A how-to guide for planning and executing Kaizen events and conducting post-event follow-up to sustain the changes made. It outlines the Kaizen steps and techniques taught inside Toyota Motor Corporation. It examines simple analytic methods for work elements, time, motion, production lead-time, machine losses, and standardized work.

Toyota Kaizen Methods: Six Steps to Improvement focuses on the skills and techniques practiced inside Toyota Motor Corporation during the past decades. This workbook focuses on the actual training course concepts and methods used by Toyota to develop employee skill level, a core element of Toyota’s success. It is not a book about holding Western-style five-day Kaizen events, which were in reality quite rare during the development of Toyota’s production system and are virtually nonexistent today inside Toyota. Written by two of Toyota’s most revered and experienced trainers, the book —

• Traces the origins of Kaizen since the inception of Toyota Motor Corporation
• Articulates the basic six-step Kaizen improvement skills pattern taught inside Toyota
• Helps practitioners of Kaizen improve their own skill level and confidence by simplifying concepts and removing any mystery in the process
• Provides homework assignments and a wealth of forms for analyzing work processes

If you take the time to study the concepts detailed here, you will be reviewing the same methods and techniques that were harnessed by generations of Toyota supervisors, managers, and engineers. These techniques are not the secret ingredient of Lean manufacturing; however, mastery of these timeless techniques will improve your ability to conduct improvement in almost any setting and generate improvement results for your organization.