*2.2.3 Kaizen umbrella (tools and techniques)*

Kaizen philosophy needs assistance to achieve its scope and therefore it includes many weapons (they called the Kaizen umbrella), such as the following:


Of course many of the above Kaizen activities, could also be part of the lean methodology, which sometimes includes a Kaizen project.

#### **2.3 Lean-Kaizen**

Lean-Kaizen is a new suggested approach of quality improvement in the literature that combines the two methodologies, which as already has been refereed, many times are implemented together and it is not such a surprise to see them combined together. However, it is also introduced as a new approach and will be presented as such, in this chapter.

The Lean-Kaizen technique, as a novel one, is composed of two basic words i.e. Lean and Kaizen which implies continuous elimination of waste through smallsmall improvements [25]. It is adopted for waste identification and elimination; it helps industry to be lean [26, 27]. It is a systematic way that focuses on continuous improvement of the process, productivity, and quality of the product by suggesting effective and efficient Kaizen events [10]. Leanness can also be defined in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of the manufacturing system [28].

The adoption of the Lean-Kaizen approach improves the organization output by solving problems through identifying and implementing small improvements in process, product, and system [29, 30]. So, the Lean-Kaizen approach is required to be implemented in order to produce quality products by eliminating waste Muda) in the entire system of the organization [31].

Quality is understood as a measure of excellence or a synonym of zero defects, zero deficiencies or absence of variations in the product by many industries. In order to achieve the desired product quality, the quality system performance is continuously monitored and evaluated for the sake of constant improvements of customer satisfaction, morale and reliability [32].

## **3. The contribution of the methodologies**

#### **3.1 Lean**

#### *3.1.1 In which industries*

Lean and its strategies can eliminate all types of industrial waste [33]. Lean manufacturing has as a goal to eliminate waste and it succeeds in it without having to define additional requirements of resources [34, 35]. However, it seems that except the manufacturing sector, which gave birth to the concept of lean, many more industries have been profited from its power.

#### *3.1.2 In which fields*

Lean manufacturing contributed in improving manufacturing operations, protecting the industrial jobs and lift customer satisfaction [36].

The appropriate implementation of lean, improves the quality and the productivity and reduces the amount of inventory and work processes [37].

Except the improvement in productivity, lean manages to level up customer and employers satisfaction [36, 38].

The study of [39], presented the implementation of lean in various types of industries and it managed to achieve various types of waste reduction, manufacturing system design parameters and business value achievements.

In their study [40] concluded that despite the resistance to change in public organizations, the implementation of lean succeeded in the optimization of resources and the simplification of processes.

In a study in health care services, [41], noticed that waste was eliminated and quality was maximized, benefiting the customers.

Public sector seemed to be a nice field to implement the thinking of lean, as there is many waste and the needs for better quality are more than before.

Therefore, continuous improvement approaches have been formally applied in the public sector all over the world, in an attempt to improve service quality and streamline processes, often in response to cuts in public expenditure budgets imposed by governments.

New Public Management (NPM), a new theory, emerged as the supporting doctrine to this policy, that advocated the imposition in the public sector of management techniques and practices drawn mainly from the private sector, as according to NPM greater market orientation would lead to better cost-efficiency, with public servants becoming responsive to customers, rather than clients and constituents, with the mechanisms for achieving policy objectives being market driven.

A new effort that contributes in examining lean in the public sector is the "Lean in public sector" project (http://leaninpublicsector.org/). Launched in 2007, the aim of LIPS was to extend lean project management to public sector construction projects. Its scope is to include the application of lean thinking to government operations generally so that new facilities support, new and more effective ways of delivering government services.

Some of the successes of this project, include:


### **3.2 Kaizen**

Some examples of Kaizen implementation and success are presented in the **Table 1**.

It can be concluded that Kaizen has also been implemented in organizations of all business industries and provided valuable solutions.


#### **Table 1.**

*Kaizen implementation examples and results.*
