“Kaizen” is not the original word made by Toyota. It originated about two hundred years ago and had a twin. The twin word is “Kaiaku 【改悪】,” meaning “change for the worse.” (Ohno used this term once in his book “Workplace Management.”)
Let’s admit the truth. We all make bad changes.
The biggest mistake that we make is not making bad changes. It is failing to admit that we have made a bad change.
A company was failing to improve. The CEO hated the “Lean” program, so we were invited to investigate it. As we toured the shop floor, we saw many bad improvements. One example is an automatic empty box exchange device—the catch: The operator had to keep pushing the button for thirty seconds. If the operator changes the box without the device, they can do so in less than five seconds. I kept asking why you needed this device from the engineer who implemented it. There was no honest answer. Eventually, the operator yelled, “That’s why we don’t use this!” That was the customer's real voice. However, the manager said that the workers do not understand Kaizen. I pushed back, saying that the managers and the engineers are the ones who misunderstand Kaizen. They can’t admit their mistakes.
In another place, a new “Lean” guy came. His first suggestion was to change all the machines since they were too old. Our TPM program ran successfully, and old machines efficiently produced high-quality products. There was no need to buy new machines. As his words started to confuse everyone, the management investigated his background. He wasn’t “lean” at all. He couldn’t make the standardized work. His former plant went bankrupt due to high costs. The reason for bankruptcy can’t be just production, but there were some contributions to the problem. Yet, he didn’t consider his behaviors a problem and tried to repeat them in a new environment.
We all make “Kaiaku,” but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make changes. An equally important problem is not making changes because we are afraid of making bad changes.
I believe that the first version of Kaizen never works. I will try my best to make the Kaizen work from the first time. Still, there is a considerable chance that Kaizen will not perform as intended. But that doesn’t mean the direction of an idea is terrible, and we need to give up. We need to understand why the new method did not work. Those reasons often provide deeper insights into the resources we did not consider initially.
Some people live in a fantasy world where every Kaizen is successful from the first time. Such will stay in the meeting room and keep discussing a “perfect” Kaizen. The problem is there is no “perfect” plan for Kaizen. It is better to go by trial and error. This doesn’t mean we don’t need a plan; instead of wasting time trying to come up with “perfection,” we should plan trials and errors so that we can be successful.
As we say, what should we do with “Kaiaku”? We need to keep changing until it becomes “Kaizen.” Keep trying.
Perhaps understanding “Kaiaku” will help one understand “Kaizen” better.
🔹 Why do we try to Kaizen without using money?
Invested assets that become a “Kaiaku” will have a bizarre impact on business. Typical plants will have such monuments on the shop floor. The problem is not just space occupancy, higher cost, or bad quality. It damages people, operators, engineers, and managers. It just drains their energy. The lousy investment will take away considerable time, energy, and effort from these people. And, will we tell these people to “continuously improve”? They will look at you with disbelief and ask you to get them out of this mess first.
Mistakes made without financial contributions are easier to correct. Even if we choose to stop, the damage is minimal. Sometimes, we laugh about our mistakes because they were cheap. It is inexpensive but often provides many lessons. A cardboard mockup can give so many insights before actually changing the layouts. Ducktape can test a hypothesis. Such cheap solutions can test many hypotheses immediately.
🔹 Why does Kaizen focus on small incremental improvement?
Any change will reveal something. We should ensure that we reveal and understand those impacts, no matter how minor. We shouldn’t leave them as “Kaiaku.” Even if a small change is a “Kaiaku,” it will frustrate the people who will directly deal with those minor problems. Make small changes, reveal small issues, and solve them one by one.
We will eventually implement significant changes, but when we face such changes, ensure you have people capable of handling the small ones. Often, change fails not because of one big problem but because of the accumulation of minor problems. Think of Kaizen as practice towards more enormous upcoming changes. If you can’t do Kaizen, stop talking about significant things.
So, Kaizen is important. But once in a while, recall the twin, “Kaiaku.” Consider using these words together. Together, they prompt reflection on whether a change was good or bad. Admit that bad changes do happen. Admit if the change was bad. Yet, don’t go back to no change. Understand why the good intentions failed and improve further. Never think that all Kaizen would work from version one. Keep understanding the minor impacts and problem-solve them. After all, a small Kaiaku can lead to good Kaizen if we don’t give up.