09 Mar

Continuous Stress Can Pull You Down to the Point of No Return ? Stress Management Will Keep You Grounded

Posted by admin, under Stress Management

Stress and Depression

Stress and depression together make a lethal combination. Both put an individual on the path of destruction. While stress is all around us, depression is generally to be found within. For people who have almost never come face to face with stress and depression, feel that ‘it is all in the mind.’ This is a huge myth, because both these problems are very much a reality. In fact, heightened stress and depression manifest in people in the form of a variety of other debilitating symptoms. These symptoms include:

Back ache Muscle cramps Exhaustion Loss of appetite Increase in appetite Sleeplessness Hypertension Loss of sex drive

Dismissing stress and depression as being “all in the mind” may simplify the issue for people with a complete lack of understanding about these problems. As a matter of fact, these symptoms cause somewhat of a chain reaction in the body which makes it very difficult for sufferers to perform their routine daily chores. Cause for much anguish to sufferers, stress and depression, can become to unmanageable that medical attention may be required.

Stress management

Stress can affect both the body and the mind, leading to tiredness, sickness, lack of concentrate or the inability to think clearly. Stress may even lead to mental breakdown.

Life is full of demands and stress is an inevitable part of it. Response to stress is dependent on the autonomous nervous system and calming the nerves is an art that can be acquired with little outside help. Learning the art of relaxation can transform our lives and increase our energy and efficiency levels. Stress management primarily depends on:

Understanding what stress is What causes stress? Its effects on the human body How to avoid stress?

It is important to learn the art of positive stress management and this comes from a well balanced lifestyle backed up relaxation techniques which include:

Stepping back from the stressing situation Using good breathing techniques to your advantage Mental relaxation Eating a well balanced diet in moderation Trying not to be perfect Thinking positive at all times

Moreover, effective stress management also comes from:

Identifying own stress triggers Adopting techniques that work for you Being aware of your symptoms of stress Accepting yourself the way you are Taking timely action to tackle your problems Looking after yourself physically and mentally Being positive, whatever the situation

Stress relief treatment

The first step in stress relief treatment would be to identify the cause of the stress. It may sometimes come from a known source or sometimes it may become extremely difficult to put a finger to the cause. Therefore, stress treatment will almost always start with stress prevention. Removing yourself from the source of stress can help you address the situation; respite from the source of stress can help relieve it.

However, if the source remains unidentified, you can always discuss your situation with your well-wishers. If stress still exists then you may have to talk to your doctor or a mental health counselor. Treatment varies with the symptoms you illustrate. Treatment may involve simple reassurance to inpatient care and evaluation. In addition you may have to undergo:

Careful workup and evaluation Regular exercise program Constant reassurance Biofeedback Counseling if required Medical intervention for physical problems

Webmaster associated with stress treatment related site. This site provides various information on stress, migraine and headache treatment. Resources are available on site headclinic.co.uk


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01 Mar

Continuous Improvement of Your Business Activities Through Kaizen

Posted by admin, under Management Systems

You need creative ideas to improve your business. People perform many activities by sheer habit. A habit is second nature as a habit if not resisted soon become necessity.

Habits develop over a time. Some times we continue doing an activity as a routine but the reason for doing so is no longer exits. Creativity is breaking away from habitually doing things and finding a better and easier way of doing the same.

For generating creative ideas you have to be inquisitive. A questioning attitude towards each and every activity helps you to find better and creative ways of doing things. When you see something is done some one in your office or work please ask yourself to probe;

a) What is he doing?

b) Why is it necessary and what for it is done?

c) When is it done and can it be done at a different time?

d) Where is it done and should it be done there?

e) How is it done and can it be done in any other way?

f) Who does it and can it be done by some one else?

g) How much does it cost can the cost be saved by finding a different way?

The above listed mind probing questions will lead to thoughts of finding better ways of doing things by simplifying and improving the ways of doing things, discarding activities that serve no useful purpose but done as a habit and be easily avoided, changing the place of doing it for effectiveness and finding cost saving alternative etc.

By developing such analytical thinking you mind will help you to create and innovate better methods. The application of creative thinking will help you to be more result oriented than task oriented in conducting your business. Thereby, you will begin to think of different ways of achieving same results.

