Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement based on small, incremental changes. It originated from quality circles in post-WWII Japan and was popularized in the West by Masaaki Imai. The key principles of Kaizen include iterative improvement, empowering employees, and getting to the root cause of problems. Kaizen follows a cycle of continuous improvement involving getting employee involvement, finding problems, creating solutions, testing solutions, analyzing results, and adopting successful solutions. It utilizes frameworks like the 5S system and PDCA cycle. Kaizen focuses on eliminating waste through small, gradual changes rather than large transformations.

1. KAIZEN
What is Kaizen?
Kaizen is an approach to creating continuous improvement based on the idea that
small, ongoing positive changes can reap significant improvements.
Kaizen is a compound of two Japanese words that together translate as "good
change" or "improvement." However, Kaizen has come to mean "continuous
improvement" through its association with lean methodology and principles.
Kaizen has its origins in post-World War II Japanese quality circles. These circles or
groups of workers focused on preventing defects at Toyota. Kaizen was brought to
the West and popularized by Masaaki Imai via his book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's
Competitive Success in 1986.

2. KAIZEN

3. Principles of Kaizen
Because executing Kaizen requires enabling the right mindset throughout a company, 10 principles
that address the Kaizen mindset are commonly referenced as core to the philosophy. They are:
• Let go of assumptions.
• Be proactive about solving problems.
• Don't accept the status quo.
• Let go of perfectionism and take an attitude of iterative, adaptive change.
• Look for solutions as you find mistakes.
• Create an environment in which everyone feels empowered to contribute.
• Don't accept the obvious issue; instead, ask "why" five times to get to the root cause.
• Obtain information and opinions from multiple people.
• Use creativity to find low-cost, small improvements.
• Never stop improving.

4. Kaizen cycle for continuous improvement
• Kaizen can be implemented in a seven-step cycle to create an environment based on continuous
improvement. This systematic method includes the following steps:
• Get employees involved. Seek the involvement of employees, including soliciting their help in
identifying issues and problems. Doing so creates buy-in for change. Often, this is organized as
specific groups of individuals charged with gathering and relaying information from a wider group
of employees.
• Find problems. Using widespread feedback from all employees, gather a list of problems and
potential opportunities. Create a list if there are many issues.
• Create a solution. Encourage employees to offer creative solutions, with all manner of ideas
encouraged. Pick a winning solution or solutions from the ideas presented.
• Test the solution. Implement the winning solution chosen above, with everyone participating in the
rollout. Create pilot programs or take other small steps to test out the solution.
• Analyze the results. At various intervals, check progress, with specific plans for who will be the
point of contact and how best to keep ground-level workers engaged. Determine how successful
the change has been.
• If results are positive, adopt the solution throughout the organization.
• These seven steps should be repeated on an ongoing basis, with new solutions tested where
appropriate or new lists of problems tackled.

5. Kaizen Cycle

6. Kaizen 5S framework
A 5S framework is a critical part of the Kaizen system and establishes an ideal
physical workplace. The 5Ses focus on creating visual order, organization,
cleanliness and standardization to improve profitability, efficiency, service and
safety. Below are the original Japanese 5Ses and their common English translations.
• Seiri/Sort (organize). Separate necessary workplace items from unnecessary ones
and remove unnecessary items.
• Seiton/Set in order (create orderliness). Arrange items to allow for easy access in
the way that makes the most sense for work.
• Seiso/Shine (cleanliness). Keep the workspace clean and tidy.
• Seiketsu/Standardize (standardized cleaning). Systematize workplace cleanup
best practices.
• Shitsuke/Sustain (discipline). Keep the effort going.

7. Kaizen-Advantages and Disadvantages
• Kaizen advantages
• Kaizen's focus on gradual improvement can create a gentler approach to change in contrast to big efforts
that may be abandoned due to their tendency to provoke change resistance and pushback.
• Kaizen encourages scrutiny of processes so that mistakes and waste are reduced.
• With fewer errors, oversight and inspection needs are minimized.
• Employee morale improves because Kaizen encourages a sense of value and purpose.
• Teamwork increases as employees think beyond the specific issues of their department.
• Client focus expands as employees become more aware of customer requirements.
• Systems are in place to ensure improvements are encouraged both in the short and long terms.
• Kaizen disadvantages
• Companies with cultures of territorialism and closed communication may first need to focus on cultural
changes to create a receptive environment.
• Short-term Kaizen events may create a burst of excitement that is shallow and short-lived and, therefore, is
not sustained.

