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Kaizen Checklist
The kaizen checklist is a tool used to avoid mistakes when conducting a kaizen event (a.k.a. kaizen blitz, rapid improvement workshop, etc.)
A good kaizen checklist covers the planning, the actual event, and the follow-up work. It assigns specific people to tasks and gives deadlines for each action.
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This kaizen checklist consists of six pages. It has checklists for each of the four weeks prior to an event, a checklist for the event week, and a follow-up checklist.
Some of the features of this kaizen checklist include:
- Auto-fill Dates: Enter the date for the start of the event, and the action dates are automatically updated. You can adjust these dates in the template by changing the number at the end of the equation in the “Due” column (shown in bold below). A negative number is days before the kaizen A positive number is days after.
=IF(A3=””,”N/A”, IF(AA3=”Skipped”,”N/A”, IF(‘Worksheet Data’!$G$3=””, “Need Start”, ‘Worksheet Data’!$G$3-28)))
- Auto-fill Names: The kaizen checklist is initially populated with a generic title. You can change the assignments with a dropdown menu. On the “Checklist Data” page, you can assign a specific name to a title.
- Status Dropdowns: Click on the status icon and you will receive a dropdown menu to update the kaizen You can also skip a step.
- Action Items: Add additional tasks to the kaizen
- Insert a row. I recommend doing this above the bottom row to preserve formation. You will see unmerged cells when you do this.
- Highlight the cells above the row.
- Grab the handle at the bottom right corner of the highlighted cell
- Drag the existing row on top of the newly created row.
- Overtype the task in the new row and use the dropdowns to update the cells.
Run a kaizen. Run another kaizen. Repeat.
Kaizen is a way of life. You should be doing daily improvement, but when a project is too big for an on-the-spot fix, use a kaizen event.
Make sure to use a kaizen checklist such as this one to avoid costly mistakes.
2 Comments
Deepak kolate · June 21, 2019 at 7:52 pm
I am insurance agent.. how can it helpful for me.. please sen me check list.. or any related material.
Thank you . Have a great day.
Jeff Hajek · June 26, 2019 at 9:42 am
Hi Deepak,
You can click on the image below the ‘Downloads’ section to sign up to get the checklist.
As for how it can help you, the checklist itself is more of a coordination tool for teams, so if you are doing projects on your own, there’s a lot of extra stuff in there you won’t need.
It will, however, guide you through the flow of planning a project–how to scope out what you want to accomplish, when to collect data, follow up activities, etc.
For an insurance agent, I’d look at any process you have that takes too long or isn’t effective and target that. Even in the the insurance process, there are a lot of things that can be standardized–buying ads, qualifying leads, processing paperwork, organizing and stocking your briefcase, etc.
I’d start tracking any time you wish something went smoother or any problem you encounter for a few weeks. See if anything jumps out that could be a good candidate for a kaizen event.