A Kaizen event is a short-term brainstorming session that focuses on a single challenge and improves an existing process. It is a structured event that brings together all the people involved in making a process work correctly, including operators, managers, executives, and other stakeholders. The term "Kaizen" comes from two Japanese words, "kai" meaning change and "zen" meaning good or for the better. The goal of a Kaizen event is to achieve breakthroughs that quickly lead to process improvements.

Kaizen events are typically carried out in one week, although they can last from three to five days. They are the implementation arm of a lean manufacturing program and are one of the most powerful ways to operationalize process-improvement training and create momentum in an organization.

The following are typical Kaizen events to consider at your organization:

• Visual-management kaizens: designed to improve the flow of activities, materials, and information through visual-management techniques such as metric boards, color-coding, Andon lights, safety tape on floors, kanban, and the five Ss.
• Setup reduction kaizens: designed to reduce the time it takes to change over from one product to another.
• Process-improvement kaizens: designed to improve the overall process flow and eliminate waste.
• Quality-improvement kaizens: designed to improve the quality of the product or service being produced.

To conduct a Kaizen event, the following phases are typically followed:

• Phase 1: Planning and preparation
• Phase 2: Current state analysis
• Phase 3: Implementation
• Phase 4: Follow-up and sustainment

Kaizen events have several benefits, including problem-solving from the bottom up, fostering a Kaizen culture, and allowing people to practice leadership and teamwork skills. They are also helpful for introducing new team members to continuous improvement and the tools used to achieve it.