Customer Reviews

Kaizen Desk Reference Standard

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All the other books tell you "about" Kaizen. This book actually shows you how to DO IT ! Step by Step methodology leaves very little to chance. The content is hugely informative and very helpful because of it's linear design. The sheer volume of guidance in this Kaizen Standard is head and shoulders above anything else I've ever gotten my hands on. The job aids and checklists really provide that extra bit of consistency I desire in an implementation. The format of the Standard is easy to follow and understand because it is not loaded up with gobs of mumbo-jumbo jargon. I truly find that the steps laid out in the..."Getting Ready"..."Doing"....and "Follow-up" format is enormously helpful and would be especially helpful to someone newly exposed to the Kaizen tool.
Bottom line....I wish I had this book seven years ago ! Super, Super reference for a Kaizen facilitator. The CD is an unexpected bonus. Truly a great package.

I like this book. It describes the process and has a process map for doing Kaizen. The flow of the chapters follows the flow of the process map. Each chapter gives a step-by-step guide for accomplishing one of the Kaizen milestones. It gives the details needed to see what to do and get it done RIGHT. Other books I've read just have concepts. Kaizen Desk Reference Standard shows you how to do Kaizen. Besides the the actual steps, it provides examples and contains forms and tools to tailor to your workplace for implementation. It's more helpful than most training I have been to. What I like best is that it points out the traps you could fall into and how to avoid them. It sets you up to succeed and make REAL improvements.

The authors have performed a great service to those wishing to make improvements in their workplace by eliminating waste and improving efficiency. The Kaizen Desk Reference Standard provides much needed detailed information about the process and the approach to make those necessary improvements.

This reference for conducting a Kaizen event is full of very useful worksheets that structure the event. A detailed example of a simulated project is thoroughly documented providing completed worksheets demonstrating their use. Of particular interest, the text provides tips that are generously scattered throughout to help those with little experience to prepare for handling the road blocks that often occur in implementing change strategies. There are many forms that provide structure in conducting meetings, brainstorming sessions, documenting improvements, tracking changes, and taking corrective actions. As a bonus, the accompanying CD provides the templates of these forms either in PDF, M/S Word, or M/S Excel format. These useful templates are very well structured and apply to many improvement tasks attempted in the development of a high-performing organization.

Many of the resource tools demonstrated in the text apply to those trying to implement LEAN in manufacturing applications for the first time and serve to help structure a strategy for doing so. The step-by-step process demonstrated in the text combines many of the organizational and team leadership strategies to identify sources of wastes, develop process flow charts, handle team dynamics, developing consensus, identifying root causes, and documenting gains. Also, the text stresses the need for standardization of processes and the commitment of management in the process of change. Standardization requires accountability and responsible leadership in which there may be reluctance to adopt.

This text is a must read primer for anyone attempting to lead a Kaizen event or attempting to make changes within their workplace to foster the development of a high-performing organization. The step-by-step approach demonstrates a strategy that should yield greater success on the first attempt. Anyone involved in recommending change, should keep a copy of this text on their desk. It is easy to read, if full of examples, and is accompanied with a very useful selection of forms available to use for process improvements.

I would like to extend my thanks for a job well done.

James P. Wallace
Program Manager for TEEX Electronics
Regional Director for TMAC Statewide

I purchased this book thinking it might be of some help but I was really surprised to find that it does tell you step by step on how to do a kaizen event. I can tell the authors put a lot of work into this. They have made the process really easy to follow and they have included a CD with tools you can use. I love it and if you are looking for the real deal here it is.

This is a complete reference manual which has allowed me to achive and surpass my goals and objectives. I have used other Visual organization tools and Kazien tools and have found this manual to be to best by far. It is both easy and simple to use because it lays out in detail the whole process for performing a kaizen event and no other book I have read has ever done this. :Stick to the process and you cant go wrong. I found the CD with the tools to be a great addition and it really supports your effort. A must for any Kaizen facilitator.

There is no doubting that this book contains an awful lot of information. However, I did find it rather difficult to follow and contained lots and lots of text without many diagrams which would have made the concepts easier to understand.

It appeared hard work to wade through so many pages of solid text but overall contained some useful ideas.

This book is filled with charts, checklists, examples and case studies, so much that it may prove overwhelming to some. If you want to have a comprehensive reference guide this is it. This format can also be used for general project management.

If you are just getting started and need something a little less intense, there is a smaller book that provides an excellent roadmap for doing kaizen events - "A Team Leader's Guide to Lean Kaizen Events".

disclaimer: I know Dr. Vitalo, author of "Kaizen Desk Reference Standard"