A Kaizen Event is one of the most popular ways to rapidly improve a process and make the gains stick. Or is it?

If you are the facilitator of the Kaizen event you do your pre-event planning, you get the right people there, and the event goes off without a hitch. Good ideas were given, documented and ready to be enacted now it is time to close out the meeting and yes, pass the baton. But who do Read More …

The Kaizen Event, A Critical Component of Xerox’s Customer Experience

I have been approached several times for others to guest blog post on the Business901 blog. When approached by Xerox recently it was very difficult for me to refuse. Not because it was Xerox, but because of how Xerox is using Lean Sigma in the market place. They are one of the few companies that Read More …

Kaizen in the Office Environment

Mike Osterling of Osterling Consulting was my guest on the Business901 Podcast. We had the opportunity to discuss White Collar Kaizen and the differences between executing Kaizen events in production versus office environments.  Mike specializes in Lean Operations implementation and training. As Lean Manufacturing Manager for Square D Company, he led their transition from traditional Read More …

Kaizen Event sounds a lot like a GE Workout

A shorten definition for Kaizen is continuous improvement and the Kaizen Event is a short-term team based activity that focuses on a localized continuous improvement effort. The team is very often a cross-functional team that will be brought together for a short period of time, typically 2 to 5 days. A Kaizen event can be Read More …

A Preview to Kaizen Week

This week the Business901 blog will center our theme on Kaizen, one of the most often used Lean words but practically ambiguity has set in on the term. Kaizen stands for Continuous improvement, the Kai to break apart, to change and the Zen to study or to improve. Recently, the Kaizen Event and/or Kaizen Blitz Read More …

Developing a Kaizen Spirit

Michael Ballé is the co-author of, The Gold Mine, a bestselling business novel of a Lean Turnaround, and recently, The Lean Manager, a novel of a Lean Transformation both published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. For the past 15 years, he has studied lean transformations, helping companies develop a lean culture. This e-book is a Read More …