ABSTRACT
The steps for conducting office department kaizen are rather simple but might cause apprehension within the department if their purpose is not clearly explained. When tasks that stay within the department involve quite a few steps, draw the steps out in a flowchart format. Then, question the necessity for each step and/or determine whether improvements can be made to the individual step. A process may involve more than one department; for example, an engineering change may affect placing a purchase order or changing a production schedule. Often, the process flow within a department experiences few delays, but when it is handed off to the next department, delays do occur. A lot of control is lost when responsibility moves from one department to another and a process must wait for operators or equipment to become available.
