Coaching MABES supervisors from Kaizen idea to management presentation
What the coaching was for
For cohorts 5 and 6 of the MABES supervisory coaching series, I wanted supervisors to lead a real improvement, not just learn about one. Each cohort took a problem from their own aircraft-maintenance work and carried it all the way to management.
We started with three sessions: Elevate Leadership on 14 September, Enhance Communication on 21 September and Leading Change on 28 September. Those set up the harder part, which was leading a Kaizen project with their own teams.
Two projects from the hangar floor
Cohort 5 worked on reusing hardware on a maintenance line, recycling screws instead of discarding them. Cohort 6 worked on preventing floorboard damage and foreign object debris (FOD) during cabin maintenance.
The method I coached
Both teams went to the Gemba to observe, used an Ishikawa diagram and 5 Whys to reach the root cause, then proposed a solution and tested it in a controlled trial. Through October I coached them in person on 12 October and ran online mock presentations on 21 October.
Management set a clear bar: a sharp problem statement, current versus future data, and at least three further Kaizen ideas. The mock presentations were where we closed those gaps.
Presenting to management
On 23 October 2026 both cohorts presented their Kaizen projects to Base Maintenance leadership and Safety & Quality at Hangar 5. For me, that is the real test of supervisory coaching: supervisors standing up and owning the improvement in front of their leaders.
The company version of this story, with the course details, is on the Visi Armada Consulting portfolio.
Photos
From the in-person Kaizen coaching with MABES cohorts 5 and 6 on 12 October 2026.
Want supervisors who lead improvement themselves?
I coach supervisors and team leaders to run real improvement projects, from root cause to a presentation their management can act on.