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Eric Hayler is a Lean Six Sigma Master Blackbelt and principal of the Hayler Group. He's also an adjunct professor of business analytics at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He has led continuous improvement efforts at BMW manufacturing, as well as Amazon. He's a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a PhD in solid state inorganic chemistry. He's also a long-time member of ASQ and has served in a variety of roles there, including chair of the board of directors.

Michelle: So, you spoke [at the Assembly Show] about Kaizen events. Could you tell us why you wanted to discuss this topic?

Eric: Sure. Kaizen events is one of the basic tools in the Lean Manufacturing Toolkit. But even so, the results that it can bring are very, very powerful. So, simple, straightforward methodology, but really impactful results.

Michelle: So, if someone is considering doing a Kaizen event, what would they need to plan? And execute it?

Eric: Well, maybe, I should explain what a Kaizen event is, for sure. So, Kaizen is a Japanese word that means good change or change for the better. Kaizen event is a term that comes out of the Toyota Production System. I think most folks know that Toyota was responsible for developing and refining many of the methodologies that we associate with lean manufacturing today.

So, Kaizen event is a continuous improvement or problem solving workshop. Now, when Toyota started doing these events, they were scoped out to last a full week. And traditionally, most Kaizen events, which are done on the shop floor, last between 3 and 5 days. Now, over time, that's changed considerably. Sometimes, appropriately scaled events can be done in 1 or 2 days.

Sometimes. And since the days of initially implementing them on the shop floor, they've also migrated to the indirect processes in organizations. In other words, the support areas, like human resources, finance, accounting and other departments. And so, when we scope out those, they usually are scoped to last, to go a little bit quicker, maybe 1 or 2 days.

Michelle: So, if people are thinking about doing a Kaizen event, are there common questions they would ask you or things that people may not understand about them?

Eric: Sure. Things like, how do I get started and how can I/am I expected to lead to an event? How do I lead an event?

Now, when I got started with Kaizen, the first thing that I did was participate in the Kaizen event. Then I received some basic training about how you would lead one. I was a co-facilitator on, I think, I did two. Most folks just do one, but I co-facilitated two.

And then after, I supported leading a workshop, then I led a workshop in the presence of somebody who has a lot of experience before I started doing that on my own. So that's kind of how you would get started, with facilitating them. Make sure you get the appropriate training, not just the tools and methods.