Experienced engineers may have heard the term “Kaizen” at some point. It’s a Japanese term meaning “continuous improvement.”
While the concept is relevant to businesses everywhere, it has caught on in the West primarily in manufacturing industries.
At a Kaizen Event, employees share opinions and solutions with one another to fix problems that impact the company. These teamwork exercises also help employees feel a greater sense of belonging, which may result in a greater desire to see their company succeed.
For Manor Tool, workplace safety has greatly improved since hosting Kaizen events.
“We pride ourselves on our Kaizen Events around here,” said John Creighton, sales manager at Manor Tool. “We make internal corrections for operators by bringing in people like myself that work in a different department, who will watch an operator on how he’s packing and try to make it safer for him. The process increases productivity and keeps our operators safe.”
It appears to be working. Manor Tool’s last accident occurred 1,640 days ago.
Manor Tool outlines how they’ve used Kaizen Events to improve workforce efficiency in their whitepaper titled, “How to Use Kaizen Events to Optimize Manufacturing.”
Of course, Kaizen events can be hard to organize and might not be the best solution for all manufacturers looking to reduce costs through improved workforce efficiency. With these manufacturers in mind, Manor Tool also provides a plan for cost savings in a second whitepaper titled “Cost Saving Guide for Metal Stamped Parts.”
This whitepaper explores cost-saving tips concerning materials, tooling, quality control and more – founded on the company’s experience dating back to 1959.
To learn more about Manor Tool and their Kaizen activities, continue reading at ENGINEERING.com.