What is Kaizen?

Many new methods for improvement comes from Japan. A whole concept of Kaizen improvement are identified as key to Japan’s competitiveness.

It’s not easy to define the concept of KAIZEN. The word comes from a Japanese character that means translated into Swedish: change for the better. A Japanese named Maasaki Imai has developed a philosophy or an approach to both work and life known as Kaizen. The term actually means continuous improvement, and includes both its management and employees. Kaizen philosophy includes not only people’s working lives, but also their social life and family.

All these elements deserve to be constantly improved. The belief that change is contious without finish, is deeply rooted in the Japanese mentality and is the foundation of Kaizen thinking. The approach of Kaizen is based on the small and continuous changes that are important in the long term.

By letting employees be involved in the change process we create a commitment in their daily work. This makes our processes more efficient.

The concept of Kaizen is a term that includes most of the Japanese methods of quality regulations, such as TQC (Total Quality Control) and Just-in-time.