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| Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning gradual and orderly, continuous improvement. Utilizing Kaizen as a business strategy is committing to sustained continuous improvement. This does not necessarily mean large capital costs with new equipment. It does mean you are serious about eliminating waste and keeping a close eye on waste creeping back into your operation. |
| There are 2 types of Kaizen's; a point Kaizen (interested in a cell or operation) and a flow Kaizen (interested in the whole company). Kaizen events are usually performed by a team of people, the people that are the most interested in making the improvements, the staff of the company. Those chosen for the team should always include the person(s) that actually performs the tasks because they know the operation the best. Other members of the team are typically individuals for all the other departments in your organization. In a small company, this may be the manager, a worker, supervisor, a salesperson and the shipper/receiver. In larger companies you may add engineering, maintenance, IT staff, product manager, merchandising, etc. |
| Kaizen events should be performed at regular intervals. This will create a completion date for changes to the currently reviewed event and keep you on the continuous improvement track. |
Information on holding a Kaizen event in-house.
Lean Manufacturing
Value Stream Mapping