What are Kaizen Reports?

Anyone who has gone through a Kaizen event knows that gathering data from before the event takes place, and then again after it is completed, is very important. This is how you can determine whether the event was a success, and will also help you to be in a position where you can better determine how to move forward after the event is completed. What many people do not know is that they are supposed to take this data and keep it in a Kaizen report. 

A Kaizen report is used to document what happens during a Kaizen event. This will not only include any information gathered before and after the event but also what was done. The more precisely you can gather the details about what was done during the event, the more helpful it will be going forward. Putting in the specific steps that each member of the team made when making the change will also be helpful if you need to roll the change back due to an unforeseen issue that is found. 

Kaizen reports are very helpful for showing the success of a specific Kaizen event. They can also be used when planning a future event. Referencing older Kaizen reports will help you to follow the same processes that were successful in the past. If you have redundant systems and a specific event only addressed one of them, the report will also help you to accurately replicate the changes that were made.