Kaizen’s Steps, Step Two, Reduce

After discussing first step, now we move on the next. The second step is reduce. Basically, the focus of this step, as its name, is to reduce. What can be reduced. Many. Here are some of them.

* Part/component of the tool or anything (object of kaizen)
* Feature, that is not effective if it is still attached to the object
* Size, since it will not reduce the function
* Volume, again, since the decreasing in volume won’t reduce the function
* Weight, of course, this method is applied by many companies
* Etc, add your own list here

This second step can be done by:

# simplification of current methods,
# centralization,
# integration or many separated things into simultaneous one,
# combination of different thing into single product (see multipurpose printer, it prints, scan, fax, copy at once )
# standardization, to reduce the variability of products or methods
# etc, again, add your own list here..

In later posts, I’ll add examples of this step that are applied in real world, not just in theory, as the main purpose of this blog.