What is Kaizen? Improve bit by bit, without needing to work harder.

Kaizen does not mean working harder. Done correctly, work becomes lighter.

If you have just joined a Japanese company or are on an internship, you may hear your supervisor say this word almost every week.

Some people feel stressed when they hear this, because they think they have to come up with a new project every month.

The good news is that real kaizen is much smaller than that, and it can be applied from the classroom desk all the way to the production line.

What is Kaizen?

Kaizen (改善) means continuously improving what we do, little by little, with everyone at the workplace taking part, not just the management. Its core idea is "Change small, do it often, never stop," rather than waiting for a major change once a year.

This word comes from two letters

Combined, it literally translates as “make it better.”

In everyday Japanese, this word is used for improvement in any area. In manufacturing and business, however, it has become the name of an entire systematic way of thinking.

Kaizen ≠ overhaul ≠ working harder

If what is called "kaizen" keeps you working later every day, it may no longer be kaizen (read more in the "Cautions" section).

Why are TNI students familiar with the word kaizen?

Because Kaizen is the first core value of Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI) in the K-M-H-S set: Kaizen · Monodzukuri · Hansei · Seii. It reflects the Institute's approach of "thinking and doing creatively with Monodzukuri."

The roots of this idea in Thailand run deeper than TNI itself.

The Technology Promotion Association (Thailand–Japan), or TPA, was founded by Thai people who had studied and trained in Japan. It held Thailand’s first QC Circle convention in 1983.

A QC Circle is a group of frontline staff who come together to identify problems and improve their own work. Put simply, it is "kaizen as a team."

Today, if your team sits down after finishing a project and asks, “What should we do better next time?”, you are descendants of the same way of thinking.

The knowledge that the founding seniors of TPA (1973) intended to share did not stop at textbooks; it has been passed on to TNI classrooms and our workplaces today.

To read more about our roots, see History of the Institute and the TNI Alumni Association and Concept and Identity of the Association.

Why kaizen suits the younger generation

Kaizen suits young people because it solves the problem of wanting to make a big change in yourself and giving up halfway. Instead of setting big goals, we choose small things that can be done today, see results quickly, and gradually build them into habits.

Quick calculation for fun: if your way of working improves by just 1% each week, after 52 weeks it will be about 68% better (1.01^52 ≈ 1.68).

Real life isn't that neat, but this picture helps show how "small but never stopping" beats "big and then quitting."

Kaizen also fits into a life like this.

• 📌 Student: Improving how to take lecture notes, prepare for exams, and divide group work
• 📌 Internship/Co-op: Make a submission checklist for your supervisor so work isn't sent back for the same issues.
• 📌 First jobber: Cut the time lost searching for files, answering repetitive emails, or sitting through meetings without an agenda.

5 Kaizen steps you can try from today

The easiest way to start Kaizen is in 5 steps: choose one small problem → observe the actual situation → find the cause → try the smallest possible fix → review and make it a habit. Then return to the start and choose the next issue.

This process follows the same principle as the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle widely used for improving work.

1. Choose the one small annoyance that bothers you most

Ask yourself, "What has repeatedly wasted my time or frustrated me this week?"

Select only one topic, and it must be one you can edit yourself

Hypothetical example: "Every time I need to send a report, I waste 10 minutes looking for the latest version of the file."

2. Go see the real thing (Gemba, Genba 現場)

Before devising a solution, observe where the problem actually occurs and how often.

Jot notes for 3–5 days; it's better than guessing from feelings

3. Ask "why" repeatedly

Ask until you reach the root cause, not stopping at the symptom.

• Why can't I find the file? → Because there are multiple versions.
• Why are there multiple versions? → Because files were named differently each time.
• Why are the names different? → Because we never agreed on a file naming format.

4. Make the smallest possible fix, then trial it for 1 week

Choose the cheapest, fastest, and reversible option

For example: name files as year-month-day_task-name_v1 every time and keep them in one folder.

5. Reflect (Hansei 反省) and make it a habit

At the end of the week, ask yourself: "Has it really improved? How do we measure it?"

If it works, write it down as your (or your team's) standard method. If it doesn't, that's not failure: change the method and try again.

Kaizen card worksheet (copy and use directly)

How is Kaizen different from PDCA and 5S?

Kaizen is the "way of thinking" about continuous improvement, PDCA is the "process cycle" that makes Kaizen systematic, and 5S is the "tool" for organising the workplace, which is often used as the starting point of Kaizen. These three work together and do not compete with each other.

A common misconception: PDCA did not originate in Japan. The concept comes from Shewhart and Deming, and was later disseminated and widely used in Japan.

Common misconceptions about kaizen

The three most common misunderstandings are: thinking Kaizen means a major overhaul, thinking it is an excuse to cut staff, and thinking it means working harder. All three contradict Kaizen principles, which emphasise small changes, everyone's participation, and making work easier.

• ❌ "Kaizen has to be a big project" → ✅ Small improvements made today are the best kaizen.
• ❌ "Kaizen means cutting staff" → ✅ The goal is to reduce waste in work, not to reduce people, and frontline staff know the problems best.
• ❌ "Kaizen = working harder, staying later" → ✅ If done correctly, the work will require less effort.

Caution: when kaizen becomes a burden

Kaizen becomes a burden when it is used as a quota, for example when people are required to submit improvement ideas every month without being given time to do so, or when "improvement" simply means adding more work for the same people. The remedy is to return to the original principles: small things, things that can actually be done, and making the work easier.

In many companies, whether Japanese or Thai, kaizen has been misunderstood and turned into a form that must be filled in to a set quota.

Young people who feel that "improving things just makes it more tiring" are not wrong. That is a sign that the method has a problem.

Japanese thinking itself has words that help discuss this.

• Muri (overburden) = Work that exceeds human capacity. If improvement creates more Muri, you are going in the wrong direction.
• Hansei (Reflection, 反省) = Sincere reflection for improvement, not self-blame.

A balanced approach: adopt what fits, adjust what does not.

Good Kaizen should give you more rest time, not less.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Kaizen mean?

Kaizen (改善) literally means 'to make better.' In the work context, it means continuous small improvement in which everyone participates.

How many steps does Kaizen have?

There is no fixed number. This article suggests 5 easy-to-start steps: choose a small problem, look at the real thing, find the cause, try a fix, review, and then repeat.

What are some examples of Kaizen in everyday life?

e.g., Set a consistent file naming format for quick retrieval, make a checklist before submitting work, always keep keys in the same place, or prepare things the night before so mornings aren't rushed

Can Kaizen be used for work that is not in a factory?

Yes. Kaizen can be applied to office work, IT, service work, and even studying, because the core is a way of thinking, not a machine.

Do you need to know Japanese to use Kaizen?

Not required, but if you work with a Japanese company, understanding this term will make it easier to communicate with your supervisor and team.

*This article was compiled by the TNI Alumni Association team, drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the association's team · The association is a legal entity separate from Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology*