Kaizen is the Japanese term for continuous improvements. Most Japanese manufacturing companies apply the concepts of Kaizen to improve their production that lead to decreased down times, unnecessary manpower and eventually increased profit as well as guaranteed customer satisfaction.

To be able to reach the goal of continuous improvements, teamwork, discipline and receptiveness to improvements are all required. Kaizen requires participation from the top management to the subordinates even up to the workers to be able to reach its most favorable results.

Determining the areas for improvements is the first key to Kaizen. The suggestions of the workers and the critical minds of the management will determine the next steps to address concerns and eventually lead to elimination of unwanted processes and expenses. Kaizen can also be described as coordination and open communication between the management to seek for areas for improvement and implement new policies for the betterment of the system.

Kaizen is usually implemented in production areas especially those that are technology oriented, warehouses and departments that follow a specific procedure. Kaizen eliminates wasted time, money, and resources that include raw materials and manpower.

Kaizen is a powerful tool to a more improved system and better productivity used by the largest corporations such as Toyota and Canon.