The essence of Kaizen is making continuous, incremental improvements to processes, products, or services. This involves regularly reviewing and refining operations to eliminate waste and enhance efficiency.
Establishing standardized processes ensures that tasks are performed consistently and efficiently. Standardization creates a clear baseline from which improvements can be measured and evaluated.
Kaizen focuses on identifying and eliminating waste (muda) in all forms, such as overproduction, waiting time, unnecessary motion, excess inventory, and defects.
Empowering employees by involving them in decision-making processes and encouraging their input fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
Kaizen emphasizes understanding and meeting customer needs and expectations. Continuous improvement should be driven by the goal of providing better value to customers.