You will always look for simplifying or combining work for better results. You may proceed to automate time consuming manual tasks by using software programs, electronic devises etc., for speedier and better results of course. This investigative approach will also lead to the elimination of irrelevant activities without affecting the results.

Your objective analysis may also lead you to observe whether operations can be improved by rhythmic motion that ensures a smooth, symmetrical, convenient, stress free way of doing things. Your creative thinking will also lead to find out whether the efficiency of an activity is improved by making the posture of the one performing comfortable, by better lighting, by better seating, by using better equipments and tools etc.

You can similarly review analytically whether your business filing system in use and storage systems can be improved, can color coding be used where necessary for easier identification of items.

Also such thinking will guide you to evaluate whether the things frequently used are located near the point of use, can the time for searching things be shortened, can unusable things be thrown away saving space and time, can items used like paper, pens, materials etc., be changed to less costly ones, can items used be recycled at low cost for repeated use, whether the stocks of items are adequate or excessive, can the skill levels of your staff and workers be improved etc.

The same creative thinking for improvement can be instilled in your subordinates too. Then they will also suggest improvements. You can encourage them by introducing a suggestion scheme so that they can propose innovative improvements. You can award prizes to the best implemented suggestions. A suggestion has to be implemented to be of value.

This system of continuous improvement through innovative focus is very effective in practice. It is used by the Japanese and their industrial success bears testimony to its success. This methodology of looking for results through continuous improvement is called Kaizen.

The practice of Kaizen by the participation of you and your staff, helps to improve your business on a continuous basis step by step will certainly lead to enhanced productivity and higher efficiency and significant cost savings.

Chandrasoma Perera has expert knowledge on Kaizen methodology having learnt Kaizen in Japan and guided a Company in Sri Lanka to excel in Kaizen and be awarded the prestigious Kaizen Gold Award -2005 for best innovative results. Chandrasoma writes regularly on a variety of subjects. He introduces simple home business opportunities in his website:- http://www.chanano.com

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21 Feb

Kaizen: Continuous Improvement

Posted by admin, under Management Systems

“A common-sense, low-cost approach to management” – Gemba Kaizen, Masaaki Imai.

“In Japanese, kaizen means continuous improvement. The word implies improvement that involves everyone – both managers and workers – and entails relatively little expense. The kaizen philosophy assumes that our way of life – be it our working life, our social life, or our home life – should focus on constant self-improvement efforts,” explains Masaaki Imai, the kaizen guru, in his book `Gemba Kaizen’. Kaizen stresses on housekeeping, an indispensable ingredient for good management; waste elimination to become cost effective; and standardization to assure quality. Observation, prioritization, data collection, and standardization are indispensable to kaizen implementation. “It targets MUDA – which is Japanese for waste. It attacks wasteful, non-value adding activities and tries to eliminate them, which in turn improves operations, productivity and profits,” explains Payal Sheth, who co-authored “Chronicles of a Quality Detective”.

The Japanese are said to have implemented this concept in their life throughout history. Its industrial growth graph typically moved up even while that of the western economies progressed horizontally. In the 1980s, when Japan opened to the world, the reason for this growth – kaizen—became evident and the Western economies too started experiencing exponential growth following its implementation. As a result, while breakthroughs are important, there is a constant focus on improving existing processes, whether problematic or not. And, once they have effected the required improvement, these processes are standardized.

Kaizen’s appeal is in the fact that it believes in utilizing existing resources – be it manpower or machinery—and does not believe in high-cost investments. And that anybody can adopt it by mere observation. “Yes, in the long run you need to get trained to get deeper into the subject,” adds Sheth.

These methods are now formalized and taught by Kaizen Institute across the globe. Consultants also conduct workshops.

Detecting Quality Problems

`Chronicles of a Quality Detective’, coauthored by Dr. Gondhalekar (Dr. G), and Payal Sheth is a treasure trove of case studies, highlighting the use of kaizen methods to address problems that even experts in the field are unable to handle. The reason, simply, is that, like Sherlock Homes, Dr. G and Sheth focus completely on the problem, collect live data by being with the entire process, collect just enough data instead of being flooded by it, use logic and at no point do expertise and past experience interfere with the collection of proof. As a result, problems that have taken months and still defy logic are solved within days.

“All have been given brains. We only need to use it and we will be able to address the problems we face,” stresses Dr. N Ravichandran, President (Operations), Lucas TVS, who is a kaizen expert.

