that the 3S have been properly taken care of before implementing Seiketsu.

Shitsuke

Self-Discipline, or Shitsuke in Japanese, this methodology aims at making the employees aware of the 5S by providing them training at regular intervals. It is based on the logic that the 5S will deliver results only when employees extend their full cooperation and support, something that can only be achieved through regular training and guidance.

When 5S is implemented, it helps in increasing the morale of employees, a prerequisite for achieving higher levels of efficiencies. Once this is done, the organization can then easily hope to reduce wastage, improve quality and facilitate faster lead times, all of which are necessary for the success of any business organization.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online, http://www.sixsigmaonline.org, offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

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5S Implementation Is Truly Worth It
By Randy Hough

5S implementation is one of the smartest things you can do for your business, without a doubt. Your clutter will vanish, you will know where every single thing is in your shop, and everybody will be happier and more productive. What more could you ask for!

Seriously, if you have not made the 5S program part of your daily operation, do it now. There is really no reason to delay, unless you are already highly organized and efficient. It could be that some exceptional manufacturing shop is just naturally that way, it does happen, but rarely.

There are obviously 5 parts to the program, sort, straighten, sweep, standardize and sustain. Once you have understood the concepts and decided to implement them, you will almost immediately see results, really.

How it works in real-life

The first time I was involved in a 5S training program was with a typical American plastic injection molding shop of about 10 mold makers. We had been in business as long as plastic molding was a business, so there was a lot of ” stuff” laying around. It seemed that everything had a place, but only a few knew the secrets of where it all was.

I was highly skeptical of this idea at first because I had spun my wheels for so long on every new program that the managers learned at the latest seminar. Most of these programs just took our time and yielded little or nothing in the way of results. When I heard that it was Japanese, I got interested. At the time, they were decimating our auto industry and I figured they must know something we didn’t.

What do you need to get started?

Not much, mostly time and a will to do it. Once you learn the technique, it is a matter of educating your workers of the benefits and making it a permanent policy. It is essential that the decision come from the top down, otherwise it will be just another well-meaning program.

How long will it take?

It tookus about a week to actually finish the process. By the end of two days we had made a lot of progress, but it was essential that we complete the project entirely. I’m certain that things would have returned to “normal’ if we had not followed all five steps. It is very difficult to change a shop culture, but it can be done.

There were some guys who were very negative, but once they began to see the results their complaints disappeared. Is it worth the effort? Yes, it is very much well worth the effort. The time spent as you implement 5 S will most certainly pay for itself in a short time. If you only added up the hours spent looking for things, you would quickly justify the expense; not to mention the satisfaction you feel from working in a well-organized and efficient environment.

5S is just one part of the lean manufacturing process. It is also essential that everyone follows through, so the benefits can be permanent. It is not enough to paint some outlines of wrenches and then leave them laying about randomly.

Make sure you have your workers involved.

Assign various people to “be in charge” of different areas. They will take pride in the ownership of their work area and watch over it like a watch dog. In this way your shop culture begins to improve and moral will almost instantly improve.

Randy Hough

Plastic Injection Mold Maker

http://www.global-plastic-injection-molding.com

“You know Dad, I’ve been thinkin’, one is a lot more than zero!” my son, Thomas, age 5.

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5S Implementation Methodology
By Randy Hough

5S implementation methodology is a system to reduce workplace waste and optimize productivity by
maintaining an orderly workplace. The use of visual reminders helps to achieve consistent
improvements as well. 5S Implementation “cleans up” and organizes the workplace, without changing
its existing configuration, and it is typically the first lean method which an organization puts
into effect.

The 5S pillars, Sort, Straighten, Sweep, Standardize, and Sustain, provide a methodology for
organizing, cleaning, developing, and sustaining a productive work environment. In order to have
a smooth and efficient flow of work, every company needs a system to organize and maintain the
work areas.

This lean manufacturing method encourages workers to improve their working conditions and helps
them to learn to reduce waste, unplanned downtime, and in-process inventory.

