Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Kaizen for the Future



Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. It means constantly looking for small ways to improve a business, implementing changes, testing the results, and then either adopting the change or moving on. The Postal Service is currently going through its own Kaizen. It’s looking for ways to improve the business process by implementing changes that can add up to big results.

Ideas for changes can come from any member of an organization. They can come from any craft, pay scale, or tour. They can occur while placing a letter in a mailbox, running automated equipment, or replacing a belt on a machine. Everyone can contribute to change, and it only takes one idea to help an organization in a big way.

Suggesting a new way to recycle at a facility, a better way to run mail on a machine, or a more efficient route for mail flow are just a few examples of how change can apply to almost any segment of the business. Ideas can occur at any time and any place. No suggestion of change is insignificant, and any idea has the potential to improve the business.

The next time an idea for positive change crosses your mind, tell someone about it here or here. It could be a ticket to the next opportunity for Kaizen.

What small improvement for the Postal Service would you like to see implemented?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Personally at my office, I have customers that struggle with our shipping labels. They fill out Priority mail for parcel post and express mail. When I try to politely get them to fill out the correct label, it just goes downhill. So I would like to see the postal service implement ONE address labeling form for all POSTAL 1st class, media, parcel post, priority and express, etc.

Anonymous said...

This one isn't that small, but I would like to see the city carriers paid by the day like the rural carriers are. With our financial problems, this should seriously be looked at. We would be able to cut most of the delivery supervisors and we wouldn't have to pay out the extremely high overtime rates for the city carriers.

Anonymous said...

I think they also need to look at rural carrier routes. In my office the rural carriers route is less thatn 5 hours a day but yet he is getting paid full benefits! Seriously why should he be getting this. Also do away with their Free Saturday. I have never understood how that even got passed through in the first place. I also agree with the two post above. Excellent ideas!

Anonymous said...

I agree with the last comment. And add to that the "free" day to sit at home PAID to reflect on what they did to get disciplined!!!

Anonymous said...

I would like to see a "universal" sub category instead of each craft having their own subs. This would be a person that could sub as a clerk, city carrier, rural carrier, etc. We wouldn't have to worry about crossing crafts and overtime could be pretty well eliminated.