For someone who comes from an engineering background, Prakash Yardi stumbled upon management consultancy purely by happenstance. After completing his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Pune, he joined Cummin India—a leading producer of engines and generators—where he had the opportunity to visit Japan on a regular basis. But beyond just receiving technical expertise in engineering, Yardi had the opportunity to closely observe the management style and values in the country known the world over for its efficiency. While working at Cummin India for 35 years—in several departments that included manufacturing to marketing—Yardi was able to bring to the table various Japanese management styles, including the Kaizen approach and the 5 S approach. Now a management consultant who presents the management styles to corporate clients, in this interview with The Post’s Alisha Sijapati, he delves into the Japanese take on management and why it could work wonders in Nepali businesses as well. Excerpts:

Can you tell us about the 5 S system of management and how it can help enhance productivity at a workplace?

5 S is a Japanese style of management that uses a list of five Japanese words—Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shituske. According to this modality, these 5 S stand for: Sort, Systematise, Sweep, Standardise and Self-discipline. Seiri (sort) means to separate needed tools, parts, and instructions from the unneeded. The goal is to keep only what is required and eliminate everything else. Seiton (set in order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts, processes, and tools for ease of use. Seiso (shine) means to clean, shine, and inspect the workplace by eliminating contamination. Seiketsu (standardise) means to require as the norm the sort, set in order, and shine activities daily to keep the workplace in perfect condition and also to make use of visual control systems to maintain compliance with the established standards. Shitsuke (sustain) means to maintain the 5 S gains by training and encouraging workers to form the habit of always following the first four S’s.

5 S has been successfully used for decades to eliminate waste, streamline production and optimise efficiency. These approaches aren’t difficult to use in the day-to-day operations of any organisation. One just needs keep focused and keep in my mind on how Japan has benefitted from this formula.

What does the 5 S method of management do for an organisation?

The 5 S method can have a host of advantages for any organisation. Through it you can reduce workflow problems, increase product quality and productivity, as well as improve communication. You can also improve workplace safety by eliminating hazards and establishing compliance to work standards. 

The method is also helpful in aligning employee with the company’s goals and strategies, establishing standards for operating equipment and conducting processes and reducing training time for new employees.  

Could you also elaborate on the Kaizen method of management?

Kaizen, is the Japanese word for “improvement”. In business, kaizen refers to activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees—right from the CEO to assembly line workers. It also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics. It has been applied to a host of different fields in Japan including in healthcare, psychotherapy, life-coaching, government, banking, and other industries.

Kaizen is a continuous improvement or change for betterment. It emphasises that every employee working in the company should move forward or at least start making small improvement for the betterment of the company. It focuses on saving money and time and making companies more efficient. An organisation can receive innumerable benefits if it adopts the Kaizen approach. 

You have been a management consultant for a decade. When managers come to you, what kind of issues are they looking to solve? 

Top corporate houses or individual managers come to me for two things: How can they improve the productivity of the employees and how can they increase the company’s revenue. In both the cases, I advise them to work on building a healthy team and to invest on team building exercises. If an organisation focuses on team building exercises and provides space for its employees to grow, the revenue of the company will increase automatically. The other advice I usually offer is on how companies can eliminate ‘muda’—which refers to wastages, uselessness and futility. This is also a serious, but overlooked, problem.

What traits are common in all successful business leaders?

Today, every individual believes that they are great. This ‘greatness’ attitude leads to failure. More than being a great individual, it is essential for people to understand that their teams and their organisations need to be great. For instance, if you do one kaizen, a day, you’ll always move towards a positive step. Consistency is a key to becoming a successful leader. Focus on teams rather than individuals. A company will always shine if a strong team is giving their 100 percent, as opposed to individuals giving their 100 percent but in a disjointed manner. 

What are the keys to keeping employees motivated?

Right from top to the bottom level, everybody needs some training in kaizen. Which is to say that they need to be constantly evolving and growing. Often it is said that money is the biggest motivator for keeping employees productive. But I disagree. Beyond a point money has little motivation. The biggest motivator for employees is constant growth and improvement. This is what kaizen is all about. 

How can today’s young entrepreneurs and business leaders learn from Japanese management styles?

Kaizen is basically for cost saving. You can earn from kaizen. If today’s young entrepreneurs and leaders adopt the kaizen process, they can progress very fast. The key is to keep evolving and growing, not just as individuals but also as teams and as organisations.