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Overseas Reports【Current Activities of Former Participants】

Kaizen Seminar (one of their Kaizen promotion activities) held by
the former participants from Chile on December 4th, 2013

１）Course Leader:

Mr. Tadashi MIYAMOTO

２）Formar Participant:

Mr. José Miguel Santana Villagra,
la Fundacion para la Promocion del Kaizen(The Kaizen Promotion Association)

May 20th, 2014

Training DivisionKitakyushu International Techno-cooperative Association

[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships~ We report on workshops being run by former participants playing
an active role in their homeland of Chile after completing their
JICA/KITA technical training course~This issue of Overseas Reports covers the current situation of activities being run in their homelands byparticipants who studied in the " Practical Production Management (Theory and Practice on ProductivityImprovement) for South America" training course held during the past five years.
Course Leader Miyamoto told us about the activities of the former participants. In the first installment

we introduce the activities of a member playing an active role in Chile in the promotion of'Kaizen' (continuous improvement).

1. Exchanges with Former Participants

Course Name: “Practical Production Management (Theory andPractice on Productivity Improvement) for South America”~ Number of participants and countries accepted in the past trainings~

JICA

Number ofTraining Course

Participants

2007 FY

74 Countries (A・B・C・U)

2008 FY

62 Countries (B・C)

2009 FY

84 Countries (A・C・Pa・V)

2010 FY

84 Countries (C・K・E・Pa)

2011 FY85 Countries (A・C・K・E・Pa)

2012 FY

74 Countries (C・E・K・Pe)

Mr. MIYAMOTO
Course Leader

Countries

A: Argentina, B: Brazil,

C: Chile,

V: Venezuela,

Pe: Peru

E: Ecuador,

U: Uruguay,

Pa: Paraguay

South American Countries

2. Messages from Mr. MIYAMOTO, Course Leader
Theory can be taught even without experience of putting it into practice.
However, practical learning (= application) cannot be taught unless it has actually been put intopractice. You teach it from experience.
An estimated 6 million shop floor workers in Japan exchange the know-how they have gained fromexperience in 'small group activities'. Therein lies Japan's true potential.
The predominant corporate culture is one of "superiors and subordinates" who want to jointly produce
a better company via the plentiful exchange of 'practical learning'.

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[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships

3. Introduction of the Former Participants from Chile
PictureName

Country

JICA Training Period

Mr. José MiguelSantana
Villagra

Chile

2008/10/6～2009/2/7

Mr. Martini Yanssens
FranciscoJavier

Chile

2012/10/15~2013/2/9

Mr. Victor ManuelHernández
Pino

Chile

2008/10/6～2009/2/7

Chile

2012/10/15~2013/2/9

Mr. Ventura Soto
HectorEduardo Jesus

4. Activities in Participants' Homelands
1) Mr. Santana's current situationHe has created the Kaizen Promotion Association and is taking action to spread awareness, forexample via seminars and university lectures.
The association is made up of state-run quality and productivity centers, universities, IE associations,consultancy groups and industry groups.
It has held international symposia that included Argentina and Brazil. There was a lecture fromMasaaki Imai (the author of "KAIZEN") at the second symposium and one from Toyota Argentina S.A.
at the third.
He wants to hold activities to spread experimental design and the Taguchi methods with the support of
the Chilean and Argentinian governments, and so is taking positive action so that, when thepreparations are complete, they can jointly invite lecturers.

Mr. Santana is giving a presentation at Kaizen Seminar.

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[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships◆Expectations of the participant (Mr. Santana)

He used AP to draw up a plan to spread Kaizen in his homeland, went to the Japanese Embassy toexplain it and gain support, and he is now working actively to build a system that is centered upon
former participants in this course who have returned home.
There was a change of president but her reinstatement last year has made things easier. We expect
action based upon his mid-term plan so that activities do not get bogged down.
Apparently there is a government subsidy, but we recommend that he secures their own source ofcapital by publishing teaching materials.

【Report on the Second Kaizen Seminar】【Report on the Third Kaizen Seminar】

June, 2012

December, 2013

Please click here to read

Please click here to readthe presentation

the presentation

2) Mr. Martini Yanssens's current situation
 He is an executive at a major chain of DIY and electronic material stores in the southern part of SouthAmerica. It has 15,000 employees and is currently expanding in countries such as Argentina.
 There can be no progress in Kaizen unless people can be got to participate, and he knows fromexperience how hard it is to keep on getting people's approval! He also understands that, as competition
intensifies, it is important that everyone keeps moving in the same direction!

Mr. Martini Yanssens is giving a presentation at Kaizen Seminar.

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[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships◆Expectations of the participant (Mr. Martini Yanssens)

He has a good understanding of Kaizen from books and talks, and seems to have, in a sense,
understood it as something simple, but he also seems to have understood that it takes on completelydifferent dimensions when it comes to implementing it. In other words, knowing something andbeing able to put it into practice are two completely different things!
He is a sincere man and I really hope that he will develop into an industry leader!

3) Mr. Hernández's current situation
He comes from a regional minority and wants to help them to improve their living conditions.

Mr. Hernández is giving a presentation at Kaizen Seminar.

◆Expectations of the participant (Mr. Hernández)Apparently he was a Chilean champion in kyokushin karate. His elder brother will develop acopper ore mine and he sounded us out as to whether there might be investors in Japan. In ourdiscussion he told us that the Russians are already there.
It would be difficult on an individual basis for Japan, so I expect that it would have to be via afund. Trading companies in particular are focusing on this field, and some have branches inSantiago, so I have advised him that one possibility would be to contact people in that field.
He is gentle and strong, and is playing an active role with the aforementioned Mr. Santana tospread awareness of Kaizen.

4) Mr. Ventura Soto's current situationHe is the factory manager of a company that manufactures welding rods. The factory has apparently
been considerably tidied up but Kaizen has not been successfully achieved in the all-importantfinishing of the welding rods, with such defects occurring as insufficient flux, fissures andunevenness.
They use equipment such as drying furnaces and there are many production determinants, and heseems to understand that identifying the Kaizen process and setting conditions via experimental
design will be a priority.

Mr. Ventura Soto is giving a presentation at Kaizen Seminar.

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[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships◆Expectations of the participant (Mr. Ventura Soto)

He has a robust physique and a strong thirst for knowledge. He has good ideas about equipment
planning and tools, and was also admired at the Nissan Kyushu factory where the practicaltraining was done.
He can be overpowering as a leader so we are advising him to elicit more opinions from shop
floor workers.
If they can cooperate smoothly it will create a virtuous cycle.

* He is highly inquisitive, however he returned home without returning DVDs that he borrowed
during his training course, for example "An Introduction to Japanese Companies" and "Kendo
Championship Bouts", though the difference in format meant that he could not watch them in hishomeland.
【NOTE】◆Three Japanese people, who are contributing to the promotion of Kaizen in South AmericanCountries, were introduced in Kaizen Seminar.

1991

KITA course leader

JICA senior volunteer, who has
the experience of residing inMexico when he worked for
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.

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Widely known consultant
for KAIZEN[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships

5. Pictures of Kaizen Seminar(1) Pictures of the Second Kaizen Seminar

6(June, 2012）

[The KITA Training Brand]◆ Comprehensive grasp of local needs◆ Providing solutions ◆ Building win-win relationships(2) Pictures of the Third Kaizen Seminar

7(December 4th, 2013)