Typically, 5S implementation would result in significant reductions in the amount of space needed
for existing operations. It also would result in the organization of tools and materials into
labeled and color coded storage locations, such as the well known painted outlines of tools on
pegboard.

Another result is the creation of kits to organize specific activities. These kits save a great
deal of time and aggravation. You no longer need to gather the same items repeatedly for frequent
tasks; they are all in one place. Brilliant!

5S is a cyclical methodology: sort, straighten, sweep, standardize, and sustain the cycle. This
results in continuous improvement. It is a never ending process that gradually improves
everything it touches.

The 5S Pillars
Sort. This focuses on identifying all unnecessary items from the workplace which are not needed
for day to day operations. These items receive a red tag and are placed in a central location for
everyone to see and decide what to do with. Many times these are useful items, but used so rarely
that they need to be discarded, given away or moved to a storage area.

It is surprising how much space can be liberated from just this one process. Vast amounts of
valuable floor space suddenly become available for more productive work.

Straighten. Once sorting has taken place, you create efficient storage methods so your items are
easy to locate and use, as well as put away. This would include labeling drawers, tool racks,
boxes, shelves, etc. You also will define areas such as storage, first-aid, shipping, etc.

As you can see, one S builds on the other steps; in fact, they are all integrated to form a whole
way of keeping a workplace orderly and efficient.

Sweep. This is sometimes referred to as shine as well. Sweep means to clean, to thoroughly remove
clutter and fix things. A daily follow-up cleaning is essential in order to sustain the new
improvements.

Everyone likes working in a clean environment, plus it often happens that damaged wires, pipes,
electrical outlets, etc. are discovered and repaired. This is also a safety feature of 5S.

It is also a good idea to establish targets before beginning your Sweep process. This helps keep
everyone focused and accountable.

Standardize. Once the first three 5S’s have been implemented, the next pillar is to standardize
the best practices in the work area. Individuals need to be assigned responsibility for each of
the first 3S aspects.

Then you can create procedure manuals, visual cues such as signs, schedule short blitzes to
maintain the first 3S procedures. This is important to prevent the procedures from breaking down and
getting dirty.

Sustain. This involves changing habits and is often the most difficult aspect of 5S
implementation…Changing entrenched behaviors can be difficult, and the tendency is often to
return to the status quo and the comfort zone of the “old way” of doing things.

Sustain focuses on defining a new status quo and standard of work place organization. Without the
performance reviews, and department tours. Organizations typically seek to reinforce 5S messages
in multiple formats until it becomes “the way things are done.”

The 5S circle is kept in motion by discipline. 5S training of everyone involved is essential to success as well, otherwise it will just be another program imposed from management. Often workers wondr what is lean manufacturing and when they see the positive results of 5S implementation, they will be much more enthusiastic.

Randy Hough

Plastic Injection Mold Maker

What is lean manufacturing

“You know Dad, I’ve been thinkin’, one is a lot more than zero!” my son, Thomas, age 5.

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5’s - Lean Manufacturing Foundation
By Carl Wright

The 5S system is widely used today in a very large percentage of manufacturing businesses. Many non-manufacturing companies also employ the discipline.

The 5S system is one of the most common lean manufacturing principles, and generally the first one applied during implementation.

The 5S system is a workplace organization and housekeeping system. When applied correctly, the benefits are enormous in terms of productivity, quality, and morale.

The 5S’s are:

Sort

Set In Place

Shine

Standardize

Sustain

There are variations to some of the 5S’s as they were derived from 5 Japanese words beginning with “s”.

Most organizations apply the 5S system in one area at a time rather than across and entire facility at once.

The first “S” is Sort. It is the process of removing all unnecessary items from the workplace area. This first step is crucial to gaining efficiency through workplace design. A common method called the “red tag method” is often utilized, where all items are tagged which aren’t necessary for the specific area. These unnecessary items tagged are then moved to a “hold” area for review and disposition.

The second “S” is Set in Place. This is the process of moving the necessary items into the correct position for use. It is the process of organizing the work area to be perfectly laid out for maximum efficiency through minimizing movement. All materials and items that will be used at the job site are to be positioned and kept closes to the point of use. For example, if a tool is only to be used at the end of a machine, it should be kept there.

