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Quick kaizen template

A quick kaizen is a small improvement that a team finishes in a few days, and the quick kaizen sheet is its one-page summary, sometimes called a kaizen report. It shows what the area looked like before and after, the problem with a number, the root cause in one line, what was changed and what it achieved, so anyone walking past the board can read it in a minute. This template fits it all on one landscape page, with boxes for before and after photos, a results table, a checklist of the standards to update and a sign-off. The Excel version works out the change and the payback, and has a log that adds up every quick kaizen.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

The quick kaizen templateFields for title, number, area, team leader and dates, large before and after photo boxes, boxes for the problem, the root cause and the countermeasure, a results table, a checklist of standards updated, and team and sign-off lines.
Before and after photosProblem with a numberRoot cause in one lineCountermeasureResults tableStandard updated checklistKaizen log in Excel

When to use it

When to use a quick kaizen template

  • For a problem whose cause the team can find and fix in days, without a full A3 or a kaizen event.
  • To write up a finished improvement for the team board, a review or a recognition program.
  • When a Just Do It turns out to need a root cause, or keeps coming back.
  • To share a fix with other lines and shifts on one page they can copy.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Take the before photo

    Before anything changes, photograph the problem from a spot you can find again, and note the number that shows it: minutes, defects, steps or cost.

  2. 2

    Write the problem with a number

    What is wrong, where and how big. For example: 12 minutes a shift spent looking for the torque wrench on line 4.

  3. 3

    Find the root cause

    State the one cause the fix removes, in one line. If it is not obvious, run a 5 Whys first.

  4. 4

    Make the change

    Write what was changed and where, then take the after photo from the same spot.

  5. 5

    Measure the result

    Enter before and after for each measure. The Excel version works out the change and whether it improved.

  6. 6

    Update the standard and sign

    Tick the documents that changed, such as the work instruction or a one point lesson, then sign it off and post it.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a quick kaizen on a packing line where operators waited for cartons.

The example kaizen on one line

  1. Problem

    About 25 min a shift waiting for cartons

  2. Root cause

    One delivery a shift, space for half a shift

  3. Countermeasure

    Two-bin rack; empty bin signals the hourly round

Waiting for cartons, minutes per shift

Before
about 25 min
After 2 weeks
about 3 min

Cost of the change: a $450 rack. Standard updated: the material handler's route sheet and a one point lesson.

Problem: about 25 minutes a shift waiting for cartons. Root cause: one delivery a shift into space for half a shift. Countermeasure: a two-bin rack. Result: about 3 minutes a shift, for a 450 dollar rack.

One problem with a number, one cause, one change, and the same number measured again.
  • Problem: operators stopped about 25 minutes a shift waiting for flat cartons to come from the warehouse.
  • Root cause: cartons were delivered once a shift, and the space at the line held only half a shift's worth.
  • Countermeasure: a two-bin rack at the line, with an empty bin as the signal for the material handler's hourly round.
  • Results after two weeks: waiting down to about 3 minutes a shift, for a rack that cost $450.
  • Standard updated: the material handler's route sheet, and a one point lesson for the packing operators.

The team signed it off after two weeks of data, posted the sheet on the board and copied the rack to the second packing line.

Common mistakes

  • No number

    Without a before and after measure, the result is an opinion. Pick one number and measure it both times.

  • Skipping the root cause

    Fixing the symptom brings the problem back. Write the cause in one line, and check it.

  • Photos from different places

    Take the after photo from the same spot as the before, or the difference is hard to see.

  • Leaving the standard unchanged

    If the work instruction still describes the old way, the old way comes back. Update it and train every shift.

  • Too big for one page

    If the sheet cannot hold it, the problem needs an A3 or a kaizen event instead.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite a Quick Kaizen is a project type with its own methodologies and phases, every action has an owner and a due date, savings are recorded, and a project turns into slides or a PDF for the review.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Quick kaizen template: common questions

  1. A small improvement project a team finishes in days: a clear problem, a root cause found and checked, a countermeasure put in place and the result measured. It sits between a Just Do It, which needs no analysis, and a kaizen event or an A3.

  2. Before and after, the problem with a number, the root cause, the countermeasure, the results, whether the standard was updated, the team and a sign-off. It fits on one page so anyone can read it at the board.

  3. An A3 works through a bigger problem in more depth, with the background, current condition, goal, root cause analysis, countermeasures and follow-up, often over weeks. A quick kaizen is for a problem small enough to fix in days.

  4. Pick the number that showed the problem, such as minutes lost, defects or steps walked, and measure it the same way before and after. Check it again a few weeks later to see that the result held.

  5. If you can work them out honestly, yes, as an estimate. Agree with finance how savings are counted before you report them. The Excel version works out the payback from the cost of the fix and the yearly saving.

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