Kaizen, Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing.

The Kaizen Event, an approach to continuous improvement

It is a method that strives toward perfection by eliminating waste. It eliminates waste by empowering people with tools and a methodology for uncovering improvement opportunities and making change. Kaizen understands waste to be any activity that is not value-adding from the perspective of the customer. By value-adding, we mean any work done right the first time that materially changes a product or service in ways for which a wel-informed and reasonable customer is willing to pay.

Benefits

A kaizen event benefits the business and its customers, employees and suppliers.

For the Business, Kaizen:

• Produces improved top-line revenues and profits and bottomline cost reductions depending on the precise improvements made.
• Elevates the abilities of the business's employees, providing the company with a greater capability to grow.

For customers:

• Provides products and services that better satisfy their values.

For employees:

• Provides an opportunity to remove barries to job success abd satisfaction and the tools with which to do it.

For suppliers:

• Can stimulate new challenges and create new opportunitiew to learn and strengthen their relationships with the business sponsoring the kaizen events.