A common method used is called “shadow boards”, where the exact dimension of the tool is painted onto the board depicting the spot in which to hang the tool. It becomes obvious where the tool belongs.

The third “S” is Shine. This is the method of deep cleaning a machine or area to put it back into the condition it was when it was purchased. The idea is that quality and efficiency will not suffer if the machine is not allowed to deteriorate over time. Machines that are kept in new condition have less downtime and produce the same quality level as a new machine.

The fourth “S” is Standardize. This is the process of standardizing the entire system, which is often the most difficult. Most companies have conducted the first three S’s many times, only to watch the condition deteriorate over time. This cycle of cleaning up followed by gradual deterioration has been repeated over and over for years. The “Standardize” portion of the system corrects this problem.

The best way to standardize the system is to determine exactly what needs done to maintain the system. It is the “who, what, when, where” of 5S. For example, if a specific portion of a machine needs cleaned daily, there should be a checklist and written instructions detailing who will do it, when it will be done, and methods and materials necessary.

The last “S” is Sustain. Sustaining the system is thought to be one of the most difficult, primarily because experience proved years of cleaning and organization were not maintained. However, if the system is standardized in the fourth S, then sustaining it is much easier.

The best method of sustaining the system is to conduct audits. Care must be exercised so the audit system is not punitive. The 5S system relies on employee involvement and commitment at all levels, and a punitive audit system can destroy the system.

One good way of auditing the system is with a rotating audit crew of peers. This might be the plant workers auditing the system of their co-workers. The results are provided to the employees in the audited area and time given to correct deficiencies.

A good 5S implementation has many benefits. The assets of the company are kept in top condition which keeps the value high. Quality is kept at the level when the asset or machine was first installed. Maintenance costs are reduced as deterioration is immediately apparent. Setup times go down from better organization and reduced movement.

The best benefit is the morale improvement from an improved environment and culture.

Some managers think employees will not sustain a perfectly clean manufacturing environment. Like most systems, management is the reason the system succeeds or fails. Given the chance, employees will implement and sustain the 5S system. Most employees will choose an organized and clean workplace with a continuous improvement culture over a dirty disorganized facility.

Carl Wright is an industrial engineer, ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt, and Master Black Belt. Carl is involved with the lean manufacturing implementation organization http://www.1stcourses.com

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How to Make 5S Work - Part 1
By Oskar Olofsson

As a matter of preference, most employees desire to work in a fresh, clean and well-functioning workplace.

A cluttered and filthy work area undoubtedly mirror the kind of attitude and mindset the workers, as well as the managers, have in giving importance to their jobs.

On the other hand, a clean and tidy environment reflects how the employees (and supervisors) care about their jobs and work hard with due concern and consideration. Therefore, these people are more inclined to do their jobs better and are more productive compared to those who work in a messy and disorganized work areas.

However, there are companies who refuse to acknowledge their part in keeping the workplace more people-friendly and instead put the blame on the perceived laziness of employees when it comes to housekeeping.

Well, I have gathered different views on housekeeping based on my experience as a 5S coach.

Whenever I conduct 5S trainings, I meet employees from all kinds of businesses. I would always pose a rhetorical question: “What would change if your workplace would be clean and in good order?”

The answers vary but what surprised me is that everyone shares a common desire: to have a clean and orderly work atmosphere.

“It would save a lot of time,” a staff commented.

“I would be less irritated at work”, said one.

According to another staff: “I think we would be prouder about our workplace.”

These are some typical comments coming from ordinary employees—and to my mind, it is clear that almost everyone wants the work facilities to be in good tip-top shape.

Messy workplaces and employees who want order
One explanation to this contradiction is: it is acceptable for most people to take care of their own trash, but few people like to take care of somebody else’s waste.

A shift worker would certainly not be pleased if, one day, he would find his workplace dirty and all messed up. The first time it happens, he might clean it up. The second time, probably he’ll ignore the mess and clean it up again anyway—but the next time he will not be that generous to lift a finger. Soon he will stop playing hero and say: “It seems like no one else cares about this place, so why should I?”

