The big goal is to see mistakes as opportunities to learn. In this way, instead of looking for which person in the company can be blamed for the error, what is intended is to take corrective actions, then proceeding to widely distribute the knowledge acquired from said experiences.
Introduction
Gone are the days when a company could set up a workshop, make a good product, and then exploit that product for years, riding on its original competitive advantage. Adaptation, innovation and flexibility have knocked that old business approach off its pedestal and become the must-have ingredients for survival, as well as hallmarks of successful businesses.
In the business world, the Toyota Production System (TPS) is designed to push members of the organization to think, learn and grow. Toyota is process-oriented, and consciously and deliberately invests long-term in people systems, technology, and processes that collaborate to achieve high value for customers. Here the systems refer to all those appropriate work processes and procedures to carry out a task with the minimum amount of time and effort. Toyota's philosophy is clearly focused on processes and their continuous improvement, knowing that this will make the financial results set as objectives viable. The correct process will produce the correct results, and continuous improvement can only take place after a stable and standardized process.
The core of continuous improvement (kaizen) and learning is an attitude and a way of thinking of all leaders and all their associates. An attitude of self-reflection and even self-criticism, a burning desire to improve.
In the West, criticism and the admission of errors are viewed negatively and as a sign of weakness. In western companies, the person who made the mistake is usually always sought, leading the staff to hide the errors or mistakes. While in Japan and its companies, the solution to the problem is sought. Understanding and understanding the processes and their failures or errors is what enables the growth of both personnel and the company. The great objective is to recognize the failure, to later go after its root cause, to then find the best solution and proceed to its application (execution).
Responsibility, self-reflection and organizational learning
Teamwork at Toyota never replaces individual responsibility. By individual responsibility we do not refer to questions of complaints or punishments, but to learning and personal growth. The key to such learning lies in hansei, a Japanese word meaning "reflection."
Without hansei it is impossible to have kaizen. In other words, without constant reflection, continuous improvement is impossible. In Japanese hansei, when you do something wrong, you should feel really embarrassed at first. Then you need to plan how to solve the problem and prevent it from happening again. Hansei is a way of thinking, an attitude. Hansei and kaizen go hand in hand. Hansei is the incubator of change. If you want to improve, overcome problems and prevent them, you need to think about it, reflect constantly. Learning that philosophy is the basis of success for kaizen. Kaizen is not feasible without hansei.
Hansei goes hand in hand with the Deming wheel, that is, with Plan-Perform-Evaluate and Act. Hansei is something that never ends.
Much of a man's life is spent at work. Work not only means meeting your biological and fundamental needs, but also the possibility of self-development through a job well done. We can make an art as much of the decision, as of the processes, of the products and of the services. Well, why not make it feasible? This way of thinking about continuous improvement of processes and products or services, that is hansei. This is why we say that hansei is the basis for kaizen.
Many Western consultants believe that teaching different methodologies and tools is enough, but this is not enough and is the cause of frustrating implementations of kaizen in the West. In order to successfully implement kaizen, it is necessary to previously deepen hansei as a way to incorporate constant reflection that leads to the need and continuous search for improvement.
Seeking simplicity, and the detection, prevention and elimination of molts
The continuous search for simplified processes. Putting simplicity of design as the overriding goal, whether it's about process design or product or service design, is an essential part of Toyota's thinking. Systematically detecting, preventing, and eliminating molts (waste in Japanese) is the other major goal of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
What cannot previously be in the mind, and even in the "heart", that is, in the desire and love to achieve perfectibility, cannot be put into action. As in the case of martial arts, the object is destroyed first in the mind before launching the blow. In the same way, improvement must be realized in the mind through hansei and then take action through kaizen.
Hansei consists of that continuous struggle of the human being to improve, to make his work hours not merely a work devoid of evolution and personal satisfaction. Hansei is the previous step, the trigger to make kaizen possible.
conclusion
Whether it is to speed up tool changes, implement the Five “S”, improve quality levels and customer satisfaction, thinking and constantly rethinking about the need for its implementation is essential. It is as if it were merely practicing kicking and punching and thus thought that you are doing karate or kung fu. Not so, all of this has a philosophy that gives it life and supports it. Without that philosophy, both the blows and the management tools fall under their own weight.
Unfortunately, many engage in kaizen consulting without knowing the essence of their philosophy, leading to the failures registered in the various implementations.
Let's look for philosophy and make kaizen an authentic and powerful way to improve not only financial results, but also the quality of life in the company.
Bibliography
Kaizen - Mauricio Lefcovich - www.gestiopolis.com - 2003
Kaizen. The key to Japanese competitive advantage- Masaaki Imai - Editorial CECSA - 1999.
