KAIZEN SOP – BPS

BPS-PR005 -Ver 1.0

Copyright © 2020, Tech Mahindra Business Process Services. All rights reserved.
Company-Confidential KAIZEN SOP – BPS

Table of Contents

1. PURPOSE..................................................................................................................................... 3
2. SCOPE.......................................................................................................................................... 3
3. ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................. 3
4. PROCEDURE ............................................................................................................................... 3
4.1 OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................... 3
4.2 FLOW CHART ............................................................................................................................. 3
4.3 PROCESS DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................. 4
4.4 RACI MATRIX ............................................................................................................................ 6
5. CHECKLIST FOR APPROVNG KAIZEN...................................................................................... 6
6. METRIC TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROGRAM............................................... 7
7. MONITORING MECHANISM........................................................................................................ 7
8. AWARENESS & POPULARITY .................................................................................................... 7
9. APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................... 7
10. DOCUMENT HISTORY ................................................................................................................ 7

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Company-Confidential KAIZEN SOP – BPS

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a guideline for initiating and executing KAIZEN projects in
Tech M BPS.

2. SCOPE

The entire BPS business, across every location out of which any engagements operate, comes under
the purview of this documented SOP.

3. ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS

Term/ acronym Explanation

CQ Corporate Quality
BMS Business Management System
BPS Business Process Services
QMS Quality Management System
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
WI Work Instruction

4. PROCEDURE

4.1 OBJECTIVES

 Encourage associates to take up small, incremental improvement initiatives or operational

improvements
 Create a culture of continual improvement

4.2 FLOW CHART

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Company-Confidential KAIZEN SOP – BPS

4.3 PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Identify Improvement Opportunity

A KAIZEN is small, incremental improvement project. In order to identify a KAIZEN project. The
following types of projects are eligible for submission under KAIZEN:

1. Operational Improvement: Gaps in how processes are actually carried out and how they are
supposed to be carried out.
2. Script based small automation to eliminate wastes

Check current situation

Data or artifacts shall be collected based on the gap or issue identified to understand the current
situation or performance level. Although it is not necessary that a metric is defined, but if there is a
scope of a metric definition, it is highly recommended to define the metric and collect data to
understand the current performance of metric. Such an approach makes the improvement initiative
very objective.

Formulate actions

In order to formulate an action, root cause analysis needs to be done through a quick brainstorming
session. Based on the identified root cause(s), one or more actions need to be taken up for
implementation.

Implement action plans

The formulated action plans need to be implemented in the process. For example –
a) If the solution identified is a tweak in the way certain activities are carried out, then the tweak or
change in the process has to be updated in the SOP / WI; thereafter the change shall be
communicated to the entire team; if needed, brief trainings shall be provided; and then it shall be
verified that everyone has understood the tweak in the process.
b) If the action is about developing a macro automation, the macro shall be written; then rigorously
tested by running with dummy inputs; then tested on real inputs (but isolated from live work); and
then deployed in live work.

Demonstrate improvement

After the solution has been implemented, data or artifacts shall be collected from the same area as
was done before the solution implementation. This is to show that the situation has indeed improved
after the implementation of the action plan. In case a metric has been defined, it is recommended to
show improvements in form of “before—after” run charts or even better, control charts.

Establish checks and controls

It is imperative in any improvement project that monitoring mechanism of the improved state / metric
shall be established to ensure sustenance of the improvement achieved. So, a sustenance plan
needs to be formulated.

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Company-Confidential KAIZEN SOP – BPS

Obtain approval

The improvement shall be demonstrated to the manger in the line (U4 & above) and an email
approval needs to be obtained. This email is mandatory for registering KAIZEN in the portal (ref. sub-
section “Register in KAIZEN tool”).

Monetary savings (financial benefit to Tech M)

It is possible that the improvement initiative results in some monetary savings and thus benefits Tech
M BPS, financially. In such cases, an objective and precise calculation of the savings shall be done,
and explained to the Finance department to obtain email approval from them. This email is also
mandatory for KAIZEN registration, if financial benefit is claimed out of the project (ref. Appendix for
more details.

