Learning Series 1 - Kaizen Starts with 5S and Red tagging

On behalf of the Kaizen Club of Zambia , I am pleased to inform you that the First Kaizen Learning series on Thursday evening (17/9) at 17:00 hrs was successful . We had participants from a few organisations , though many who confirmed their participation did not turn up .

The participants were elated at the new knowledge of the PDCA cycle and assured that this is the way forward for Zambia , to embrace PDCA in every walk of life . They appreciated the red tagging principles and the need to eliminate Muda, Muri and Mura .

I , being the first time , am uploading the presentation for the benefit of the mailer members .

 LEARNING SERIES 1 : KAIZEN STARTS WITH 5S & RED TAGGING

As is natural , please note that the readers may not understand a point or two , as much would be discussed during a presentation and hence we urge participation  . Please feel free to mail me on kj@specialised.com.zm for any doubts .

I earnestly request the top management of the organisations to permit your staff who wish to attend these programs at 16:30 hrs on the event days ( once a fortnight , Thursday evenings)  . We assure you that the time is well invested .

The upcoming event , namely the Learning Series -2 of the Kaizen Club of Zambia is a presentation and knowledge sharing on " CUSTOMER SERVICE GAP ANALYSIS" . Many a time , we all know that even if we feel we have provided good service , the customer is dissatisfied . This session will explain what are the gaps that causes such customer dissatisfaction and what can be done about it .

INVITATION TO LEARNING SERIES 2: CUSTOMER SERVICE GAP ANALYSIS

This should be one of the most desired training for any organisation that values its customers , and I wish to have more participation for this program .

SPREAD THE KAIZEN WORD ....

Yours in Kaizen Service

KJ

Episode 7 : Kaizen in Hotel Industry

"Hello , Miss P Good morning and how are you " a voice on Miss P's phone asked

Miss P was startled for a moment and exclaimed " Good morning , Suzuki San is that you , What happened to you for so long and I almost broke down " She was literally in tears while speaking . Miss P , Suzuki San continued , Please see my mail now"  and hung the phone .

The mail reads

" Miss P , I have been travelling continuously and had little access to internet and time to call you , Miss P , anyway I am now back in action . I had been to India with my good friend KJ to a place called Trichy in Southern India and the state of Tamil Nadu . While I was travelling through the town , I found this 4 star Hotel but something on the front , a banner caught my eyes .

With great surprise , we both barged into the Hotel and requested to be connected to their Director , Mr.Rathnakumar who with great enthusiasm accepted to meet us .

We asked him how he came about Kaizen and the progress and I am producing an excerpt of what he told .

Mr. Rathnakumar says , " We have been implementing Kaizen for the past two years now . I wanted to bring up the Service standards in the Hotel and offer a delightful experience to my customers . I found Kaizen being practiced in a manufacturing company in a city called Coimbatore , which is 300 kms from Trichy .

I was wondering if Kaizen and 5S tools will work in a Hotel Industry but was encouraged to try out . We started in a small way and I engaged a consultant to help us through defining 5S and red tagging methodologies to my staff .

The Initial reaction was an expected resistance . What is in it for me . But there were quite a good number of staff who eagerly were willing to participate with a thinking , whether there is anything to gain or not , atleast there is nothing to lose .

So I told my staff whoever is interested to participate can do so , and whoever is not , its fine .

After we started the program , our focus was on 5S and we have done a great deal of reducing Muda in workplace . We conduct regular sessions and reward in a small way those who achieve certain milestones .

I also encouraged my staff to make little mistakes and learn from them . I am fully OK for my staff to make a mistake as long as it is not intentional .

Now with these changes , which were immediately visible to everyone , other members who initially shied away also joined . Now we have all our members participating in the Kaizen promotion and are very enthusiastic in continuously improving our standards .

We face lots of challenges , Unlike any other institution , the Hotel Industry is 24 x 7 , meaning we have to be on our toes servicing customers through out the day and night . Also the business is seasonal , meaning the work load will be huge during season time and most of the staff would tend to avail their vacation during lean season .

But we have managed to have our meetings during shift changes and meticulously planning our schedule so as to have our Kaizen meetings regularly .

I am really passionate about implementing Kaizen and develop more and be an example and leader in the Hotel industry . We have a lot of 5 and 7 star hotels in India and my dream is to surpass those standards of service by Kaizen implementation .

And I know that my business will grow exponentially as a consequence of Kaizen implementation , Thanks for listening to me "

We were amazed on the wonders Kaizen can do in any field of business one is in , and we thanked Mr.Rathnakumar profusely for his time and returned .



More Kaizen stories in coming weeks , Bye till then Miss P .