Kaizen is originated from Japanese words “kai-” which means “change” and “-zen” which means “good.”
The popular meaning from Toyota is “continuous improvement” or “small incremental improvements” of all areas of a company, not just manufacturing.
Kaizen means all personnel are expected to stop their work when they encounter any abnormality and, along with their supervisor, suggest an improvement to resolve the abnormality.
When the improvement requires personnel outside of the immediate work area, a kaizen burst (or radical process improvement) event may be useful.
A Kaizen burst event should be part of an overall program of continuous improvement if they are to be successful and for gains to be sustained.
Methodology for Kaizen Event
- Observe
- Explore
- Apply
- Adapt
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