Focused improvement (Kobetsu Kaizen)

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Written by

Abin Antony

Focused Improvement or Kobetsu Kaizen is one of the pillars in TPM. TPM is an approach that helps to cut losses of machine operations. And it also helps to achieve perfect production in a manufacturing facility.

Another name of Kobetsu Kaizen is KK Pillar.

In other words, the implementation of KK Pillar helps to get rid of the losses. There by increasing the efficiency of machinery in a manufacturing facility.

Key takeaways from this article

What is KK pillar or Focused Improvement?
Brief about TPM
Classification of losses
Why KK pillar
How to choose a machine for the KK pillar
Tools used for KK pillar implementation

What is Focused improvement

Focused improvement is a concept in which improvement projects are selected based on scope for improvement. Projects are selected where there is largest scope, on priority basics.

Our ultimate aim of focused improvement is to improve OEE.

To improve OEE we need to initially identify the reasons which cause the losses.

After identification of the reasons which cause the losses, the reason which leads to largest loss is taken up for improvement projects on priority. After improving first one, take second and so on.

There are 16 losses that result in the reduction of OEE. We target these losses on priority basics as explained above. Please refer following sections of the article to know more about these 16 losses.

Focused improvement comprises following activities;

Identifying issues (16 loses)
Prioritizing tasks (this is a very important activity in focused improvement)
Eliminating the problems.

Interesting right?

Read on to learn more !

Why Kobetsu Kaizen called as Focused improvement?

TPM originated in Japan in 1971, so all the terms were in Japanese. Kobetsu Kaizen means Focused improvement in Japanese.

Kobetsu is written as below in Japanese.

個別

And the word meaning is ‘Individual’

Which emphasis the importance of targeting individual losses, which contribute to major losses. This will result in quick results. In other words, we focus on individual losses, hence the name focused improvement.

By this portion of the article, you should have got an idea of Kobetsu Kaizen.

Kobetsu Kaizen and TPM

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) was developed by Seiichi Nakajima in Japan between the 1950s and 1970s. There are 8 pillars in Total Productive Maintenance. TPM helps to reach perfect production by attaining below three points.

Zero breakdowns
Zero defects
Zero accidents

The above three is achieved by the following 8 activities, commonly called as 8 pillars.

Which all are the 8 Pillars of TPM?

Autonomous Maintenance (JH Pillar)
Planned Maintenance (PM Pillar)
Quality Maintenance (QM Pillar)
Focused Improvement (KK Pillar)
Early Equipment Management (DM Pillar)
Training and Education (ET Pillar)
Safety, Health, Environment (SHE Pillar)
TPM in Administration (OTPM Pillar)

As you can see Kobetsu Kaizen (KK pillar) is one of the pillars of TPM.

KK pillar focus on the elimination of below 16 losses.

Classification of Losses in TPM

In the below image, you can see the classification of 16 losses in TPM.

Why KK Pillar?

Here we will discuss focused improvement (KK Pillar) and its advantages. TPM helps to reduce losses, KK pillar pushes us to get world-class OEE.

Hence following are the benefits,

Free capacity of machinery,
Lesser energy consumption
Reduction in manpower
Low Labour costs
Safe process

For your better understanding, attaching a photo which explains the benefits of the KK pillar.

We are moving to the core part of this article.

How to choose projects for KK Pillar?

Follow the steps below to choose projects for the KK pillar.

Steps involved on kk pillar — ***Steps involved in implementing KK pillar***

For selecting projects for KK pillar don’t forget to consider long term road map and business goals of an organization in discussion with management. Because after implementation of the KK pillar, the organization gets free capacity.

It’s easier to make a matrix which gives the necessary information to select machines for KK pillar activities.

Tools used in KK Pillar

Now everyone should have got a brief idea about the benefits of the KK pillar and how to select projects for KK pillar implementation.

Let’s dive into the activities and tools used in the KK pillar to reduce the losses.

Pareto chart : Using the Pareto chart of 16 losses we can narrow down the major losses by the 80:20 principle.

Fishbone diagram: Fishbone diagram helps to know various factors contributing to these losses.

Why Why analysis : After shortlisting the area for improvement, we can apply the why-why analysis for finding the root cause of a lose.

SMED: We can use Single minute exchange of dies (SMED) analysis to reduce changeover or setup time. SMED analysis is a process of eliminating and reducing non-value-added activities. It helps to reduce the downtime of machines.

In SMED analysis, we do the following steps to identify and optimize the process. By the use of SMED analysis, F1 teams can change 4 tires within 2 seconds. Redbull F1 team has set a record of 1.82 seconds during the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.

How to do SMED: Categorize activities in setup and changeover into internal activities and external activities.

Internal Activities:- Activities that can only be done after stopping the machine.

External Activities:- Activities that can be done without stopping the machine.

After that, identify all the VA, NVA, and NNVA activities, and cut NA activities.

Then check the feasibility to convert the internal to external activities. Such as reduction of setup and adjustments, minor stoppages, tool change loss, etc.

Video Study : In video study we record video of all activities such as machine operation, change over, setup, etc. and analyze it for VA, NVA, and NNVA. It also helps for future reference.