ABSTRACT
Overview Kaizen. events. are. workshops. in. which. processes. are. analyzed. and. improved. in. a.matter.of.days..This.process. improvement.approach. is.very.applicable. to.office. environments.in.which.many.of.the.root.causes.for.process.breakdowns.are.due.to. communication.issues.within.and.across.departments..Bringing.people.who.interact. across.the.many.process.boundaries.that.are.characteristic.of.global.supply.chains.is. always.a.useful.way.to.understand.a.process.problem.from.different.organizational. and.cultural.perspectives..It.should.be.noted.that.not.every.process.problem.can.be. analyzed.and.eliminated.within.a.few.days..However,.larger-scale.projects.should. only.be.created.to.understand.the.causes.of.more.complicated.problems..Understanding. how. to. identify. and. deploy. rapid. improvement. projects. is. important. because.too.many.Lean.Six.Sigma.projects.are.focused.on.a.three-.to.five-month.Six. Sigma.problem-solving.methodology..In.my.experience.with.thousands.of.projects,. I.have.found.that.perhaps.up.to.80.percent.or.more.require.basic.Lean.tools.and. methods.for.their.solution..In.fact,.in.many.situations,.Kaizen.events.would.have. been.the.most.useful.process.improvement.approach..However,.Lean.and.statistical. problem-solving.tools.are.important.and.will.be.discussed.in.Chapter.5..In.summary,.an.overly.complicated. improvement.methodology. is.usually.not.necessary. to. improve.office.processes..Why.complicate. an. improvement.project. and.waste. valuable.resources.and.time?
