An intentional approach empowers associates to foster a continuous improvement culture
The Raymond Corporation has hit a milestone in its mission to drive a culture of continuous improvement, as employees have reached their goal of filing over 150,000 kaizens. Previously, in 2024, the Greene location celebrated operations, hitting 100,000 submitted kaizens. Kaizen is based on the idea that small changes over time will result in significant improvements. Raymond has seen a positive shift in employee engagement since the 2006 introduction of the program, plus the additions of functions in the corporate office, Muscatine, Iowa, and Syracuse, New York.
“I am incredibly proud of our team’s dedication to continuous improvement and the innovative spirit that propels us forward,” said Michael Field, president and CEO of The Raymond Corporation. “Our monthly kaizen submissions are a testament to the hard work and creativity of our employees, reflecting our unwavering commitment to excellence in everything we do. I also want to acknowledge the invaluable support our Solutions and Support Centers provide to our customers and the continuous improvements they bring to their operations by implementing Raymond Lean Management (RLM).”
The goal of kaizen is to simultaneously strengthen processes to create increased customer value and develop associates — allowing them to remove frustration and provide more time for value creation. Kaizen is a critical component of RLM and fosters respect and teamwork, as well as creates a challenge and go-and-see mindset, within the organization.
“Kaizen has played an instrumental role in developing our employees and fostering a culture of continuous improvement fueled by open communication,” said Tony Topencik, vice president of operations, quality, and EHS, The Raymond Corporation. “Kaizen empowers our employees who know the job best to openly communicate ideas to improve the work done in their department and the entire business.”
Since 2006, over 5,100 associates have submitted at least one kaizen. With nearly 60% of the workforce being with the company for less than five years, Raymond has found it is critical to engage associates early in their careers to create a continuous improvement mindset. With an 87% implementation rate, a kaizen in Raymond’s corporate office has a median savings of 4.25 hours. Raymond utilizes the statistics from the kaizen program to refine the company’s continuous improvement journey further. As an enterprise, Raymond celebrated 100,000 kaizens in September 2019 and currently has, on average, 865 kaizens submitted monthly.
“Based on our recent research, kaizen participation is the leading indicator for driving a culture of continuous improvement. It builds confidence with associates on being engaged and empowered to constantly improve our standards — therefore, creating more value for our customers,” said Justin Sturek, continuous improvement manager at The Raymond Corporation. “We focus our efforts to coach, teach and develop all of our associates to refine their problem-solving capabilities so they are able to become fully proficient in their lean management journey.”
Each month, Raymond’s leadership, with the goal of highlighting employees’ work, selects four implemented kaizens to highlight during a presentation by the submitters’ direct supervisors. The submitters can talk about their work and receive special recognition.
“In order to foster a culture of continuous improvement, it is important that we celebrate it and bring visibility to excellence at every level of our organization. Monthly kaizen reviews and implemented kaizens provide us with a platform to recognize our team members who are dedicated to hard work, innovation and truly embody our culture of continuous improvement,” said Dave Norton, vice president of customer solutions and support, The Raymond Corporation. “We want our employees to have a rewarding career in a culture in which they can feel trusted, respected and valued. Kaizens are just one way we ensure we are living up to this culture.”
To learn more about Raymond’s continuous dedication to improvement or the Raymond Lean Management System, visit https://www.raymondcorp.com/
