The Kaizen Blitz: Accelerating Breakthroughs in Productivity and Performance

As you probably know already, the word "kaizen" is a Japanese term meaning "to make better" with the implication that such effort should be continuous, indeed intensive and unrelenting. Since 1994, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) has developed a series of educational initiatives known as the "Kaizen Blitz." In the Introduction to this volume, Jon Brodeur observes: "We think non-consultant-driven events -- training and on-the-floor work by the experts, the hands-on employees who have experienced the power of the Kaizen Blitz -- will continue to be a welcome addition to any organization's arsenal of improvement approaches. Small- and medium-sized companies can do it as well as larger ones and they may have an advantage if operations are small enough in scope to get their arms around." However, positive and significant results can only be achieved with an appropriate combination of leadership at its highest level, acceptance (indeed enthusiasm) throughout all other levels, and tenacious involvement about attaining 20 percent to 50 percent improvement (or greater) in performance in a short time and in narrowly targeted areas. The effective Kaizen process must be top-down, initiated and sustained by teamwork, and focused entirely on doing "whatever needs to be done" ASAP. The authors of this book explain both how and why. The material is organized within 11 chapters whose titles correctly suggest the nature and extent of coverage: The Power of AME's Kaizen Blitz: Learning by Doing; The Roots of Kaizen; Improvement Strategy: Implementing the Big Picture; Getting Ready for Kaizen; Time Prints and Takt Times; How to Tell If There Is Improvement: Adding Value, Subtracting Waste: Uncovering the Flows: Establishing and Clarifying Process Flows; Forms, Charts, and Measurements; Sustaining the Gain: Lean Leadership; and finally, Never Look Back. Throughout the book, the authors reiterate the imperative that Kaizen Blitz initiatives must be sharply focused, task oriented, results driven, measurable and -- meanwhile -- FAST. Hence the relevance of the concept of "blitz," which gained worldwide prominence prior to and then during World War II when Fascist and then Allied forces attacked enemy positions with unprecedented velocity. As the AME Kaizen Blitz has demonstrated so convincingly, the same strategy (with obvious modifications) can effectively be implemented within any organization, regardless of size or nature. Obviously I think highly of this book because it offers a sensitive, flexible, thoughtful and rigorous program to achieve what the subtitle correctly describes as "accelerating breakthroughs in productivity and performance." If these brief comments suggest that this is a program your organization needs, I strongly recommend that all of its decision-makers read it. Then, schedule an offsite meeting during which the book becomes the agenda for collaborative efforts to formulate and implement a Kaizen Blitz appropriate to your organ

I am the President of a 55-year old Plastics Distribution Company in Connecticut with 100 employees and this book, and the Kaizen methods we have employed, have had dramatic results. No, I take that back; remarkable, extraordinary results in a less than 8 weeks! And that's what the book does; show's you how to eliminate waste, remove any operation of "non-value", reduce lead-times, create a "lean-manufacturing" environment, with practical guidance of how to do this in a matter of days -not months or years. Tony Laraia is for sure, the King of Kaizen!

Here's an easy-to-read guide to a powerful process that's driving waste out of North American companies. It's very timely and to the point as authors Laraia, Moody, and Hall, deliver a clear appreciation of what the `Kaizen Blitz' is and - most importantly - how to deploy it. The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) has combined Kaizen, the Japanese word for `continuous improvement,' with 'blitz' meaning 'lightning fast' to present a term which appears to be contradictory. It works well as it conveys the sprit of 'rapid improvement' in the right context.The 'Blitz' was developed by AME in 1994 around an accelerated 4-day format. What caught everyone's attention was the contrast between the Blitz format and the traditional formats for workshops or seminars. With the Kaizen Blitz you go with sleeves rolled up to 'make things happen' as you help implement solutions with a team in only 4 days. Typical results from actual Blitzes may yield productivity improvements in the 20-60% range, or setup time reductions in the 70-90% range with , process time reductions of 40-80%, inventory reductions of 30-70% and walking distance reductions of from 40-90%. The need for such improvements ensure long-term competiitve positions which makes this book a worthwhile addition by any operations leader.The book provides an unvarnished understanding of what to expect when undertaking high speed improvement changes. The authors practice what they preach by keeping descriptions and discussions simple, practical, and too the point. The book contains a good blend of `how to' descriptions, backgrounds, checklists, and copies of the forms used to document and track performance throughout the Blitz.Included in the book is a section on `Sustaining the Gain,' an important aspect that defeats many such ventures. The book is rich with practical examples for practitioners to gain from while it keeps us thinking about 'Lean Manufacturing' and the appropriatness of the Blitz as a Lean tool. The book uses real-world examples throughout with data drawn from Blitzes in the US and Canada. Authors Tony Laraia and Dr. Robert Hall were on hand last fall at the AME Manufacturing Simplicity Conference in Toronto, which demonstrated the power of the Kaizen Blitz to over 1000 participants through the Blitz hosted by Steelcase Canada. The Blitz is becoming increasingly popular across North America with a wide range of organizations including the Ontario-based 17-company High Performance Manufacturing Consortium, which is doing them on a monthly basis. In summary, this book is a must read for anyone who must make rapid improvements - and make them fast. It will demystify all aspects of the Kaizen Blitz and make you want to get those blue jeans on as you roll up your sleeves to get started.

Kaizen (from the Japaneses), meaning continuous improvement, becomes "kaizen blitz" in this fine book. Kaizen in the blitz mode is an intensive event taking place over a few days at a real manufacturing site. Results are nearly always inspirational, the idea being to break-though closed minds and set the stage for kaizen to perpetuate itself. The book may be your ticket to fast-paced, continuous improvement

Applies the concept of Kaizen, a Japanese word for "small step" or continuous improvement, in a unique way that involves an intensive, highly focused, low-tech initiative to improve process performance of a limited scope process. The book describes, in considerable detail, how this blitz can be achieved, zeroing-in on fixing the simple and obvious things. There is a lot of information about how to improve a product process in these pages. The key to Kaizen is to rid a process of waste; the authors present a book that has no wasted or excessive verbiage. It is a well written and valuable work. Reviewed by Yvette Borcia, Managing Partner, Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder