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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Process Improvement

Kaizen

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

/ˈkaɪzən/nounCore term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, kaizen means: A Japanese word for 'change for the better', used for small, steady improvements made by everyone, and for a short, focused improvement event.

In Turkish: kaizen, sürekli iyileştirme

How it is used

Used as a noun in two ways: the general idea of daily improvement, and a kaizen event or blitz, a three-to-five-day workshop on one area. People run, hold or lead a kaizen and submit kaizen ideas.

Example sentences

  1. We ran a three-day kaizen on the packing area and cut walking distance by half.

  2. Each team is expected to submit at least two kaizen ideas a month.

Common collocations

  • kaizen event
  • run a kaizen
  • kaizen blitz
  • kaizen idea
  • kaizen team
  • continuous improvementAn ongoing effort to make products, processes and services better through many small, regular changes rather than one big change. Often shortened to CI.
  • lean manufacturingA way of running production that aims to deliver what the customer needs with the least waste of time, material and effort, based on the Toyota Production System.
  • gembaA Japanese word meaning 'the real place': where the actual work is done, such as the shop floor, the warehouse or the lab.
  • 5SA workplace organization method with five steps: sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. It keeps work areas clean, tidy and easy to manage.

More terms: Process Improvement

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