This means that the overall level of “housekeeping consciousness” will gradually deteriorate. If we do nothing, we will end up in a situation where the least interested employee will implicitly impose a poor sense of housekeeping standard for everybody else.

The way I see it, a cluttered and dirty workplace is not a worker’s choice; it is a result of a bad system where a few lazy people can tear down the very fabric of industry convenience and labor satisfaction for all the rest.

This is, of course, unacceptable.

The more disorganized and unkempt the company is, the more reason why we need discipline, policies, rules and systems to maintain consistent standards of quality and safety free from wastes, errors, defects and accidents.

With these scenarios, this is where the “5S” approach can be implemented and put into practice.

What is 5S?

5S refers to the five structured programs using the Japanese principles of seiri, seiton, seison, seiketsu, and shitsuke—or commonly referred to as sort, set, shine, standardize and sustain, respectively.

The Japanese words are shorthand expressions for principles of maintaining an efficient and effective workplace.

The 5S approach is promoted as a set of strategies, systems and techniques that provide a standard approach to housekeeping.

Although there are different anglicized versions of the Japanese words within the context of Lean Manufacturing, the 5S is collectively alluded to as the “Pillars of Good Housekeeping” for successful lean implementation.

It is likewise regarded as the “Basic of Kaizen” tool to begin, support and sustain the lean path to higher productivity and efficiency.

In the next part we will look at how 5S is best implemented.

Oskar Olofsson is a Sweden-based Management Consultant with more than 10 years experience in the fields of Total Productive Manufacturing (TPM) and Lean Manufacturing. Mr. Olofsson maintains and manages Resources for World Class Manufacturing (http://wcm.nu), a free Internet information resource site on matters relative to TPM and Lean Manufacturing implementation.

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What Does Lean Manufacturing 5S Mean?
By Michael Baker

There are so many businesses, especially in the manufacturing world, that are just clusters of mass unorganization. What I mean is they have way too much stuff at each work station, more than what the job actually entails. Lean manufacturing 5S is one of the simplest things you can do right away to help with this.

It is called 5S because it is made of words that all start with an S. Let’s look at each one of the individually and see what needs to be done.

Some people really like this first step. It is your chance to get a trash can and load it up. All of the things not needed for the job are removed and only the essentials are kept.

Set is the next step. This means you will need to find a place for all of the tools needed for the job. Some examples of ways to accomplish this are through the use of a peg board or by using tape to outline where items should be. This ensures you have a place for them and people can notice when they are not there.

The next step is shine. What this entails is cleaning everything. Tools and the work stations are included in this step. Also, people should be assigned the responsibility of keeping the area and the tools clean.

When you see the term Standardize, it means to ensure the same process you laid out originally is done exactly the same with everyone. This could mean new procedures, or periodic reviews of the area. But it needs to be kept up.

Lastly, and the most difficult one, is to sustain the area. You have built a good amount of momentum right now, so now is the best time to move to another area. Just be sure to hold the appointed people responsible for the cleanliness of the area accountable. This ensures you do not need to micro-manage the area, and can focus on the next area.

5S is a very good tool in a lean manufacturing effort, and can implemented in any part of a business. Just follow the simple steps above, and you can have a dramatic improvement in the cleanliness of the area and in the efficiency of the area.

Lean Manufacturing Secrets is a simple to read, yet in depth, guide on Lean Manufacturing. It also includes topics such as Kaizen, Kanbans, and 5S.

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Kaizen As A Successful Business Management Tool
By Willie Krut

Kaizen is not a procedure, not a document that describes step by step actions of those workers that have been selected to implement it, not just a paper which becomes approved and becomes an official paper. Kaizen is not a methodology or theory like for example a “Strategy Manual” that a lot of companies have.

Kaizen is not a philosophy like some military-oriented companies that require from their employees total loyalty, the desire to implement any order of management even if it will benefit the company or not.

