The Kaizen Event Planner

Karen Martin is the consultant and mentor that helped us launch our Lean journey, and we have been amazed with some of the lofty process improvements that have been achieved after less than two years of using Lean. Once 'waste' is clearly identified and resources can be reallocated to portions of the processes that do add value in the eyes of the customer, the passion for continual improvement becomes contagious.This book will be of great benefit to any leader in the planning of Kaizen events, and I plan to purchase a copy for each of our managers and Lean facilitators.—Chat Norvell, President & Chief Executive Officer, CarePartners

Karen Martin and Mike Osterling take all the questions and potential confusion out of planning, conducting and following-up on a Kaizen Event. With thorough explanations on the development of the Kaizen Charter, to everyone's roles and responsibilities and more,The Kaizen Event Planneris the 'new' standard work for rapid improvement events in administrative / office environments. The authors are careful to capture those subtle, yet important differences between the factory floor and the office, and driving and accepting change for the better. The Kaizen Event Planner is a must have for any truly lean practitioners' library.—Jerry M. Wright, P.E., Director, Corporate Quality Assurance, & Operational Excellence, DJO, LLC

High performing companies require that office, engineering, and other transactional processes have the same discipline of execution as shop and field work. Kaizen Events are a key part of any continuous improvement program. I wholeheartedly agree with the authors' emphasis on planning and encouraging a 'bias toward action'. This book provides a clear, step-by-step guide to planning and executing successful kaizen events. It is a detailed primer for those who want to demonstrate that rapid improvement is possible in the knowledge work environment.—Stephen P. Turnipseed, Lean Sigma Advisor, Chevron Global Upstream

Karen Martin and Mike Osterling have put together an excellent guidebook that should be a part of every Lean Resource Library. All aspects of planning and executing a successful Kaizen Event are covered in a way that is easy to understand and to explain to others. With the specific, practical tools and methods described, both beginners and experienced practitioners can now venture into non-manufacturing environments with comfort and ease.—Andrew Zozom, Jr., Ph.D., Director Of Process Improvement, Seattle Goodwill Industries

Without changing the culture of the workforce that ultimately carries out any improvement ideas, so many Lean efforts are left unfulfilled and, at best, not sustained. The Kaizen Event Planner will help you to avoid these pitfalls.—Patrick Graupp, Co-author, The TWI Workbook: Essential Skills for Supervisors

Martin and Osterling provide an easy to read, practical guide to planning and executing kaizen events. In addition, they provide numerous checklists and other useful tools to help the reader begin to develop a ‘culture for kaizen’ in his or her own organization which is the ultimate goal of any Lean Enterprise.—Drew Locher, Co-author, The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes

I have been advocating, implementing and teaching kaizen within our company for 12 years. I have read many excellent theoretical books that describe the power of kaizen but this is the first that will actually give the reader a step-by-step process for facilitating events from planning through completion and follow-up. This book is a must resource for all Lean experts and facilitators.—Edward G. Brekke, Global Director, Schneider Production Systems, Schneider Electric

The Kaizen Event Planner

Karen Martin and Mike Osterling have captured a succinct genealogy for Lean thinking and combined that with real working tools that will help orchestrate very effective continuous improvement events.—CJ Buck, CEO/President, Buck Knives