From the course: Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to Continuous Improvement (Blinkist Summary)

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Lean business: A kaizen approach

Lean business: A kaizen approach

From the course: Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to Continuous Improvement (Blinkist Summary)

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Lean business: A kaizen approach

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- [Instructor] Blink number two, Gemba Kaizen can be applied to a variety of different businesses. Most people who hear Gemba Kaizen, or lean business, think about conveyor belts, car manufacturing and the like. But that's only part of the story. Let's look at the beginnings of Gemba Kaizen when it emerged as the only strategy that could save Toyota. Japan is a country with few natural resources and after World War II, much of its industrial infrastructure was destroyed. Companies couldn't afford to waste any assets or resources. Japanese employees were hired for life, so their continuous improvement became a vital factor for economic success too. Thriftiness was vital for the economic success of any company, Toyota included. So Toyota's owner, Toyoda Kiichiro, and industrial engineer Taiichi Ohno, devised the now famous Toyota Production System according to Kaizen principles. Even today, Gemba Kaizen is mostly used…

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