Kaizen: Step One of the Deming Cycle: Standardize Each Operation





Kaizen is a process of continuous improvement. The Deming cycle, related to the Shewert cycle and the Plan/Do/Check/Act (PDCA) approach, is a methodology that supports implementing kaizen in the workplace.

The descriptions in this article relate to manufacturing in a machine shop, but could be applied to a wide variety of processes.

The Standard Deming PDCA Cycle

The standard Deming cycle is “Plan, Do, Check, Act”. First, plan or revise the plan for making a widget. Second, “do” the work by following the plan: make the widget. Third, check how well the plan worked. (Is the widget free of defects? Did it take the expected amount of time? Was the operation free of problems?) Finally, “act” by implementing the plan if it was indeed a success. The cycle continues because you should return to the “Plan” stage regardless of the success of the previous cycle. There is always room for improvement, even if you achieved your goals in the previous cycle. Conversely, new problems may have been exposed, or created, by the changes as implemented. That is another reason for returning to the “Plan” step.

The “Standardize” Step

This step is necessary for the Deming cycle. Without knowing precisely what should happen during a process, it would be impossible either to make improvements or to measure the effect of those improvements. Essentially, it means “document the process”.

Sometimes this is relegated to the “Act” stage of PDCA, where the advice is to standardize the updated process. Then the documentation is passed to the next cycle’s “Plan” stage.

However, it is listed as the first step on the assumption that you are just starting to use kaizen, and so the documentation is not yet available. Therefore, let’s start with “Standardize”.

What needs to be documented?

Documenting Raw Materials

In a manufacturing company, the raw materials should be known from the bill of materials. For the sake of controlling the quality, this should include:

Documenting Machines

What machines will process these raw materials? Has there been any variation in the sequence of steps? For example, let’s say that a sheet of metal needs two holes, one cut, and some bending. Do some people drill the holes first and cut second, while others cut first and drill second?

What is the expected throughput for these machines? This is the theoretic throughput; actually measuring the real output takes place in the next step.

Documenting Manual and Machine Processes

What starts the manufacturing process: a customer order, a low inventory situation, or spare capacity in the factory? How is that order scheduled? Does anyone process the paperwork before the order can be fulfilled?

Are parts carried by conveyor belts, by hand, by forklift or by truck? Are there inspection stages for raw materials, work-in-process or finished goods? Who decides to route work-in-process to the next work station? Are there delays for communication?

What steps are taken at each machine? Is there a set-up activity before the “work” can begin? Do machines have to be recalibrated periodically?

Are there any time delays in the process, such as waiting for paint to dry? Does this waiting occur in a continuously moving setting, or does work-in-process sit in a stockroom until someone picks it up later?

How long does each step take? How many people are required at any step? (For example, some actions require two people to lift an object).

Documenting Outputs

What is produced? Describe the widget:

After Standardizing: Measure

This documentation provides valuable insight into the current, or recently improved, manufacturing process. We still need to record the benchmark against which the next changes can be measured.

Please continue to the next article describing kaizen’s Deming cycle step two: Measure.

Oskar Olofsson, 2011



Kaizen






Pages with the most "likes":

1 5S PowerPoint - Five Steps to a Better Workplace

2 Kaizen - The zen of doing it better, and making it better

3 Z-value: Setting the Standard

4 Kanban Calculator- A Card to Pull Production

5 MTBF and MTBR




I am a Swedish-based Lean consultant, and the owner of the World-Class-Manufacturing.com web site.

Contact Oskar Olofsson



© WCM Consulting AB, Vaxholm, Sweden