KAIZEN? Sounds japanese? It is.
KAIZEN actually has its origins in Japanese manufacturing technology. Instead of acting in a result-oriented manner as usual, KAIZEN relies on process optimization with consistent innovation management. With the method of the 5 small steps - called 5S for short - the entire Japanese economy was significantly stimulated again after the Second World War. Just-in-time production, which was first introduced at Toyota, would not have been possible without a holistic view of work processes.
But what exactly do these promising 5S mean?
Very easily. Complicated processes are divided into 5 work steps:
- Remove unnecessary items from your work area!
- Organize the things that are left afterwards!
- Keep your workplace clean!
- Make cleanliness and order your personal concern!
- Make 5S a habit by setting standards!
Sounds complicated? But it is not.
These simple five points not only optimized the work processes of the automaker Toyota and ensured the well-known success story. In the meantime, KAIZEN is practiced very successfully all over the world in a wide variety of industries. In IT, for example, it is definitely worthwhile to scrutinize the rapidly growing mountains of data on the file servers according to the KAIZEN principles.
Because 70-90 percent of all data on the file servers in companies are so-called ROT data. This redundant, obsolete or trivial data is usually never touched again. However, they cause immense storage costs, destroy up to one hour (!) Of working hours per employee per day according to current research, cause security gaps and are a threat to data protection.
Not to be despised are the climate damage resulting from the growth in data:
The data centers in Germany already consume more electricity per year than the entire city of Berlin in the same period. We reported in more detail about the environmental damage last week. So it makes sense in many ways to quickly dismantle the irrelevant mountain of data.
But how can KAIZEN help here?
Anyone who wants to eliminate useless data naturally only sees a mountain of (data) work at first. And instead of acting quickly, it would be better to flee quickly. And this is exactly why it is worth taking a closer look at the KAIZEN method with the path of small steps.
Just as an apparently inaccessible mountain peak in nature can be climbed step by step, the mountain of data on the file server can also be removed in small steps and still very quickly.
Sounds too theoretical? But it's very practical.
According to the 5S from KAIZEN, this means for our work on the file server:
- Analyze the structure and the data volume on your file server and remove all superfluous data.
And that's usually 70-90%! This immediately saves storage capacity and minimizes energy consumption. - Now create a cleaner data structure. Avoid unnecessary directories and directory depths. Use ABE. That shortens the miserable search for files.
- Create clear authorizations for all new directories, maintain this structure and thereby increase security on the file server.
- Take personal responsibility for your data and thus contribute to a constant improvement of the structure.
- And finally, make all of this a habit by setting standards!
We have made KAIZEN our own!
With our software migRaven.24/7 we at migRaven have already made this principle our own. We analyze the amount of data on the file server with our Obsolete Data Report. In the next step, we separate the ROT data from the relevant data, remove it from the active, productive work area and relocate it to more cost-effective and energy-saving media. With the help of our Folder Self Service, from now on only directories with clear authorizations will be created. And with all of these optimizations, in keeping with KAIZEN, the focus is always on the user.
Thus, thanks to the introduction of migRaven.24/7 Relieve our employees, save working time, work safely and reduce IT costs.
Thanks to KAIZEN, we have achieved great things and made enormous savings in 5 small steps. And above all: The 5S from KAIZEN help us to be careful with human and natural resources.
Additional information
Also visit our podcast "Does a butcher meet a beer sommelier in IT". Here migRaven CEO Thomas Gomell explains in an interview with Karsten Morschett why the KAIZEN method was so helpful to him when developing the software migRaven.24 /.
KAIZEN and Toyota
https://kaizen-lean-management.de/grundlagen/toyota-produktionssystem/
https://mag.toyota.co.uk/kaizen-toyota-production-system/
You want to experience KAIZEN practically and with you migRaven.24/7 also optimize your file server:
Test here.
