Key Points

• Kaizen has existed since World War II, and going digital has only improved its likelihood of success. 
• The continuous improvement concept involves making small, incremental changes to existing processes to achieve big results. 
• The hope is that combining technology and continuous improvement will improve data flow, collaboration, and overall results. 

When you think about how technology has improved over the last hundred years, you can think about the car, the microwave, the television, smartphones, and so much more. Just as technology has improved our lives, it’s also doing something similar in the workforce and in the workplace. 

When diving deeper into the workplace, it should go without saying that every time a company looks at some problem and doesn’t immediately tackle it, it can evolve and eventually spiral out of control. It’s for this reason that the Kaizen framework exists. 

What Is Digital Kaizen? 

The term “kaizen” comes from two Japanese words: “kai,” meaning ‘change,’ and “zen,” meaning ‘good,’ but is often translated into “change for the better.”

Originating from a post-World War II Japanese business environment, the Kaizen movement was born as the country looked to rebuild its economy. More specifically, Japanese manufacturers were looking for a way to reduce waste across an organization and become more efficient. 

Among the key principles of Kaizen are several different ideas that serve as its backbone, including the concept of continuous, albeit incremental improvement. Instead of pushing for massive movement inside a company, Kaizen looks for multiple small changes that can be implemented.

Continuous Improvement

If you’re wondering where “continuous improvement” fits in, it’s a term also rooted in the Japanese concept of Kaizen. It essentially means to work on continuously improving everything you do. American Engineer William Edwards Deming introduced this concept while working on fixing the Japanese economy in the aftermath of the Second World War. 

In this area, continuous improvement generally focuses on four primary actions with the PDSA cycle. The first is to “Plan,” which means establishing objectives and determining what needs to be done to achieve them. The second is “Do,” which is about executing the plan.

“Study” is to look at the results you are receiving and compare them with those you initially expected and hoped to discover. Lastly, “Act” is to improve the process to achieve greater results.

Continuous Improvement Versus Transformation 

One of the questions that surfaces the most around continuous improvement is how it compares against transformation. First and foremost, continuous improvement focuses on making small changes over time. Alternatively, digital or otherwise, transformation looks to change the “base state” of something, or not just the process of something, but to shift the entire direction of an organization. 

The hope is that continuous improvement always allows organizations to improve, no matter what kind of business they are in. On the other hand, you have a transformation that focuses less on the need to enhance what is currently taking place and instead does something completely different. 

Where Does “Digital Kaizen” Fit In? 

Enhancing Traditional Kaizen Events

The answer is straightforward when you think about how Digital Kaizen fits into continuous improvement, as it can make these events feel even faster and more data-driven. Utilizing technology to introduce real-time analytics into an organization that can quickly help identify where waste is taking place is just one example of technology already helping. 

You also have to consider how virtual platforms like video chatting allow for increased global participation, which means getting the perspective of every side of an organization. In other words, Kaizen’s focus on making minor, incremental improvements can scale impact over time, and organizations often report as much as 25% shorter event cycles when integrating digital tools. 

Strengthening PDCA Cycles

The concept of PCDA cycles, or Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles, is all about real-time feedback, which technology has helped introduce significantly. You can examine how to check data immediately, validate that data quickly, and take immediate action on the spot. 

The introduction of technology also allows for more standardization of improvement processes across the organization, making improvement results more likely to be consistent. The more consistent an organization finds itself, the more likely it is to see success with every subsequent change.

Optimizing Kaizen With Digital Tools

When you understand exactly how digital kaizen leads to continuous improvement and where technology plays a role, everything becomes much clearer. 

Real-Time Data Analytics 

When you think about digital sensors, IoT, and all of the connected machinery in the world, you think of a massive amount of data that can be processed and analyzed. This stream of information allows for real-time operational views, so even the most minor deviations and trends can be identified as they happen.

Instead of relying on manual data entry, which often leads to human error, technology, especially artificial intelligence, can provide more timely and accurate information. 

Single Source of Data

Another area where technology plays a big role is that you can provide a single data source, no matter how small or incremental the change is. In other words, the advent of things like cloud technology allows for a single repository of all relevant information an organization can use to start making changes. 

This eliminates data silos and ensures that all of the relevant information necessary to changes taking place are available to everyone and every team that might need it. This simplifies everything and eliminates the potential of one team working with an incomplete picture. This single data source also increases the likelihood of collaboration, which makes for consistent improvement efforts. 

Automated Reporting

Continuing with the idea that technology enhances the quality and real-time arrival of data reports, you can build on this with automated reporting. Instead of going in and reactively pulling numbers to identify trends, you can have automated reports delivered daily, weekly, monthly, and annually to keep a constant eye on progress. 

There is no question that automated reporting will save time and money and allow deadlines to be met, so even the small Kaizen changes being made stay on schedule. 

Digital Collaboration 

This was mentioned earlier, but the idea of digital collaboration is such a strong technology introduction that it makes everything feel smoother. Gone are the days when everyone involved in organizational changes had to be in the same room. 

Real-time communication tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams are the future, and they make it just as easy to manage deadlines and assign tasks as if everyone were standing in the same room. Even the programs themselves help ensure everyone stays on task, with task lists everyone can see, so projects are checked off as they are completed. 

In addition to Zoom and Teams, you have tools like online whiteboards where everyone can trace ideas to help with continuous improvement changes. These virtual white spaces will be super helpful in ensuring that all teams feel equally involved in the changes, so long as they choose to write their ideas on a whiteboard that everyone in the organization can see. 

Digital Simulation 

Lastly, simulation is one big way technology benefits continuous improvement inside an organization. Before an organization decides to start action, even small ones, companies can simulate and/or model the real-world impact so they know exactly what will happen before getting started.

By taking advantage of digital simulations, organizations can understand all of the risks and look at various models to see exactly which steps would lead to the most effective solutions in what order. This would allow companies to optimize their improvement strategies and avoid costly, irreversible mistakes. 

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

Even with everything explained above, one of the big questions people will likely ask is how digital kaizen and digital transformation differ. While similar, they are not the same, as Kaizen focuses on small improvements, while digital transformation focuses on broader, more sweeping strategies, including fundamentally changing how a company receives data and introduces new tools and processes. 

In addition, you also have to consider how artificial intelligence and automation fit into everything. Automation will undoubtedly play a significant role, but artificial intelligence is equally important to continuous improvement. It may be the most essential technology today that can be directly tied to how technology transforms organizations through continuous improvement strategies. 

Conclusion 

At the end of the day, continuous improvement can and should be a staple of large and small organizations that want to make changes but do so methodically and carefully. However, organizations looking to make sweeping process changes are unlikely to find Kaizen the right solution.

Instead, some companies might consider other methodologies, such as Lean Six Sigma or a full digital transformation strategy, as better options to achieve their goals of being more efficient and eliminating waste.

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