Masaaki Imai
Encyclopedia
Masaaki Imai is a consultant in the field of quality management
.
Known as the “Lean Guru” and the father of Continuous Improvement
(CI) Masaaki Imai has been a pioneer and leader in spreading the Kaizen
philosophy all over the world.
His book, Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success (1986) was an instant global bestseller
, firmly embedding the word Kaizen in the corporate lexicon. It was the first book to introduce the ‘LEAN’ philosophy to the world, four years before the book The Machine That Changed The World: The Story of Lean Production. His first-hand account is based on his close associations and travels with such corporate figures as Shoichiro Toyoda
and Taichi Ohno and reveals the secrets behind the success of Toyota and other Japanese companies.
Mr. Imai’s sequel
book on this subject Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-cost Approach to Management was published in 1997. This book uses relevant case studies
to detail 21 practical kaizen management practices that aim to achieve greater productivity
, better quality and more profits
with minimal cost and time.
The concept of kaizen is to make simple, common-sense improvements and refinements to critical end-to-end business process
es - supporting the overall CI strategy of the organization. In the mid-eighties Mr. Imai brought this message to executives of the leading North American carmakers.
Today, companies around the world have used kaizen for greater productivity, speed, quality and profits with minimal cost, time and effort, to get results and to become recognized industry leaders.
Mr. Imai’s journey started in 1950 at age 20, taking Japanese managers on tours of American plants looking for the secrets of high productivity. In 1961, he returned to Japan and became the first corporate headhunter
and consultant to major corporation
s striving for a competitive advantage. Twenty years later, the situation was reversed, with Mr. Imai receiving visitors from all over the world intent on seeking out the secrets of their Japan
ese trading partners- via Kaizen Tours (then known as Japan Study Tours).
Mr. Imai founded Kaizen Institute in 1985, also now known as Kaizen Institute Consulting Group (KICG). He continues to play a significant role as the Ambassador and visionary of the organization, while actively participating in conferences
around the world spreading his message of KAIZEN LEAN. The Institute focuses on a top-down and bottom-up approach that engages the entire enterprise to create a Lean culture that is sustainable.
Kaizen Institute supports organizations of all sizes in Europe
, Asia-Pacific
, Africa
, Middle East
and the Americas
, in all business sectors. It provides broad consulting
, training
and certification
(Kaizen College), and benchmarking
services. All consultants must have practical field experience as well as having master the philosophy, methodologies and tools of Lean.
Quality management
The term Quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good quality' by the more general definition , can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality...
.
Known as the “Lean Guru” and the father of Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement Process
A continuous improvement process is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek "incremental" improvement over time or "breakthrough" improvement all at once...
(CI) Masaaki Imai has been a pioneer and leader in spreading the Kaizen
Kaizen
, Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, game development, and business management. It has been applied in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government,...
philosophy all over the world.
His book, Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success (1986) was an instant global bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
, firmly embedding the word Kaizen in the corporate lexicon. It was the first book to introduce the ‘LEAN’ philosophy to the world, four years before the book The Machine That Changed The World: The Story of Lean Production. His first-hand account is based on his close associations and travels with such corporate figures as Shoichiro Toyoda
Shoichiro Toyoda
is a Japanese business leader, serving as chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation between 1992–1999 and also serving as chairman of the powerful , beginning in May 1994 through May 1998.- Family tree :...
and Taichi Ohno and reveals the secrets behind the success of Toyota and other Japanese companies.
Mr. Imai’s sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
book on this subject Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-cost Approach to Management was published in 1997. This book uses relevant case studies
Case study
A case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find...
to detail 21 practical kaizen management practices that aim to achieve greater productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
, better quality and more profits
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
with minimal cost and time.
The concept of kaizen is to make simple, common-sense improvements and refinements to critical end-to-end business process
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es - supporting the overall CI strategy of the organization. In the mid-eighties Mr. Imai brought this message to executives of the leading North American carmakers.
Today, companies around the world have used kaizen for greater productivity, speed, quality and profits with minimal cost, time and effort, to get results and to become recognized industry leaders.
Mr. Imai’s journey started in 1950 at age 20, taking Japanese managers on tours of American plants looking for the secrets of high productivity. In 1961, he returned to Japan and became the first corporate headhunter
Headhunter
Headhunter or head hunter may refer to:-General use:* Headhunting, the practice of literally taking a person's head after killing them* Headhunter, an informal name for an employment recruiter, sometimes referred to as executive searcher...
and consultant to major corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s striving for a competitive advantage. Twenty years later, the situation was reversed, with Mr. Imai receiving visitors from all over the world intent on seeking out the secrets of their Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese trading partners- via Kaizen Tours (then known as Japan Study Tours).
Mr. Imai founded Kaizen Institute in 1985, also now known as Kaizen Institute Consulting Group (KICG). He continues to play a significant role as the Ambassador and visionary of the organization, while actively participating in conferences
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
around the world spreading his message of KAIZEN LEAN. The Institute focuses on a top-down and bottom-up approach that engages the entire enterprise to create a Lean culture that is sustainable.
Kaizen Institute supports organizations of all sizes in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, in all business sectors. It provides broad consulting
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
, training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
and certification
Certification
Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit...
(Kaizen College), and benchmarking
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
services. All consultants must have practical field experience as well as having master the philosophy, methodologies and tools of Lean.
Books authored by Masaaki Imai
- 1975 Never Take Yes for an Answer: An Inside Look at Japanese Business
- 1986 Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success
- 1997 Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-cost Approach to Management
- 2010 New book pending (to be named)
Other international awards and recognition
- 1998 Asia-Pacific Human Resource Development Award
- 1999 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize for Gemba KAIZEN
- 2010 Quality Council of India (QCI) 1st Honorary Fellow