Self-discipline plays a key role in Japanese culture, especially in the workplace. The workplace, Gemba, is where value is generated. Kaizen philosophy influenced five powerful practices that use self-discipline to keep the Gemba streamlined. These are the five Ss. The first of the five Ss of proper workplace organization is Seiri, which means to sort out all unnecessary items from the Gemba. It’s a popular Kaizen technique, in which a leader will walk through the Gemba and mark everything that’s not essential with red tape. Next, the workers have the opportunity to object to any labelling and prove that a tagged item is necessary. After that, all items still tagged will be removed. After Seiri comes Seiton, which means to straighten things out. All necessary items maintain an orderly place, so that everyone knows where to find them at all times. The third S is Seiso: sweep the work floor, keeping everything clean and tidy. Seiketsu is the fourth step. It’s about systematizing the first three steps, which means ensuring your workplace practices Seiri, Seiton and Seiso every day. Going through these four steps finally builds Shitsuke, the last S. Shitsuke is about maintaining and standardizing what you’ve achieved so far. It implies becoming self-disciplined and doing the other four Ss as a habit. Some Japanese companies take the five Ss very seriously. On one occasion, a group of Japanese managers inspected a German factory that their company wanted to buy. But upon seeing workers smoking in the Gemba, they decided not to buy the factory, convinced that the workers had no self-discipline. The five Ss are the backbone of creating a Kaizen philosophy on a daily basis. A well-organized workplace is the starting point for other important Kaizen tools like visual management and reducing waste. More on those tools in the next book summarys!

These days you often hear people claiming to be visual thinkers. Well, the truth is that we all are! Pictures and charts are great aids for understanding abstract situations and concepts. And that’s where visual management comes in. This strategy employs a combination of simple visual tools to provide information on working processes. Visual management helps identify problems and makes it easier to maintain standards. When a manager makes her rounds, she doesn’t have the time to play detective and look for hidden problems. Instead, visual tools will provide her with all the essential information. You can use symbols to indicate where a worker has to stand. If the manager walks through the Gemba and sees that the worker isn’t at his place, she’ll know that there’s something wrong. Visualizing also highlights the potential for improvement. If, using a whiteboard, you map out the day’s goals, the tasks already accomplished and the work in progress, you can tell with a single glimpse if there’s still something left to improve. Imagine you have two production lines. One manufactures front tires, the other rear tires. If every completed pair is noted on the whiteboard, it becomes clear when one line is operating much faster than the other. To better synchronize both lines, simply exchange fast workers with slow workers and neither line needs to wait for the other. Visual management can also motivate employees by visualizing aims. It’s very rewarding for us to see our progress visualized – think of that great feeling you get from looking at a to-do list with every item checked off! To motivate your employees, why not plot each day’s progress on a chart? It’s a simple trick that yields a great positive impact. Visual management is an invaluable tool in an increasingly complex work environment. It’s cheap, commonsensical and allows us to save our time for the real work that needs doing. With the principles and practices of Gemba Kaizen in place, it’s time to consider the role of a company’s upper management.

Gemba Kaizen isn’t just a strategy: it’s a mind-set. It must be practiced by the head of the company, and practiced in a way that provides a leading example for employees. Think of it this way: a hand couldn’t possibly carry out a motion without the necessary nerve impulse from the brain. A CEO must make it totally clear that Kaizen will be implemented and that everybody has to come on board; otherwise, the goals of productivity and efficiency just won’t be fulfilled. But people don’t always respond well to change. Sometimes employees need a little convincing, and the CEO is the best person for that task. Take lean manufacturing legend Art Byrne as an example. When he enters a company as its new CEO, he personally trains the management in Kaizen, so everybody knows he’s behind it and that it has to be done. And he’s strict: reluctant managers get fired. A CEO also has to immerse himself in the Gemba, or workplace. For example, one CEO of a well-known company cleans the office toilets every morning, setting a model for self-discipline. That’s definitely one way to show that you walk the talk as a leader! CEOs should also remember that a focus on the future is more beneficial than dwelling on the mistakes of the past. A significant portion of a CEO’s time should go toward building an environment of constant improvement. For example, one goal might be to reduce the amount of time spent on a specific task by five percent. Once that’s achieved, another goal has to be set to reach a new level of efficiency. This redefining of goals helps to establish a process of constant improvement. Of course, it’s important for the CEO to be a “lean zealot,” but that’s not all. Read on to find out about another vital aspect of Kaizen leadership.

To understand problems and maintain standards, the manager needs to be in touch with the Gemba. Since standards are the backbone of the working process, they must be maintained constantly. Picture a pizza manufacturer where the mozzarella keeps spoiling over the course of each afternoon.  The solution is for all workers to wash their hands more frequently – this consequently becomes a standard. New, improved standards can also arise from problem solving. But if the standards aren’t maintained, such as if the manager fails to check whether workers do indeed wash their hands, these solutions will quickly be forgotten. Constant improvement secures the future of the company. Every manager has to do his or her part to keep improvements coming. The place for improvements and innovations is the Gemba, so this is where managers should be. Only in the Gemba can one see where elements of Muda exist, and where there is room for improvement. Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda, never had a real office because he was always walking through the Gemba. If the workers see that their managers are in the Gemba, demonstrate Gemba Kaizen and are self-disciplined, their own motivation will increase. Both maintenance and improvement occur within the Gemba. Therefore, the manager needs to be there to do his or her job right. Of course, if the managers are active at all levels of the Gemba, they know their workers much better and both sides have more faith in each other. This is integral to the effective practice of Gemba Kaizen.