Both Kaizen and Just in Time are systems designed to suppress inefficiencies and waste in production processes. Meanwhile, Kaizen is based on the implementation of five fundamental systems, among which is just in Time, the others being:
- TQM (Total Quality Management) Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Small Group Activities Suggestion System Policy Deployment
Just in Time is based on the implementation of:
- Quick Setup Times (SMED) TQMTPM Vendor Relations Layout
Both have methods and tools in common and, both in one and the other system, Total Quality is the supreme objective in order to eliminate waste, such as:
- Transport Mutes Movement Mutes Processing Mutes Inventory Mutes Overproduction Mutes Waiting Mutes Reprocessing Mutes Inspection Mutes
These being the classic dumps (waste) on the basis of which they are detected, prevented and eliminated in the workplace (gemba), in order to reduce costs through:
- The shortening of the production line The reduction in the times of the operating cycles The reduction in the idle times of the machinery and equipment The increase in the productivity The improvement of the quality The reduction in the occupied space And, the reduction of inventories
It is considered that the factory that operates under traditional management systems has twice as many personnel as necessary, four times more space and uses ten times more time than factories that operate under Kaizen / Just in Time Systems. In this way, waste represents an average of 25 to 35 percent of turnover.
This makes it possible to clearly appreciate the ability to increase profits through the systematic search and elimination of waste (doffs).
However, the levels of waste are directly related to the levels of irregularities existing in the processes (mura in Japanese) and the levels of stressful work (muri) registered in them.
The mura implies the existence of "bottlenecks" that decrease the speed of the processes, increase waiting times and reduce productivity, bringing as a final consequence the increase in average costs.
While the death is given by the stress to which both the personnel and the machines are subjected, due to factors such as the lack of preparation, training or qualification in the case of the personnel, or the lack of proper maintenance for the machine. case of machines and equipment.
The existence of both mura and muri give rise to mudas (waste). Let's look at an example. A person who is poorly trained and trained for a specific task generates less production and has a slower work rate, apart from the errors and failures that they commit in their performance, thereby reducing productivity levels not only due to their lower performance, but also also because of the effect this has on the rest of the process.
Therefore, both Taichi Ohno, the precursor of Just in Time, and Imai, the compiler of Kaizen, insist and concentrate their research and teaching efforts on the systematic elimination of all types of waste, and any activity or process that does not generate value should be understood as such. added for the end customer, who is the one who ultimately pays for the company's activities with their resources. It depends on how efficient the use of such resources is by the company, the possibility that it has to continue its existence.
It is these systems that have originated the Target Cost System, a system that, based on the price set by the market for a specific product or service, proceeds to deduct the percentage of profit to which the company aspires based on the profitability levels on the investment, the cost of capital and the levels of risks assumed for this type of activity in particular.
From this there are the costs that must be reached, an objective for which the proper use of the various resources must be improved to the maximum.
A good way to know the level of unproductivity is starting from the standard time (man-hours) necessary to produce a unit of a certain product, how long it takes to generate “n” quantity. Then considering that amount of time with the amount of time used, we deduct the percentage of productivity and as a consequence the percentage of unproductivity. The latter being generated by waiting times, product reprocessing, product quality failures, excess preparation times, lack of materials or supplies, breakages or breakdowns of machines and equipment, excessive internal transport, among others.
Similar analyzes can and should be carried out to determine productivity levels in the use of inputs and materials.
Why this obsession to eliminate waste? For many reasons. First, it is the best way to increase the profits of the company. It is more efficient and economical to increase profits by reducing costs than trying to achieve it by increasing sales.
Second, generating higher quality not only contributes to reducing costs but also to improving customer satisfaction levels, thereby increasing repeat sales, as well as attracting new customers. Third, since it is cheaper to retain customers than to acquire new ones, the improvement in quality, costs and response times (CQD) also effectively contributes to improving the bottom line of the scoreboard.
It is not enough to get products without defects or failures, or to offer products for sale free of defects, you have to ask yourself how many repairs, rework and waste of materials and man hours took place to achieve it. Many entrepreneurs boast of generating high quality products, but they forget to calculate, analyze and / or mention how much waste and unproductiveness they have had in their processes.
Today in a world of extremely high competitiveness at a global level and with high levels of demands from customers and consumers, it is not enough to generate excellent products, but rather they must be produced with excellence "the first time", avoiding excesses of time, of materials, and hours of work among others. Today the market demands quality at low prices, with variety, quantity and availability at the right time and place. Failure to do so will mean for companies that fail to be left out of the market.
Kaizen means continuous improvement, and Just in Time is the search for the best use of resources, both systems depend on each other. Both depend on the achievement of the highest levels of quality, and just as Just in Time requires continuous improvement to eliminate each of the seedlings, Kaizen makes the elimination of the seedlings the form of continuous improvement.
The main one of all changes is the waste of time, and this is the resource that all those companies that do not seek in time the continuous improvement and the systematic elimination of unproductivities. Failure to do so will imply being out of the race.
In a world with high competitiveness and falling tariff barriers, non-tradable activities (not feasible to trade internationally) will be the main objective of those who are subjected to international competition and find it necessary to reorient their activities. What does this imply? It implies that not only companies exposed to international trade must inevitably improve their competitive capacity, but also those that will suffer indirectly from the results of the others.
Thus, if the entrepreneur "AB" cannot continue to compete with companies from Korea, Taiwan or China, it will turn its resources to activities in sectors not subject to foreign competition. I think I have made it clear that the slogan is to improve or cease to exist sooner or later.
Bibliography
- Kaizen Strategy - Mauricio Lefcovich Achieving Success Through Kaizen - Mauricio Lefcovich Kaizen: The Japanese Management of Excellence - Mauricio Lefcovich Just-in-time Manufacturing System - Mauricio Lefcovich Kaizen Explained - Mauricio Lefcovich Operations Management. Strategy and Analysis. Krajewski and Ritzman - Prentice Hall - 1999