Relevant across Industries

Kaizen is relevant not just on the shopfloor but across industries and across operations. “It works very well in the service sector,” asserts Sheth. This has been demonstrated amply in Lucas-TVS, an auto parts manufacturer from Chennai, India, where 5220 kaizens have been implemented right from the way tools and implements are stored to the way the starters are manufactured to the way mediclaim is claimed by the employees, effecting an overall cost saving of Rs 63,65,670.

Kaizen is a team effort, with small groups working together to effect improvements on a continuous basis. The motivation has to come from the top, but the implementation has to be across the organization. The fact that companies have differentiate themselves from their competition by cutting costs and improving productivity has made kaizen popular among Indian companies, though its implementation happens in spikes.

Last word

Though it may seem in the beginning that the fees of consultants are too high, when compared to the savings they ultimately make for the business, it hardly seems anything. It is the big picture that matters.



Author is an independent editorial consultant.

For books on Kaizen, visit www.kkbooks.com

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17 Feb

Kaizen – Lean Manufacturing Continuous Improvement

Posted by admin, under Management Systems

Kaizen  a  Lean Manufacturing Continuous Improvement

One of the most popular buzzwords in business today is the word kaizen. It is a Japanese word meaning incremental improvement.

Kaizen was formalized by the Toyota Production System, which is now utilized throughout the US as lean manufacturing.

The term kaizen is often coupled with another word to create the phrase kaizen events. The kaizen event is the term given to a highly focused continuous improvement event consisting of a team working together for a brief time period to solve a business problem.

The kaizen event could focus on any business opportunity. It could be a line re-design, SMED (single minute exchange of die) setup reduction event, speed improvement, cycle time reduction, waste reduction, or any other issue. Kaizen events are also conducted in service industries such as hospitals, banks, and other non-manufacturing businesses.

A kaizen event is similar to a brainstorming exercise, at least in the beginning stages.

Kaizen teams normally consist of 4-7 individuals. The team normally spends 100% of their time for a few days until the business problem or issue is solved for improved. The team often consists of a cross functional group of individuals with either knowledge in the area of focus or working in a department which is impacted by the issue. For example, a kaizen event to improve lead time 50% might include individuals from sales, manufacturing, scheduling, and shipping. The idea is for the team to be able to consider all views of the problem. A cross functional team will be able to understand the impact of every decision on all other areas.

Kaizen events are normally conducted for significant improvement. The mission statement clearly states the expected results. For example, the mission statement might be toreduce waste on line 4 from 8% to 4%.

There is generally one piece of paper containing all pertinent information concerning the events, including:

Mission Statement with Objective

Team Members, Leader, and Management Sponsor

Current Problem Statement

Resources Required

Expected Completion Date

Results

Signoffs

The kaizen team generally meets first for instructions, brainstorming of ideas, and development of action plans. Kaizen is usually follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) methodology. As the PDCA model suggests, once the actions are planned, they are carried out, checked, and actions taken based on the results. The PDCA cycle is continued until the problem is sufficiently solved.

Kaizen teams should gather their own facts by observing the issues or problems for themselves. Observations show many issues that cannot be detected viewing reports and data.

Once the kaizen team has obtained improvement, most groups will give a presentation to management.

Kaizen  often results in new ways of doing job tasks or conducting business. Procedures, tasks, duties, and sequences may be changed. It is usually necessary for the team to work with the affected positions until all jobs become standardized (another lean term). If the new process is not standardized, it is common for people to revert back to the old comfortable procedures. It often takes some time to obtain maximum improvement through practicing the new procedures.

Some kaizen events result in more work being done with less people. It is important in any lean manufacturing implementation to not put people out of work. Most successful lean manufacturing implementations move people to the 5S or other work team until the company grows and needs them in other areas. As this process continues, a company will eventually produce much more product will the same amount of employees.

If a company reduces their headcount as a result of lean manufacturing and kaizen events, the improvement process will not be sustained. People simply will not work themselves out of a job, and certainly will not help a company eliminate their job.

It is important to celebrate and share success from kaizen events. Don’t forget to involve the people whose jobs have changed. They helped make the company better, and deserve to share in the celebration.

Carl Wright is an industrial engineer, ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt, and Master Black Belt. A primer on kaizen events is located in our lean manufacturing training and six sigma black belt site.

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