8. PDCA
Additional approaches to the Kaizen cycle exist, such as one that is condensed into four steps --
plan, do, check, act, or PDCA. It is also known as the Shewhart cycle or Deming cycle.
How to apply Kaizen to your operation
Kaizen initiatives should be simple and easy to implement. An effective way to achieve this is to
follow the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle:
Plan: Create a detailed process of the improvement to take place and identify the goals you want to
achieve.
Do: Test the potential improvement by carrying out a trial or small-scale study.
Check: Measure and review the results to determine the effectiveness of the plan.
Act: If the results of your trial are successful then implement the change. If not, adjust the plan and
repeat the cycle.

9. Difference between Kaizen and innovation
• What’s the difference between Kaizen and innovation?
• The key difference between Kaizen and innovation is that Kaizen is a gradual process whereas
innovation can be considered as a more radical action. Kaizen focuses on small
improvements that can be easily taken on a regular and consistent basis with the aim of
delivering incremental improvements on a long-term scale. Innovation, on the other hand,
focuses on large, dramatic improvements that require investment and planning which aim to
deliver significant improvements in a relatively short timescale after implementation.

10. Example
• Examples:
• Toyota Motor Manufacturing (U.K.)
Low-cost creative innovations such as Dougal, reducing wasteful movement by
making parts move with the workers, and speeding up tedious tasks by using simple
tools (like a sticker picker) save a total of 35.1 seconds per car—conserving almost
10 years of work when applied globally in 2018. Undoubtedly, kaizen elevated
Toyota as the world’s first company to produce more than 10 million cars in a year.

11. Kaizen Approach
• What is Muda?
• Muda in lean management is any activity that doesn’t add value to the business. This Japanese
word translates to “wasteful” in English, the opposite of value-added work and productivity.
It’s a best practice in manufacturing to reduce and eliminate wastefulness in order to improve
efficiency and increase profitability.
• What are the 7 Mudas?
• Muda isn’t just about the typical waste, most people would have thought of garbage. That’s
not wrong but it’s not all that there is. In TPS and lean management, muda is subdivided in
seven categories. Originally created by the chief engineer in Toyota the seven wastes
(commonly abbreviated to TIMWOOD) are:

12. Kaizen Approach
• 1. Transportation
• This type of waste represents the unnecessary steps between the production processes. For
example, during the transportation of materials from one location to another, is there any
movement that can be eliminated or reduced? Additionally, it’s considered muda if the load of
the vehicle used to transport these materials is under capacity. Another example is
documentation. Documentation includes a lot of steps such as filling out paperwork, signing
documents, passing these documents to different departments, etc. There are a lot of tools
available that can make this process more efficient such as using software and applications.

13. Kaizen Approach
2. Inventory
• This waste is materials that aren’t used or finished goods that haven’t been sold. Inventory can
take up a lot of real estate and can be costly to store. Finished goods that are sitting around
can deteriorate or expire if it’s a perishable good. Work in process inventory can turn into
waste if it was scrapped or if it isn’t actively used in production.
3. Motion
• Unlike transportation which is between the processes, motion is a waste when there is
unnecessary movement within the process. Transportation is about the movement of product
and materials while motion is waste from people and equipment. This is the waste that affects
the people working on the product and the machines used during production. Are the workers
doing more steps than necessary or were any injured during their shift? Did the equipment
experience any downtime?

14. Kaizen Approach
4. Waiting
• This waste is generated when there are idle tasks. Sometimes there is no remedy but to wait.
For example, workers taking breaks in between tasks. Another example, when there is a queue
for the next process of the production line due to the equipment’s capacity to finish the current
load.
5. Overproduction
• It’s wasteful to produce more than what can be shipped out and delivered. Overproduction
also affects other muda categories such as inventory and transportation.

15. Kaizen Approach
6. Over processing
• This waste is generated when more work is done to finish a task or output. A method to
eliminate this muda is to determine the root cause of the additional steps or processes
conducted. Is the over processing caused by human error or is there any equipment and
machine that needs to be maintained or repaired?
7. Defects
• It’s a waste when a finished product has defects. Most defective products are scrapped and
thrown away which increases costs and leads to reproduction. Two ways to reduce defects is
to conduct product testing and set routine inspections during the production process.

