Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to a Continuous Improvement Strategy, Second Edition

The definitive, fully up-to-date guide to continuous improvement in the workplace

“An updated version of a classic book that shares a wealth of new healthcare examples and case studies from around the world. The methods in this book will help you improve quality and safety, reduce waiting times, and improve the long-term financial position of your organization. Highly recommended!” –Mark Graban, author of Lean Hospitals and coauthor of Healthcare Kaizen

“Every business faces the iron triangle of quality, cost, and delivery. Conventional thinking claims you cannot have all three. Not only does Mr. Imai turn that thinking on its head, but he shows you exactly how to do it.” — Matthew E. May, author of The Elegant Solution and The Laws of Subtraction

“Masaaki Imai has done it again. The second edition of his famous book not only describes all the tools necessary for any type of business to implement a lean strategy but also includes a large number of excellent case studies.” — Art Byrne, author of The Lean Turnaround

Written by Masaaki Imai, pioneer of modern business operational excellence and founder of the Kaizen Institute, Gemba Kaizen, Second Edition is an in-depth revision of this renowned, bestselling work. The book reveals how to implement cost-effective, incremental improvements in your most critical business processes. Global case studies from a wide range of industries demonstrate how gemba kaizen has been successfully used to:

• Maximize capacity and reduce inventory at Unga Limited, one of Kenya’s largest flour-milling operations
• Change the IT culture at Achmea, a large European insurance firm
• Exceed customer expectations at Walt Disney World in the United States
• Improve quality at Inoue Hospital in Japan
• Transform retail processes at Sonae MC, Portugal’s largest employer
• Practice daily kaizen at Tork Ledervin, a weaving plant in Brazil
• Stamp out muda at Sunclipse, an industrial packaging distributor in the United States
• Manage quality improvement by total workforce involvement at Xuji Group Corporation, an electrical manufacturer in China
• Implement gemba kaizen at many other companies worldwide

To thrive in today’s competitive global economy, organizations need to operate more effectively and profitably than ever before. Developing problem solvers, increasing productivity, improving quality, and reducing waste are essential success factors. Proven strategies for achieving these goals are included in this pioneering guide.

This comprehensive resource offers detailed coverage of important gemba kaizen topics, including:

• Quality, cost, and delivery in the gemba
• The five steps of workplace organization
• Identifying and eliminating muda–any non-value-adding activity
• Visual management
• Supervisors’ roles in the lean workplace
• Gemba managers’ roles and accountability in sustaining high performance
• Just-in-time and total flow management
• The CEO’s role in leading a kaizen culture

The methods presented in Gemba Kaizen, Second Edition reveal that when management focuses on implementing kaizen (incremental, continuous improvement) in the gemba (the worksite) unique opportunities can be discovered for increasing the success and profitability of any organization.