A small pipe line from Gaushala to take the cows’ urine to the biogas shed, and keeping buckets of
water for cows in the outer shed to reduce the work for the staff in cowshed; A two-way switch to
operate the motor to pump up water in boys’ hostel making it easier for the residents who
otherwise had to walk 100 metres outside to access the switch; Comparing the quantity of food
going as waste to the quantity cooked on a daily basis, making the residents of the homes aware
of the importance of the food they get thereby bringing wastage to zero and could have a lasting
effect in reducing waste; These were simple kaizens (ideas for continuous improvement) that came
up at the 2nd edition of KAIZEN BLITZ organized at Sevalaya’s Kasuva campus on 13th August 2022.
Nearly 150 staff from Kasuva and other nearby locations gathered in person while staff from other
locations joined online for the daylong event.
Sevalaya was set up with the Vision to make a Change for the better in the lives of the
underprivileged and less fortunate citizens. With inspiration drawn from the great thinkers
(Bharathiyar, Gandhi and Vivekananda) who shaped Sevalaya as a charitable organization, adopting
KAIZEN was a natural way to move forward. While first two decades were spent in growth and
creation of a sustainable model, the rigor to improve processes and formalize them was seriously
taken up from past ten years.
Formal process initiatives were kick started with training to all the staff of Sevalaya and including
targets for Kaizen in individual goal sheets. Sevalaya received certification for 5S in the year 2019,
after few years of preparation showed how deeply the organization took this up on their journey of
growth and improving quality within its operations.
The Grand event started with a brief overview of the Quality initiatives at Sevalaya by L N Anupriya,
Head of Quality and Volunteer services. T M Venkatesan of Focus5 first applauded the Winners of
Kaizen initiatives of Sevalaya during the year 2022 in person, and then went on to inspire the
audience with his very motivating introductory talk. He ran innovative games for participants to help
understand the importance of quick reactions, importance of time, etc. “Take one idea, Make the
idea work”, quoting from his own life of getting a doctorate quite late in life, he urged all Sevalaya
members to dream and help Sevalaya reach the pinnacle of excellence.
The other speakers and guests included J Arun Kumar, CEO Rialto Enterprises, S Ravi, Manager GEA,
BGR, P M Devarajan, TQM trainer & QCI master trainer, M G Murali, General Manager (Retd)
Sundaram Clayton Ltd.
Ravi gave some very lucid examples highlighting the importance of teamwork and implementation.
Devarajan called out to the audience with a very well thought out quiz and involving large number of
participants as teams. This really made it highly exciting for all 150 + attendees. He reinforced the
essence of Sevalaya through the quiz and brought about the awareness for innovative thinking,
encouraged all to use the library and even gave away prizes at end of the quiz.
Arun, a longtime donor, appreciated the monthly Newsletter from which he gets information on
Sevalaya’s achievements. His message to all was, that to keep pace in the world, each one as well as
the organization need to bring in continuous change and innovation.
M G Murali reiterated the need to take ownership of Kaizen and keep it going.
25 teams comprising 5 to 6 members each were formed and were assigned to visit various Gembas
(work places) in the campus and come up with Kaizens. Post lunch, the teams enthusiastically visited
the various nooks and corners of the campus to explore the assigned areas and come up with
suggestions. Presentations were made to the jury by the teams with much enthusiasm and hope!
The teams were most articulate and presented their innovative suggestions with confidence. The
energy quotient was really high at the venue with more than 80 ideas generated by the teams by the
end of the day. Sevalaya’s teams showcased their talents for expression and innovation with
conscious thought to cost and safety. 8 teams were shortlisted out of which 3 teams were declared
as winners!
S Rajagopalan, CEO Ashley Alteams, Chief Guest for the closing ceremony, expressed his
appreciation for the yeoman service being rendered by Sevalaya. He encouraged the teams to be
open minded to change and ensured that with this discipline amongst the teams, Sevalaya would
reach greater heights.
Founder Muralidharan gave an example quoting from the great epic Ramayanam on the importance
of following process and the repercussions/dangers of not doing so.
G Arunkumar, Designer, Systems and Communications Department, from Sevalaya’s city office was
delighted to interact with many staff members whom he is meeting for the first time, as he was part
of a team which consisted of members from various other units of Sevalaya.
Prizes were distributed to the winning teams. The Kaizen Blitz 2022 was a truly festive occasion for
all and the young and energetic members of Sevalaya were very highly appreciated by every one of
the highly accomplished guests in field of Quality from the Industry.
