Kaizen Training and Practices - The Cooperative Way

This hubber, as member of the local credit cooperative, was among the invited trainees on Kaizen last June 9, 2012. Unfortunately, he was not able to attend due to a previous commitment.

He told his co-volunteers and the staff that he had already read it on HubPages; articles discussing the essence of Kaizen in every workplace, including this online writing site.

Since, speakers concentrated on the merging of Kaizen practices into a cooperative workplace, the attendees gave me their footnotes regarding the lectures of the seminar.

"COOPERATIVE is the little thing that ADDs up to BIGGER things."

This was the essence of the lecture as the speaker, through video presentation, spilled out how important this 'Kaizen' thing is.

KAIZEN is a Japaneze word for continuous (kai) improvement (zen).

Meaning, a workplace and its employees will observe a process of uplifting the atmosphere of their working relationship and the office itself.

"A successful cooperative creates a good community.

CONCEPTS of KAIZEN

1. Kaizen simplifies the work. The boss will always tell his staff or employees to be smart when serving members of the cooperative. It should be with initiative, never expecting for any rewards in return.

2. Kaizen enhances the productivity in the workplace.

3. Kaizen is a never-ending story. Unless, you change the process, the expected results will also change.

4. Kaizen shows dedication to one's job. Workers show efficiency and great satisfaction as the management expects for better results in production and human relations.

If you are working, whether in a public or private firm, you should remember how KAIZEN works.

FIVE FOUNDATION OF KAIZEN includes:

1. TEAMWORK

2. PERSONAL DISCIPLINE

3. IMPROVED MORALE

4. QUALITY CIRCLE

5. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

   
   So the question is how can other workplaces, apart from the Japanese companies, compete for worldwide acclaim and success?
   We all know that most of the Japanese firms outshine other companies when it comes to quality production of goods.
   If it's good in Japan, it will be beneficial in the USA and other parts of the world, including a little known cooperative in the Philippines.

If you're familiar with the 3R for effective use of things in the office or even homes, you will know the first set of Kaizen in action.

• 3Rs stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

How about a loan procedure being implemented at the credit cooperative?

• 3S will mean Simple, Sustainable and Successful

There are terms that we should know regarding Kaizen.

The 5S Framework in a Japanese Workplace will mean:

• seiri - tidiness or sorting
• seisu - orderliness or systematize
• seitou - cleanliness
• seiketsu -standardize
• shitsuke -maintain discipline

Although, most of the principles are good, it will also depend of the bosses, staff and employees who will implement and pratice the rules and regulations of a particular company.

Pitfalls of Kaizen

1. Decisions of the management keep changing.
2. Enthusiasm of the employees are short-lived.
3. Nobody cares to monitor progress and report it.
4. Management does not support the suggestions of the employees.

So, most of the no-nonsense and uncaring question will be: "Everybody does it this way, why should we do it differently?" Definitely, there will be no change in the operation of a particular workplace. Progress and success will be elusive, since they welcome failure because of their work ethics or attitude.

Always remember the 3Ms when you sense something doesn't fit or not right in the company you're working for.

Let's study these Japanese terms, once more.

1. MUDA means something of "no benefit". It means eliminating the waste (as in wasting time).
2. MURI means something heavy, unreasonable or excessively strained. Or perhaps, workers become stressed due to the loads of work given to them.
3. MURA means something unbalanced or inconsistent.

Areas needing mprovement in a cooperative could be:

• increase in the amount of withdrawals
• standardize or improve the equipment
• livelihood program for the members

We should be vigilant when practicing Kaizen Ways. It will bring us more good than harm, as it will benefit not only the company but the people involved in it.