16. Kaizen Approach
M Model: Muda, Mura, and Muri
Muda – Lean management concept for wastefulness.
• Mura – This concept is having an imbalance and inconsistency in the production process.
This is a main principle for just-in-time (JIT) production systems and can affect workers and
machines. It’s difficult to eliminate mura but the unevenness of the workload of workers and
machines can be reduced by using the Heijunka concepts and kanban tools.
• Muri – If there is an imbalance then there can also be an overburden of workload for workers
and machines. A way to prevent muri is to evenly distribute tasks. Also ensure that the
workers have the skill set required and that the equipment used are correct.

17. Kaizen Approach

18. Kaizen Best Practices
• Here are some of the best practices associated with Kaizen:
Focus on the process, not the goal
• Process focus might be the most significant difference between kaizen management and
traditional management styles. Kaizen is based on a philosophy of slight, incremental,
continuous improvement. When this style is fully operational, it creates a self-sustaining cycle
of opportunities and solutions to reduce waste of time, money, and resources. Goal-oriented
management focuses on control with a limited definition of success, while kaizen is flexible
and adaptive. It uses metrics for evaluation rather than to measure the improvements and meet
a predefined number. Finally, process-oriented management looks at the big picture, while
goal-oriented management is more narrowly focused on the short term.

19. Kaizen Best Practices
• Engage your employees in the decision-making process
• Employees often feel powerless to affect change in their workplaces. They’re your greatest
resource for ideas and skills, but they believe their voice isn’t heard. Token attempts at engagement
like the typical suggestion box don’t produce any meaningful action. On the other hand, Kaizen
management includes employees in the improvement process from identification through
implementation to recognition. Seeing their position in the company validated gives them the
confidence and motivation to continue looking for more opportunities to improve.
• Go after the low-hanging fruit
• As mentioned, kaizen management focuses on small, incremental improvement. Employees are
encouraged to seek opportunities for change that are low-risk and low-cost. This enables change to
be effected quickly, creating a momentum that carries through to the next project. It also keeps the
energy level high, providing greater engagement on the part of employees. These changes create
the building blocks that form the culture of continuous improvement.

20. Kaizen Best Practices
• “Do it better, make it better”
• Everyone is familiar with the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In traditional business models, if a process or
system appears to be functioning reasonably well, it’s assumed that it’s operating at maximum effectiveness.
Kaizen management assumes that every element of a company can be improved. Employees are encouraged to
look at established policies and methods with a fresh eye. Instead of thinking up reasons why something can’t
be done, they’re urged to ignore conventional limitations and figure out how it can be done.
• Eliminate waste in all forms
• For many companies, waste is looked at from a financial perspective. For Kaizen management, waste applies to
all resources. One resource that can never be replenished is time. Every action should add some value to the
company, and employees are encouraged to look for ways to increase efficiency and reduce waste The
workplace is constantly adjusted to be organized in such a way that no unnecessary steps are taken.
• Don't throw money at problems
• Some improvements will require capital, but spending money or hiring people is not kaizen’s first line of
defense. Instead, the most successful teams use innovation, creativity, and experimentation to improve before
writing a check. In fact, budget-constrained organizations have even more reasons to practice Kaizen.
•

21. Kaizen Improvement Techniques
In addition to these best practices, some specific techniques can be used to support and spread Kaizen
thinking in your organization.
Gemba Walks During a Gemba walk, a leader goes to the place where work is done to observe and show
respect for the employees. The leader asks questions and learns why work is performed in a current manner.
After the walk, any opportunities for improvement are documented and potentially implemented.
Hoshin Kanri is a strategy deployment that helps align individual improvement work with the overall
strategy and objectives of the organization. Several breakthrough objectives are identified and then goals
cascade down to the individual level.
5S is a workplace organization methodology for ensuring safety and increasing efficiency. 5S stands for the
5 steps: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. These steps require going through everything in a
workspace, deciding what's necessary and what isn't. Necessary things are put things in order, the space is
cleaned, and finally set up for efficient workflow.

22. Kaizen Improvement Techniques
• Value Stream Mapping Creating a map of the flow of value to a customer is an excellent way
to identify potential areas for waste reduction. Every process, activity, and operation is
mapped in relation to each other, with dependencies identified. For example, raw materials or
ideas are on one end, and the customer is on the other. Every process that is not directly in the
flow should be examined strictly to see if it is indispensable.
PDSA : Plan, do, study, and act is a simple improvement cycle for ensuring that changes
positively impact results. First, a plan is developed that addresses the root cause of the issue at
hand. Next small changes are implemented to attempt to achieve the desired results. Finally,
the data is studied to ensure that positive change has occurred. If it has, the change is made
part of the standard work.