Introduction

Leyland Trucks is part of a US company called Paccar Inc. It makes trucks under the DAF brand at Leyland, near Preston, as well as in Holland and Belgium. Leyland aims to gain a 20% market share. It has a strategy to help it reach this target. This is a set of plans linked to its aims. Sometimes a business can improve by taking a giant leap forward. Leyland Trucks improves through many small steps. This system of continuous improvement is called 'Kaizen'.

Kaizen

A Kaizen action is one designed to bring about improvement. Often this involves teams meeting to see where problems might lie. Lots of these small steps can lead to big improvements. A good example is Leyland's introduction of robots in its paint process. Before going ahead, it made sure that it had the views of everyone who had been involved in a previous change and learned from this. Continuous improvement is vital for Leyland to meet its targets, keep customers happy and stay competitive. Added efficiency also keeps costs down and helps to protect jobs.

Setting goals

Leyland sets itself targets. It uses measures to see if it is reaching its goals. These are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Leyland clusters its KPIs under themes. These are:

• on-time performance

• productivity

• quality, using a Quality Index target

• financial measures

• stock control

• health and safety

• Kaizen.

Information from these KPIs is charted. Managers can see from charts how close they are to targets and set new targets. Kaizen is measured through a statistical tool called Six Sigma.

Culture

'Culture' describes the way in which a business works. The culture at Leyland Trucks is one of continuous improvement. It is based on all being involved. Everyone is trusted to take part in the process and to contribute where they can. Its values are based on team building and training. It involves everyone in decision making and gives them responsibility and power. It encourages everyone to try out new ideas. People 'live the values' every day by sharing ideas, working in teams and celebrating success.

Kaizen in action

The success of Kaizen can be seen through a recent example. In May 2006, a Kaizen event was held in the vehicle finishing part of the plant. A team of project leaders worked with other staff. All tried to spot problems and suggest solutions. This led to more than 200 ideas for improvement and greater efficiency in a number of areas.

Conclusion

For Leyland Trucks, Kaizen is a key part of its success. Kaizen has helped it to achieve results across all of its KPIs. In 2006 alone, there were:

• multi-million pound savings from Six Sigma

• a rise in on-time delivery to 95%

• a fall in both defects on units and injuries.