KAIZEN – A case study

Manjunath Shettar*, Pavan Hiremath**, Nikhil R***, Vithal Rao Chauhan****

*Asst. Professor, Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.,

**Asst. Professor, Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka, India.

***Asst. Professor, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi India.

****Asst. Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rao Bahadur Y Mahabale shwarappa Engineering College, Bellary, India.

Kaizen 26

Abstract

The ultimate objective of manufacturing industries is to increase productivity with high quality. At present, many manufacturing companies are facing problems such as high quality rejection, high inventories, high lead time, high costs of production, and inability to cope with customer orders. 

By implementing and practicing the lean production system many problems can be solved without employing high-tech and high-touch approaches but by involving people on the shop floor in Kaizen activities.

Kaizen is one of the powerful tools of lean manufacturing. Kaizen refers to continuous improvement in performance, cost and quality.

Kaizen ensures that manufacturing processes become leaner and fitter, but eliminate waste (problem) where value is added.

The main objective of this paper is to provide a background on kaizen, present an overview of kaizen concepts that are used to transform a company into a high performing lean enterprise.  A case study of implementation of Kaizen?s has been discussed.

Keywords:

Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing, Muda, Lead time,..