The Journey Toward Lean Manufacturing: Applying The Kaizen Blitz Method To Improving Operations

Abstract

The authors researched an interesting example of the application of the Kaizen Blitz method to improving operations in a clean-room plant located in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN, USA, which is part of a division of a large, international medical products manufacturing company. Heart-lung devices used in open heart surgery are manufactured in the plant. Under pressure to reduce medical costs and having benchmark data from competitors, it was clear that operations involved in manufacturing the heart-lung devices had lead times that were too long, required far too much inventory, were too labor-intensive in spite of using several expensive automated procedures, and had comparatively low yield rates, resulting in far too much waste. The information and data gathered by the authors were organized into a case study that is suitable for teaching process improvement methods in a university course as well as for industry training. The case details the context in which the Kaizen Blitz method was used, how it was applied, documents before and after conditions with key performance statistics, as well as provides background information on the Kaizen Blitz method. Selected references and sources are also provided.