Kaizen is a quality and a religion. Kaizen is the efficiency of quality as a whole. Kaizen’s methods are not just problematic of management or sociology, economy, geopolitics or even psychology. It is a solution of mentality and metaphysics. To answer the question of if it is possible or not, it can only be given you really believe in the importance of quality and are ready to dedicate your time, money, and experience to quality. That kind of attitude got the Japanese workers on all levels into big and small businesses.

In the Japanese language the word “kaizen” means “continuous perfection”.
Based on this strategy all levels of a company are involved in the business process from managers to regular workers. The realization of this process is not that expensive either.
The kaizen philosophy means that all our life (work, social, and private) should be focused on constant improvement. This idea is so natural and obvious to many Japanese, that they follow it, not reflecting on it at all! In my opinion, it causes the competitive success of Japan in a big degree.

Even if the changes based on kaizen are not really that significant, after some time the business gets amazing results. Kaizen explains why the Japanese companies do not stop in their growth. At the same time, in a lot of industrial countries management prefers to do the major innovations: implementing new technology, the newest business management concepts etc. The big innovation assumes fundamental change to which all of the attention is concentrated.

Kaizen most at the time is a quiet process and is not even obvious. However innovation is similar to a single shot and its results are often unclear while the kaizen process is based on common sense and with small expenses provides steady progress which justifies itself in long-term prospects. Kaizen is also the method described by small risk. Managers without big losses can always return back to the old way of business. The majority of “originally Japanese” methods of management and styles like “quality assurance in the scale of the entire company”, “club of quality”, or “general quality assurance” we can describe with the one word kaizen.

Kaizen is the word that needs to be used instead of such fashionable words as “productivity”, “general quality assurance”, “zero defects”, “exactly on time”, and “the system of submission of offers” allows receiving a more precise picture of things that occur in the Japanese industry. Kaizen is an umbrella-type strategy for all kinds of methods that can be added to existing ones based on the specifics of business. New ideas in business should be considered as one of the important principles in their work. Correct approaches and thought over the use of corresponding processes allows any company, no matter where it is, to benefit from kaizen.

To learn more about the kaizen methods of business visit http://www.welcome-to-self-improvement.com/blog/

Willie Krut is the core provider of a selection of self help products that truly help people to improve their life, health and career. Subscribe to the free Willie’s Newsletter, visit the
http://www.welcome-to-self-improvement.com site.

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The Kaizen of Goal Setting
By Ke O Agile

There is an old way of goal setting and a new way of goal setting!
The old way of goal-setting involved setting yor goals, preparing a list of sub-goals, and then carefully checking them off one after another (as and when they were being accomplished). Am I trying o pour cold water on the goal setting method many of us grw up on?
Not necessarily

While I am not saying the step-by-step approach does not work, I am advocating a flexible-goal setting approach.
The flexible goal-setting approach acknowledges the presence of chaos and unpredictability of our modern times, where change is rapid and conditions shift in an instant.

What’s more, a tiny weeny change nowadays has the potential to create major upsets and instability.

Enter the flexible goal-setting system. And, this is how it operates.
Set big-picture, lief-enhancing goals with flexible sub-goals that you can adjust to fit in with shifting conditions. The simplest way of putting this into practice is to build into your goal-setting, daily incremental steps that aggregate into your vision. Add to this sub-goal A, sub-goal B, sub-goal C, maybe sub-goal D.

Remember, each sub-goal must be flexible enough to respond adequately to the requirements of the shifting conidtions.

You don’t want to throw your hands in the air in desperation because your plans and goals have been derailed, do you?

Well, the ‘Kaizen of Goal Setting’ is about knowing the difference between the old and the new, and applying it to your goal setting.

Ke o agile is an NLP Coach and publisher of In TheZone, an NLP focused ezine for capacity builders in the personal and professional skills development areas. In TheZone can be accessed at http://inthezone.port5.com

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Lean Manufacturing and Kaizen
By Aza Badurdeen

Kaizen is one of the most important concepts in lean manufacturing. The meaning of the Japanese word “Kaizen” continuous improvement. When it comes to Just In Time systems or lean manufacturing, the system must change continuously in order to deliver the value to customers. For an example lean manufacturing always wants to eliminate wastes from the system. Finding and eliminating wastes from the system continuously is a Kaizen activity.

