The remarkable new strategy to implement lean manufacturing and improve quality, cost, and delivery. Understand why traditional improvement strategies don't work, and why Kaizen Events are the ideal tool to achieve breakthrough results. How to grow your own internal Kaizen Event leaders even if you start with outside consultants. Review a checklist of preparatory steps you must take to lead your kaizen team to success. Understand the results your Kaizen Events should deliver, and how to set achievable breakthrough goals. How to chose team members for your Kaizen Events, and why asking for volunteers is not the best answer. How to teach your team to identify and eliminate non-value-added steps, and how doing so will improve your quality, productivity, and delivery. Learn what to do each day of the Kaizen Event, and how to stay on track. How to avoid a long list of lingering action items after your Kaizen Events. How to sustain the results attained during kaizen events over the long-term. Learn the similarities and differences among lean manufacturing, JIT, demand flow, and cellular manufacturing. Gain a solid understanding of pull scheduling, one-piece continuous flow, work cells, set-up reduction, preventive maintenance, kanban, 5S and standard work. Understand the limits of Kaizen Events and how to accelerate improvement after the first two years. How to use kaizen events to improve non-manufacturing areas like product development, receiving, MIS, and accounting. And more!

Average Customer Review: ( 9 customer reviews )
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I shared this book with others in my organization and immediately they desired to get started. Any book that helps break down the resistance to Lean Manufacturing concepts and shows you how to engage your workforce and their leadership in this common goal is a winner. I highly recommend this to anyone that is struggling with implementing Lean Manufacturing in their facility.

4 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Just What I Was Looking ForFeb 28, 2001

I have about 4 years experience using and implementing many of the lean ideas and techniques described in Mr. Regan's book. I recently started a new job where one of my missions was to implement "lean manufacturing" in the facility. I have often struggled to describe the "event" tool and have had to resort to telling folks "you'll understand it when you do it." Mr. Regan's book is another tool in my personal tool box to use to effectively outline the "event" process before I throw a group of folks into one. "The Kaizen Revolution"'s narrative style is easy to read and is therefore effective for any and all levels of the organization. This is a must read for organizations considering a move to lean or are just starting one.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

The Kaizen RevolutionApr 29, 2005
By GirlThinker
Michael Regan writes his methodology of lean Kaizen methodology into a novel form. I have never really been fond of the novel approach to explaining business concepts. I feel like I just have to strip away the story and get to the facts. Which for some reason in my case becomes more more work for less results. But I can understand how that genre works for some.

Concepts that I found interesting

In value added versus non-value added tasks work is transformed. More precisely he uses the definition "A process step is value added if it causes a change in the physical state of the material in accordance to customer specifications" Waiting and moving are not transforming the work. Hence not value added in and of themselves.

The approach here is to make a value analysis

1) make a list of the process steps

2) determine value added and time elapsed

Note: Each process step is an opportunity to make mistakes and every step induces costs. Don't try to do things faster, instead try to eliminate process steps.

Regan also list the common ingredients to all similar lean methodologies

1) Just in time production

2) Continious one-piece flow (a product never stops moving until it is a finished product and there is no place for problems to hide)

3) Work cells

4) Reduction of Set Up Time

5) Preventative Maintenance

6) Kanban

7) Work place organization and cleanliness (also known as 5S, Sort, Straighten, Scrub, Schedule, Score ie Measure through visual management) Making it a daily ritual. Do not have material in your work place that you are not using and also have everything it is place.

8) Standard Work (Here the concept is about creating documentation so that a typical person in that role can pick it up and do that task. Fit on one side of one piece of paper.

9) Team of employess who think and take initiative

Another interesting concept is how underlying trust is important because we are asking people to transform their own job, a possibily to hopefully eliminate it.

In the appendix he includes a idea generating tips.

I especially appreciated

1) Give people a reason to think of improvement ideas

2) Supervisors stop reacting and solving problems rather lead

3) Problems are like elephants.... best to eat them one bite at a time.

5) Take time for reflection i.e. Lessons Learned

6) Have people cross trained.

Thanks for the listen. Happy Reading!

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Supplemental readingSep 08, 2001
By Stan Hollis
Great theory, but lacks applicability. Recommended reading for those contemplating using Kaizen in the workplace. Needs to be balanced out by reading a How-to-do-it book, such as the "Kaizen Event Implementation Manual", which does help you actually conduct a perfect Kaizen event.

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