Kaizen foam is our new favourite thing!

Kaizen foam might not look like much but let me tell you, it is pretty amazing! It is such a simple and cost effective solution to keeping absolutely everything organised.  If you’re anything like me and naturally a bit messy, kaizen foam will transform you into a super organised machine!

Where have we used Kaizen Foam?

We have used kaizen foam in absolutely every area of our factory.

My desk, which was VERY cluttered, has now been sorted leaving only the essential items. These have been put into kaizen foam so that I haven’t got hundreds of pens (some of which probably didn’t even work!) rattling around in my drawer.  And I’m not searching for my post it notes that have slipped to the back behind the envelopes, which are hiding underneath my notebook… Now all admin tasks can be completed quickly and efficiently.

In the machine shop, every hand and turning tool has it’s set place in kaizen foam at each work station. This means that there is no more hunting through the drawers for the right tool.

 Each tool is visible and easily identifiable and we can instantly see which tools are in use.  You can imagine how much quicker and easier this has made our machine set ups.

In the assembly department, we’ve used it again for our tooling. We’d always spend a good 30 minutes to an hour on the first morning of tap assembly getting everything set up, including going around the workshop hunting down our hand tools before we could start- what a waste! (see The 8 Wastes of Lean).  The stations are now always set up and tools ready and waiting in kaizen foam.  That’s an extra hour we’ve gained to make even more taps!

We have also used kaizen foam for making jigs to hold our products during assembly. This has been extremely useful as its very sturdy but doesn’t cause any damage.  It can also be adapted very easily.  For the same reasons, we also use the kaizen foam for storing parts ready to assemble.  There’s no fear of parts touching each other and causing marks.

Appearance

As well as the practical benefits, kaizen foam makes everything look so much better. That might not initially seem all that important, but the whole team is now more productive from having an organised environment.  Our thoughts are not clouded by mess and it makes the working day much clearer and easier.

Happy manufacturing!

Rob, Nicola and the Team