OTRS Kaizen Software
Rejoice Company | Video manuals created using kaizen software improve cleaning service quality and glowing feedback received from infection control nurses
Industry: Facility management/cleaning services
Employees: 2,536+
Revenue: 9.07 billion yen
※1：Current as of August 2018 ※2： Fiscal year ending in August 2018
Company: Rejoice Company
Establishment: December 1982
Address: 2-3-6 Daimon, Shiba, Minato-ku,105-0012
Business Description:
- Outsourcing services for medical and healthcare institutions (sterilization, medical clerical work, nursing aide)
- Cleaning services for medical and healthcare facilities, office buildings and schools
- Other services (security, product sales, telephone exchange, staffing services etc.)
Issue
Creating standard work video manuals took a long time
Outcome
Creation of practical video manuals made so easy
Introduction background
We are living in an era where even cleaning work is expected to be backed by scientific evidence
Rejoice Company runs medical and healthcare facility cleaning services as its core business. According to the company, as the number of medical institutions with infection control nurses (ICNs) has increased in recent years, the company has increasingly been expected to incorporate infection control measures into their cleaning services.
“As a company providing outsourcing services for medical and healthcare institutions, we have followed relevant industry guidelines such as the CDC (U.S. Centers for disease Control and Prevention) guidelines. However, the number of cases where a higher level of service has been requested by ICNs have increased in recent years” – Hajime Kurozu
In August 2015, under the auspices of the company’s top executives who focus on the importance of high-quality cleaning service delivery, RJC Research Institute was established directly under the managing director with the aim to strengthen the company’s competitiveness. Under the leadership of Mr Kurozu, the institute started a project to develop their operation manuals in order to improve their cleaning service quality. They have created a bespoke manual specific to each cleaning site with abundant visual content including photos to help workers understand work processes more easily.
“As the company grows into the future, we regard the current labor shortage issue as a serious concern. In order to support our employees to stay working for our company for the long term, we need a system where all workers can develop further and recognize their achievements. With this in mind, we recognized the importance of providing continuous training opportunities for our workers by making good use of well-developed manuals.” – Hajime Kurozu
Why OTRS Kaizen Software was selected
Discovered OTRS when exploring the possibility of creating effective video manuals using kaizen software
The team started to create a paper-based operation manual for cleaning sites where great efforts were made in infection control. Alongside of this, they also recorded the footage of cleaning work and tried to create a video manual by inserting some notes and captions on the recorded footage by using video-editing software. However, the video manuals they created were less than ideal and not so practical as a manual.
“We created a standard work for our cleaning work in consideration of the trade-off between time and quality. We faced some challenges as we had to record several patterns of work videos to examine the best practice.” – Hajime Kurozu
Mr Kurozu drew on his previous knowledge and experience which he gained through working for a manufacturing company in the area of management engineering and collected relevant information based on key words such as time and motion study in search for the best solution to create effective and efficient video manuals. During such time, he came across OTRS kaizen software, which caught his attention. After receiving detailed information of the kaizen software and a demo, Mr Kurozu confirmed that the software allowed him to divide a task into small work elements for motion analysis, and he was convinced that he could create an optimal work procedure or standard work for each task easily. The decision to purchase one software license was made almost immediately.
“ With OTRS, we can correct a division of work elements easily with a click of a mouse and calculate time taken for each element accurately at a centisecond scale. We can also generate the data we need easily such as time charts, net rate and work balance efficiency in one go without re-entering the information into Excel as we used to.” – Hajime Kurozu
Introduction process
Launch of a certification test with the support of ICNs and facility directors
RJC Research Institute started to introduce the use of video manuals to their cleaning work at hospitals that apply vigorous hospital-wide infection prevention and control practices and also show understanding for their new project such as Teikyo University Hospital, Mizonokuchi and St. Luke’s International Hospital. Using the OTRS kaizen software, they firstly analyzed recorded footage of a cleaning task by going through the different motions of the task in elements, and produced a video showing a standard work which was created in consideration of the best balance of efficiency and quality. Then, the actual cleaning work performed by their cleaning workers at the facility site was also recorded and shown to them together with the standard work video created. Cleaning workers learn the standard work by watching the two videos side by side at the same time in comparison. The team also started to conduct a “certification test” for their cleaning workers after a certain period from them learning the standard work in order to check the compliance of the standard work procedure once a year.
“ Considering the limited capacity we have as well as the importance of sharing the same level of awareness with the person responsible for the facility site, we started the project with a few number of hospitals we selected.” – Hajime Kurozu
Introduction outcome
Acquiring new customers and promoting the development of institutional arrangement design
Using OTRS kaizen software, Mr Kurozu can efficiently create a video recording of standard work for a task to be performed within a target time by combining the necessary work elements of the task without recoding the same task repeatedly. Their video manuals received very positive feedback from ICNs since work manuals in video format are still quite rare in the cleaning business. Through their marketing efforts highlighting the value of delivering increased cleaning service quality using the video manuals, the company has started to achieve positive outcomes such as acquiring new customers.
They have also established a system where certification test results of their employees are reflected in their personal evaluation and their salary increase. Having their workers go through a certification test on a regular basis has led to successful outcomes of not only helping them maintain and enhance the quality of their cleaning services but also raising the motivation of their employees.
“ Previously, when we pointed out the things that need to be better addressed, some workers took the feedback personally saying that they were doing their best. However, by showing their recorded work and the standard work video manual in comparison, they can take our feedback in a calm manner. I hope that our standard work video manuals will also provide a good platform to stimulate work improvement discussions amongst our workers at a site level, too.” – Hajime Kurozu
The next step
Offer a differentiated service to expand the business by making the most of the video manuals created using kaizen software
Mr Kurozu is planning to present the outcome of the training initiative utilizing video manuals over the past two years at the Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control conference to be held in Kobe in February 2019. He believes that the company has an absolute competitive advantage of delivering high-quality cleaning services by utilizing the video manuals. The company hopes to expand its business further by drawing attention to this.
In addition to the thorough implementation of standard work with the objectives of improving the work quality and reducing the variations from the work performed by different workers, they are also planning to look in the ways to streamline and speed up their work by utilizing the kaizen software.
“ Improvement activities cannot be conducted alone. Gaining understanding and support from ICNs and facility directors of the relevant medical and healthcare institutions are essential. I will continue to make consistent and proactive efforts by disseminating and sharing information in order to build up a solid track record.” – Hajime Kurozu
Customer Feedback
Expecting a positive result in training foreign workers in the future
Since the foundation of the company, we have valued our employees by placing particular importance on “permanent employment” and a “hands-on management style”. However, as Japan’s working population declines, the recent labor shortage issue is starting to become a serious concern for us as we try to expand our business into the future. Currently, the Japanese government is continuing to debate the expansion of its immigration program to increase the number of foreign workers. Against such a background, when the need arises for us to hire those foreign workers and provide training for them, we can use OTRS with peace of mind as the kaizen software operates not only with Japanese, English and Chinese, but also with other languages.
Mr Hajime Kurozu
Chief Researcher, RJC Research Institute
OTRS is a time and motion analysis software product supported by Shinka Management, with an installation base of 6000 licenses spanning 20 countries.
For further information, or to request a demo or trial, see OTRS10 time study software and Mobile OTRS time study app.