In Lean Management and Lean Six SIgma kaizen events are facilitated workshops focused on working on specific improvements in a value stream. One of the key reasons why kaizens are run is to ensure that improvements are made quickly. Projects which take longer than 6 months are less likely to be completed. Those that take 12 months to complete often don't get done at all. Why does this happen? Well things change in organizations. Priorities change, customer demands change, competitors move in the market, people get promoted or leave the company, managers are under pressure to resolve esclations so distractions come and so on.

So the aim is to make the improvement fast if an improvment is needed. When issues in a value stream needs to be fixed, the idea is to fix them quickly using a focused full-time event held over period of 4-5 consecutive days. This is dedicated team problem solving team time. Distractions are minimized, the intent is to get the change done and get it up and running. Often the end result of the Kaizen is a pilot implementation. Sometimes when possible, full implementation is completed by the end of the kaizen project.

Typically, the team investigates the issues, spends time at the gemba, performs root-cause analysis, goes back to gemba to check if the analysis is valid, develops the counter-measures and builds an implementation plan. Implementation typically begins during the Kaizen event itself. Where possible it is completed by the end of the Kaizen event. The aim is implementation!

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The team that takes on the Kaizen project usually comprises 5-7 personnel coming from the core area to be changed, the upstream process from it and the downstream process after it. A team leader with leadship capabilities and organizarional capabilities is essential. He/she mst also have a clear vision of what the team is to achieve during the Kaizen event and 'what good looks like' as an outcome. 

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After the Kaizen event, the team is usually given 30 days in which to complete all outstanding action items. The team will re-measure the performance of the value stream and celebrate the improvement achieve.

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Eagles Wings Consulting has been operating since 2004. We have a wealth of experience in Lean Six Sigma. In our client base we have faciliated approximately 500 kaizen events for our clients.