A Kaizen Event is also known as a Rapid Improvement Event.
Kaizen is a Japanese word that combines the ideas of “change” and “goodness” which basically translates to “improve for the better.” In practice a Kaizen is a Rapid Improvement Event that generally spans from 1 to 5 days and involves key process participants focusing on solving a narrowly scoped process improvement opportunity. The difference between Kaizen and typical workshops is threefold:
- The planning for the event is extensive
- Leadership has given explicit approval for change
- The agreed upon improvement takes place before the Kaizen event is completed