How do you measure the success of a kaizen event?

1 Define your goals

Before you start your kaizen event, you need to have a clear and specific goal that aligns with your customer needs and business objectives. This will help you focus your improvement activities and set the scope and boundaries of your project. Your goal should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, your goal could be to reduce the cycle time of a process by 20% in one week, or to increase the quality of a product by reducing defects by 50% in three days. Having a SMART goal will also help you measure your progress and results during and after the kaizen event.

2 Collect baseline data

Before you implement any changes, you need to collect baseline data that reflects the current state of your process or area. This will help you establish a reference point for comparison and identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement. You can use various tools and techniques to collect and analyze your baseline data, such as value stream mapping, process flow diagrams, waste analysis, customer feedback, etc. You should focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are relevant to your goal and customer value, such as cycle time, quality, productivity, safety, cost, etc.

3 Track your changes

During your kaizen event, you need to track the changes that you make to your process or area and monitor their impact on your KPIs. You can use tools such as PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycles, control charts, run charts, etc. to test and evaluate your changes and make adjustments as needed. You should also document your changes and record the lessons learned and best practices that emerge from your experiments. Tracking your changes will help you measure the immediate and short-term effects of your kaizen event and ensure that you are moving towards your goal.

4 Compare before and after

After your kaizen event, you need to compare the before and after data and calculate the difference and improvement percentage for each KPI. You can use tools such as histograms, pareto charts, fishbone diagrams, etc. to visualize and analyze your data and identify the root causes and main drivers of your improvement. You should also compare your actual results with your expected results and assess if you have met or exceeded your goal. Comparing before and after will help you measure the final and long-term outcomes of your kaizen event and quantify the value added for your customers, employees, and business.

5 Gather feedback

After your kaizen event, you need to gather feedback from your stakeholders, such as customers, employees, managers, suppliers, etc. You can use methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc. to collect and analyze their opinions and perceptions of your kaizen event and its results. You should ask questions that relate to their satisfaction, engagement, motivation, learning, etc. You should also solicit their suggestions and recommendations for further improvement and follow-up actions. Gathering feedback will help you measure the qualitative and intangible aspects of your kaizen event and understand the impact and effectiveness from different perspectives.

6 Review and celebrate

After your kaizen event, you need to review and celebrate your achievements and learnings. You can use tools such as A3 reports, storyboards, presentations, etc. to summarize and communicate your kaizen event and its results to your stakeholders and other interested parties. You should highlight the benefits and challenges, the key findings and insights, the lessons learned and best practices, and the next steps and action plans. You should also recognize and reward the contributions and efforts of your team and other participants. Reviewing and celebrating will help you measure the success of your kaizen event and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?