Global KAIZEN™ Award 6th Edition: Embraer

Embraer’s Lean Excellence: A Global KAIZEN™ Award-Winning Journey

Excitement filled the air as Kaizen Institute Global hosted the 6th Edition of the Global KAIZEN™ Award in São Paulo, Brazil. Around 150 guests gathered to celebrate the finalists. Among these exceptional participants, Embraer, a world-leading aerospace corporation with over 19.000 employees, was awarded 1st place for its Lean Management project.

With a focus on enhancing efficiency in aeronautical structure assemblies, Embraer showcased its commitment to quality, process optimization, and Continuous Improvement. This achievement reflects the strength of the Embraer Excellence System, a comprehensive framework that has driven operational transformations across the company’s global operations.

What Made Embraer Stand Out?

Embraer’s award-winning project is a testament to its robust Lean strategy and culture of excellence. Here are the key factors that contributed to its success:

1. Comprehensive Lean Strategy

Embraer’s Excellence System is built on four interconnected components:

• Strategy Alignment: Ensuring every initiative aligns with the company’s broader goals.

• Integrated Management: Connecting processes seamlessly to achieve efficiency.

• Process Excellence: Applying Lean principles across all value streams.

• People Development: Equipping employees with skills and tools for problem-solving.

This approach ensures that Lean principles are embedded at every level, from shop floors to executive leadership.

2. Visual Management for Problem-Solving

The project introduced a straightforward visual management system using red, yellow, and green cards to identify and address assembly issues.

Red Cards: Highlight critical problems.

Yellow Cards: Signal areas requiring attention.

Green Cards: Represent resolved or preventative measures.

This system enabled teams to act quickly and decisively, reducing non-conformities.

3. Scaling Success

Embraer replicated successful practices across its global facilities. By standardizing processes and sharing knowledge, improvements became scalable and sustainable, amplifying their impact on operations worldwide.

4. Focus on Employee Development

Training plays a central role in Embraer’s Lean journey. In total, over 15.000 employees have been trained since 2020.

Training is accessible to all levels, from production teams to senior management. This investment ensures a shared understanding of excellence and empowers employees to drive Continuous Improvement.

5. Leadership-Driven Transformation

Embraer’s leadership actively supports the Lean strategy, for example, using the SQDC framework (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost) to guide decision-making. This type of prioritization ensures that improvements align with organizational values and objectives, such as prioritizing safety above all else.

Key Learnings for Other Organizations

Embraer’s success offers valuable lessons for businesses seeking to embrace Lean principles and Continuous Improvement:

1. Create a Unified Culture of Excellence: Align employees across all levels with shared goals and systematic training. A unified workforce ensures effective execution of improvement initiatives.

2. Leverage Visual Tools for Visible Results: Visual tools like the red-yellow-green card system make problems visible and actionable, enabling teams to achieve significant improvements efficiently.

3. Standardize and Scale Best Practices: Apply processes to replicate successful processes across different teams or facilities, ensuring consistent outcomes.

4. Focus on the Right Metrics: Prioritize core metrics such as safety, quality, delivery, and cost to guide decisions and maintain organizational focus.

5. Engage Leadership in Lean Transformation: Visible commitment from leaders drives accountability, alignment, and momentum, ensuring sustained progress.

Conclusion

Embraer’s journey highlights the transformative potential of Lean principles when applied with precision and commitment. By aligning strategy, empowering employees, and maintaining a clear focus on excellence, Embraer achieved remarkable results, including a large reduction in non-conformities and significant improvements in profitability.

Their success serves as an inspiring example for other organizations aiming to drive Continuous Improvement and build a legacy of excellence. As Embraer continues its Lean journey, the lessons from their award-winning project stand as a powerful reminder of the impact of a culture of Continuous Improvement.

Congratulations to the entire Embraer team, including Luis Marinho and Deborah de Campos Paula dos Santos.