1st Edition

Hoshin Kanri The Strategic Approach to Continuous Improvement

By David Hutchins Copyright 2008

    The results of the quality revolution have been mixed. Global competition has elevated the most successful companies, in terms of providing goods and services, but even then initiatives such as total quality, business process re-engineering and Six Sigma have been heralded as the solution, only to have been replaced with the next 'big thing' when it came along. Hoshin Kanri is not the next big thing in quality, it is a strategic approach to continuous improvement that provides a context for all of the individual elements such as Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing. David Hutchins' Hoshin Kanri shows you how to develop a dynamic vision for continuous improvement; to implement effective policies to support it; to link key performance indicators to Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and Kaizen and to sustain a strategy-led programme for improving business performance.

    1: Hoshin Kanri – An Overview; 2: Creating the Vision; 3: Strategy and Tactics; 4: Driver Policies: Becoming Fit, Fast, Lean and Hungry!; 5: Driver Measures to KPIs; 6: Benchmarking; 7: Prioritising KPIs and Cost of Poor Quality; 8: Risk Management; 9: The Loose Brick; 10: Policy Deployment and Control; 11: The Voice of the Customer; 12: Supply Chain Management; 13: Six Sigma; 14: Lean Manufacturing; 15: Process Analysis and Process Re-Engineering; 16: The Principles of Continuous Improvement; 17: Quality Circles; 18: Business Management Systems (Auditing Hoshin Kanri); 19: Quality Function Deployment; 20: Education; 21: Suggestions for Performance Indicators; 22: Implementation Plan

    Biography

    David Hutchins has a Masters Degree in Quality and Reliability from Birmingham University UK. He is a Chartered Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, Chartered Quality Professional, Fellow of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), A John Loxham Lecturer and author of several books and many articles. In David’s early career he was Chief Production/Industrial Engineer in the Automotive Components Industry before becoming Works Manager followed by 10 years teaching and consulting in Business Management prior to founding David Hutchins International and its International Quality College. David Hutchins has over forty years of continuous experience in all aspects of the Quality-related sciences on a world-wide basis. He co-presented with the unchallenged World leading expert, Dr Juran, who died in 2008, on all his annual courses in the UK from 1983 until Dr Juran’s retirement from international travel in 1992. He was a personal friend of the late Professor Ishikawa and David was the only European to be invited to contribute material for the book which commemorated his life. He has been a key note speaker at conferences all over the world including many seminars organised by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) in Japan and to this day works with the well known specialist in Concept Engineering, Drs Kano and Shiba.

    'Hoshin Kanri, Buy this book. Don't borrow it, don't browse through it - just get your own copy (because you'll want to own it), and get it soon! The book as a whole is very enriching and all comprehensive. It is a rare master piece and one of the best books I have ever read - pertaining to this area of interest. The style of presentation is simple but concrete, credible and irresistable. Kudos to the author and the publisher for the wonderful initiative! - Dr Vineeta Kamran, Principal, City Montessori School & College, Lucknow, India '...Hoshin Kanri is well organized, beginning with a roadmap of Hoshin Kanri, with each chapter following the roadmap. The resulting tapestry tells a story in a very effective manner. The reader never loses sight of the big picture as he or she works through each of the component parts. Hutchins’ approach to writing the book is in sync with the very principles of Hoshin Kanri...Whether you are new to continuous quality improvement, a cynical veteran of many failed initiatives, a seasoned or green executive team, Hoshin Kanri is worth your time and can be a valuable roadmap for setting a clear course in troubled times.' By Terry Conry in NCCI (National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education) Newsletter '...this is a practical book from a practical and established exponent of the Japanese approach. From these pages, it is possible to unravel what the various terms mean and where they fit into the big picture.' Quality World