Kaizen concepts are different to the traditional management concepts. For an example one of the most important theories of traditional management principle is the Management by exception. The simple meaning of this is that if everything is going OK then there is no need to change the way the system operate. But when it comes to lean manufacturing and kaizen, it challenges the existing systems and find out ways in which the system can be improved. Another very important aspect of kaizen is trust on organizational employees to come up with the improvements. This helps the system in many ways. People who carryout the work knows about the work they do best. Therefore they can come up with the ideas to improve it. Less resistance in change is another factor which will help in implementing and maintaining the system.

In a workplace where kaizen is practiced small improvements to the system is made continuously. This makes the system dynamic. Changes bring high value to the system and are less costly. Employees are generally motivated. Importantly these organizations can win the competition.

I am a lean manufacturing writer and consultant. I wrote the book “lean manufacturing basics” to give you an idea about basics of lean manufacturing. It is FREE to download from the below URL
http://www.leanmanufacturingconcepts.com/LeanManufacturingBook.htm

For more information on Kaizen concept and related lean manufacturing topics follow this link.

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Kaizen - Continuous Improvement Process
By Laurus Nobilis

It is said that at one Toyota factory there are million suggestions received from employees every year. So the question is: How the management of the Company can handle so many suggestions? The answer is simple: they do not handle these suggestions. Instead, they organised all employees in a groups of approximately 5 people. If one member of the group has the idea, that person present it to the other members of a team. If the Idea is adopted, they simply go with it, without need for further approval. The exception could be the situation when the Idea requires a large investment. This process of continuous improvement is called Kaizen.

This is an example of bottom-up system of continuous improvement process. This is the way that is generating a huge pool of ideas that can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of an organisation. Kaizen encourages the concept of worker empowerment. Kaizen is the management approach that recognise the potential of workers and does not require managerial approvals for improvement initiatives. This is the system that greatly depends on the cultural setup of an organisation. If the management of an organisation assumes that workers are lazy and incompetent, so there is a need for a strong controlling mechanism, then the Kaizen is not possible.

The concept of Kaizen is process change and improvement through the large number of small steps. This process is ultimately leading to a competitive advantage of an organisation. This means that an organisation will be more productive at the lower cost. At same time the primarily job of managers will not be to find small improvements, but to be focused on bigger changes.

The principle is the same for the whole company, but is mostly referred to shop level of the company. The focus is given on making better things instead of making things better. Kaizen requires dedicated, empowered and multiskiling workforce that operates with minimum of direction and approval mechanism.

The Kaizen requires advanced stage of networking. Teams need to be formed in quickly, and they need to start with they work in short time. Networks of people who share common experiences and problems need to be encouraged. Mostly, these groups are creating a new ideas and initiatives. Also, they overcome obstacles in a creative way.

In general, sharing of ideas and Best Practice solutions is very important. Unfortunately sharing of ideas is not always the case. It is the imperative to find the way to integrate the energy and creativeness of individuals into the network of people who deal with same problems.

Within every organisation there are several restrictions that resist to Kaizen-like improvement process. The most common is Silo-thinking, which may be inter departmental or inter company, for organisations that operate in more countries. The common obstacle is concern about additional costs that may appear. Improvement frequently requires investments needed to conduct the change that will improve organisation’s efficiency. Finally, there is resistance of some managers to loose the control over the processes.

Kaizen is not something that is easy to implement. First it must start from the top and gradually to transfer the logic of the whole concept to the lowest level. The Kaizen as a continuous improvement process that need to be encouraged. Today, every organisation is faced with rapidly changing environment, market and consumer’s preference. Only the organisation that is capable to transform quickly can stay competitive. The Kaizen is definitively the concept that can support this transformation capability, therefore it should be introduced and supported.

Laurus Nobilis has 11 years of experience in FMCG business. He has been working in different functions, primarily in Sales Department and Supply Chain. In 2007 he has started the http://www.biz-development.com web site dedicated to development of managerial skills and knowledges necessary for running the business.

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