Kaizen refers to continuous improvement processes that focus on incrementally improving processes, eliminating waste, and standardizing best practices. The key aspects of Kaizen include:
- Incremental improvements made at little or no cost through employee involvement rather than major innovations.
- Eliminating waste and non-value added activities through techniques like 5S and identifying the seven forms of waste.
- Standardizing processes and documentation to preserve knowledge and measure performance.
- An emphasis on teamwork, communication, and addressing issues systematically through approaches like Poka-Yoke for mistake proofing.