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Kaizen card
One improvement idea on one card: problem, before and after, benefit, owner, dates and status, filled in the browser, printed or saved as Word and Excel, or as a blank form.
Example · Illustrative data: an imaginary two-bin shelf for screws, not from a real plant or person.
Pictures cannot be added here: the page loads only its own files. Draw or paste them into the printed sheet or the Word file.
This form needs JavaScript in this browser; the blank files below work without it.
How to use the Kaizen card
A Kaizen card records one small improvement: the problem, the idea, before and after, the benefit and who does it by when. Kaizen means continuous improvement; the card is a common practice, not a standard, and the layout is FactoKit’s own.
Good practice
- One idea per card, written by the person who had it.
- Describe the problem before the solution: what is wrong, where, how often.
- Before and after in facts, so the benefit can be checked.
- Follow the card to Done and check the result; a card that is never answered stops the ideas.
Files
- On this website the form is saved in this browser (IndexedDB) as you type; Save JSON keeps it as a file that opens again here or in the offline file. The offline file stores nothing.
- Print / PDF prints the filled form on A4; Export Word and Export Excel write the same form with its fields filled in. The blank forms below work in any PDF viewer, Word and Excel.
- Pictures cannot be added in the browser (the page loads only its own files); add them on paper or in the Word file.
Questions
- What is a Kaizen card?
- One small improvement on one card: the problem, the idea, how it was before and after, the benefit and who does it by when. Cards are collected on a board so that ideas are seen, followed up and recognised.
- How big should a Kaizen idea be?
- Small enough to be done by the team in days, not months: a shelf moved, a label added, a step removed. Bigger changes belong in an A3 report or a project; many small cards add up to more than a few big plans.
- Should every card show a saving in money?
- No. Safety, quality, ergonomics and less frustration are benefits too, and estimating money for every small idea discourages people from writing them. Note the benefit in plain words; add a saving when it is clear.