An Empirical Tool to Measure the Effectiveness of Kaizen Events: A Case Study in the Wood Products Industries

Abstract

Abstract Kaizen events are used in business organizations to lower manufacturing costs and increase product value. However, little research has focused on measuring the effectiveness of Kaizen events as a continuous improvement tool. The goal of this article is to introduce an empirical tool to measure the effectiveness of Kaizen events on the basis of employees' perceptions of their knowledge of, barriers to, motivators for, drivers for, and effectiveness of Kaizen. The design of the tool included a questionnaire for the upper management and a questionnaire for production and nonproduction employees, and it was implemented in a wood products company located in the United States where Kaizen events had been conducted for several years. The interview with the Kaizen manager revealed critical aspects related to strategic issues, structure and support, and implementation of Kaizen events. The analysis of the questionnaire implemented with production and nonproduction employees indicated that perceptions regarding motivators and barriers did not differ among the type of employee. In addition, statistical analysis revealed that only the driver “teamwork efforts” was a predictor of Kaizen effectiveness. The design of a Kaizen effectiveness tool and its implementation in a case study firm is an important contribution in the area of continuous improvement to help practitioners and researchers measure the effectiveness and impacts of Kaizen events.