Prepare PPT

The KAIZEN storyboard needs to be documented with following mandatory information:

 Project title (very brief)

 A brief business case
 A problem statement
 A goal statement
 If any metric has been defined, then the operational definition of the metric
 Solution(s) implemented
 Pre-condition & post condition OR pre & post run charts (in case a metric is defined)
 Benefits from the project (tangible and/or intangible)
 Team members details (name and employee code)

Recommended PPT template to be used for documentation of KAIZEN is as given below –

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Company-Confidential KAIZEN SOP – BPS

Register in KAIZEN tool

In order to register in KAIZEN tool, the following needs to be ensured:

1. Approval email from line manager on the success of the project is available
2. Finalized PPT is available
3. In case of financial benefit, email approval from Finance department is available

NOTE: Item #1 & #2, from the above list, are mandatory for all KAIZENs. Item #3 is mandatory
only if financial benefit is claimed out of the project.

The detail of how to register a KAIZEN in the tool has been discussed in the Appendix

Get approval of the registered KAIZEN in the tool

Once the KAIZEN is registered by the team, the line manager (U4 & above) need to approve the
KAIZEN in the tool. The detail of how to approve a KAIZEN in the tool has been discussed in the
Appendix. Also, under Section 5, a checklist of what to check while approving KAIZEN has been
given.

Download certificate

After approval from the line manager in the tool, KAIZEN certificates can be downloaded from tool by
the team members. The process of downloading certificate has been discussed in the Appendix.

4.4 RACI MATRIX

Activity Responsible (R) Accountable (A) Consulted (C) Informed (I)

Identify improvement Associate (& team) Line manager
opportunities
Vet it for potential Associate (& team) Corporate Quality
improvement (optional)
Define metric & Associate (& team) Line manager Corporate Quality
Collect data (optional)
Formulate & Associate (& team) Line manager Corporate Quality Delivery Head
implement action (optional)
plan
Show improvement Associate (& team) Line manager
Approve project Line manager Corporate Quality
Compute financial Associate (& team) Line manager
benefit (if any)
Approve financial Finance department Finance department Corporate Quality
benefit (if any)
Register KAIZEN in Associate (& team) Corporate Quality
tool
Approve KAIZEN in Line manager Corporate Quality
tool
Download certificate Associate (& team) Line manager

5. CHECKLIST FOR APPROVNG KAIZEN

The following aspects need to be addressed while approving a KAIZEN project. These checks are
initiated by the KAIZEN tool during approval of the KAIZEN:

 Does the problem statement have required components: What, Where, When, Magnitude and,
Impact (3WMI principle met)?
 Has Root Cause Analysis been done?
 Does the action plan address the root cause?

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Company-Confidential KAIZEN SOP – BPS

 Is the solution implemented tangible/measurable?

 Has adequate checks and controls been established for sustenance of the improvement?
 Can the idea be replicated?
o If so, please describe how it can be replicated
 Is there a financial benefit claimed out of the project?
o If so, has the savings calculation been done correctly?
o Has the claim been approved by the Finance department?

6. METRIC TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROGRAM

Yearly targets are set up for the number of KAIZENs to be submitted. The progress of the
submissions as per target is monitored as given in Section 7.

7. MONITORING MECHANISM

The following reports are published by 10th of every month for monitoring purpose:

1. Location wise KAIZEN submitted vs planned

2. Domain wise KAIZEN submitted vs planned

8. AWARENESS & POPULARITY

The following activities are carried out to spread awareness and enhancement of popularity of the
program:

 Monthly internal communication is sent out by the IC team to spread awareness. The content
of this communication is developed by Corporate Quality team in conjunction with the IC
team.

 The program manager as well as the location Corporate Quality SPOCs conducts roadshows
and brief interactive sessions to popularize the program and its benefits for both the
organization and the associates.

9. APPENDIX

KAIZEN Tool can be accessible from within Tech M BPS network using the following URL:
http://10.25.1.51:9085/Login.aspx

KAIZEN Tool can be accessible from outside Tech M BPS network (i.e., using any internet
connection) using the following URL:
https://krystalzeal.techmahindra.com/Kaizen_New/Kaizen/

10. DOCUMENT HISTORY

Version Date Author (function) Reviewed by Approved by Nature of

changes
1.0 January 9, Samik Roy Sarthak Kunal Initial release
2020 Chowdhury Adavi Chatterjee

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