Kobetsu Kaizen (Focused Improvement): The TPM Pillar for Loss Reduction

Meaning

What does Kobetsu Kaizen mean?

'Kobetsu' means individual or specific and 'Kaizen' means improvement. In TPM it is the focused improvement (FI) pillar, often shortened to KK. It sits with autonomous maintenance, planned maintenance and quality maintenance among the pillars that attack losses directly. JIPM describes TPM as aiming at zero losses; Kobetsu Kaizen is the method for picking a loss and removing its causes one project at a time.

How is Kobetsu Kaizen different from general Kaizen?

Both are needed. Ideas from the floor feed the project list; projects are chosen from the loss data. For a plant-wide Kaizen programme, start with how to implement Kaizen in your organization.

The loss structure it targets

Focused improvement works from the loss structure. For equipment, the six big losses (breakdowns, setup and adjustment, idling and minor stops, reduced speed, process defects and rework, reduced yield at start-up) are the usual starting point, measured through OEE; see six big losses and what is OEE. JIPM's loss structure adds manpower and resource losses to these, 16 major losses in all (Figure 1).

JIPM 16 major losses: 8 equipment, 5 manpower, 3 material and energy

Shaded: the six equipment losses that OEE measures and Kobetsu Kaizen projects attack first

• 8

  Equipment

  • Failure
  • Setup and adjustment
  • Tool and blade change
  • Start-up yield
  • Minor stops and idling
  • Reduced speed
  • Defects and rework
  • Planned shutdown
• 5

  Manpower

  • Management
  • Operating motion
  • Line organisation
  • Logistics
  • Measurement and adjustment
• 3

  Material, energy

  • Yield
  • Energy
  • Dies, jigs and tools

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Project steps

What are the steps of a focused improvement project?

• Pick the loss. Take the largest loss on one equipment from the loss Pareto, not the loudest complaint.
• Form the team. Operator, maintenance and engineering; name a leader and a sponsor.
• Baseline. Measure it on the agreed definition so the later comparison is fair.
• Analyse. Ask why repeatedly and map causes (cause-and-effect or why-why) until you reach a cause you can remove.
• Plan and act. Choose fixes, owners and dates, test small first, make the change and record what was done.
• Verify. Measure again on the same definition and compare with the baseline.
• Standardise and share. Update the CIL standard, the one point lesson and the checklist, and look for the same cause on similar equipment.

A focused improvement project in seven steps

Seven steps from the loss ranking to a new standard

1. 1

   Select theme from the loss ranking

2. 2

   Form the team

3. 3

   Baseline and target

4. 4

   Analyse causes

5. 5

   Plan and act

6. 6

   Verify the result

7. 7

   Standardise and spread

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Reporting the project

The A3 report keeps the whole project on one page, from theme and baseline to the updated standard. Carry the project on the Kaizen A3 report template and test its payback with the Kaizen savings and ROI calculator.

Kobetsu Kaizen example: a worked project

ILLUSTRATION. A labelling machine averages 12 minor stops per shift. The analysis traces most jams to varying web tension, caused by a worn roller that no standard asks anyone to check. After the roller is replaced, a wear check is added to the CIL standard and a one point lesson covers tension setting, the same count shows 3 stops per shift: 12 - 3 = 9 fewer stops per shift, a reduction of (12 - 3) / 12 = 75 %. The result counts only if it holds over several weeks on the same definition of a stop (Figure 3).

Why projects fail

Why do focused improvement projects fail?

• The theme is vague or too large, so nobody can say when it is done.
• The loss is not measured before the work starts, so there is no baseline.
• The team stops at the first plausible cause (operator error, wear) and does not ask why again.
• The fix is made but the standard, the one point lesson and the PM task are not updated, so the loss returns.
• Success is reported in a different definition from the baseline.
• Nobody checks similar equipment, so the same loss is found again elsewhere.

Where the loss data comes from

Projects start from a loss Pareto: lost time by loss category and equipment over a period. In the MaintWiz OEE dashboard the lost-hours Pareto shows this for a chosen equipment; the same view rolls up to line and plant. The loss cost master turns each lost hour into money, so the top loss is chosen by cost (Figure 6).

Software needs

What should Kobetsu Kaizen software do?

Software for Kobetsu Kaizen has to tie each project to a measured loss and keep the improvement records together. The table sets the pillar out; the list gives the functions to look for.

• A Kaizen idea sheet and a poka-yoke sheet for each improvement.
• Losses, production log entry and bulk entry, so projects start from recorded losses.
• A loss cost master and a Kobetsu Kaizen report.
• Status counts of Kaizens completed, initiated and cancelled on the dashboard.
• Downtime by category and type from the OEE downtime report, split into unplanned, planned and performance loss.

MaintWiz is an AI CMMS built for TPM. The MaintWiz roll-out takes 6 to 8 weeks, with easy Excel uploads and guided project management by the MaintWiz implementation team. See Kaizen software, the TPM software buyer's guide, pricing or a demo.

Sources

Sources

• JIPM, About TPM https://www.jipmglobal.com/about/tpm/