Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In Gemba Kaizen, world-class quality expert Masaaki Imai focuses the result-boosting techniques of kaizen on the place where they'll do the most good - gemba - the most critical areas of business performance. Defined as the "real place" where real action occurs, gemba is where products are developed (the lab and design table) and made (the shop floor), and where services are provided (the service center, retail outlet, or wherever customers come into contact with the service provider). Small kaizen enhancements to these key operations will multiply into greater success and profits many times over. Importantly, you don't need sophisticated technology, complex procedures, or expensive equipment to benefit from gemba kaizen. "The best solutions are the simple solutions," says Imai. The world's most successful corporations don't get that way by wasting millions of dollars reengineering. Instead, in Gemba Kaizen, Imai proves that these companies achieve phenomenal business success by doing many "little things" exceedingly well ... and shows you how to apply, with minimal cost, this philosophy to achieving greater results in your own business.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly

Rarely can an author take credit for changing the way business works, but Imai did just that in 1986, in his native Japan, when he wrote Kaizen (Japanese for "continuous, incremental improvement"). As a result of that book, thousands of businesses made incremental improvement a daily goal. Here, in this straightforward sequel, Imai shows exactly how kaizen should be implemented. The starting point, he argues, is at the gemba ("the place where the real work is done"). The gemba could be the assembly line in a manufacturing plant, or, at a service company, where employees interact with customers. Wherever it is, though, it is definitely not behind a manager's desk. Imai identifies the three major steps in implementing kaizen at the gemba: pay attention to housekeeping (keeping only your necessary tools nearby); eliminate waste (everything from overproduction to defective quality); and standardize (make sure the improvements in the first two steps are carried on indefinitely). The roles for line workers, managers and chief executives are also detailed here, as are numerous case studies that help bring this thought-provoking book to life.

Publishers Weekly

Rarely can an author take credit for changing the way business works, but Imai did just that in 1986, in his native Japan, when he wrote Kaizen (Japanese for "continuous, incremental improvement"). As a result of that book, thousands of businesses made incremental improvement a daily goal. Here, in this straightforward sequel, Imai shows exactly how kaizen should be implemented. The starting point, he argues, is at the gemba ("the place where the real work is done"). The gemba could be the assembly line in a manufacturing plant, or, at a service company, where employees interact with customers. Wherever it is, though, it is definitely not behind a manager's desk. Imai identifies the three major steps in implementing kaizen at the gemba: pay attention to housekeeping (keeping only your necessary tools nearby); eliminate waste (everything from overproduction to defective quality); and standardize (make sure the improvements in the first two steps are carried on indefinitely). The roles for line workers, managers and chief executives are also detailed here, as are numerous case studies that help bring this thought-provoking book to life. (May)

Library Journal