The intent of any Kaizen is improvement, specifically process improvement, and more specifically in some combination of three primary metrics: throughput, inventory and product/process cost. The metrics are established to provide a guidepost for progress toward a goal – a gauge of success (or failure). Use of metrics is non-negotiable. This means that collecting data on the metrics does not start during the Kaizen event; there must be a history of the relevant metrics to
1) justify that the Kaizen effort is even worth the time and
2) establish a baseline against which a goal can be defined and progress evaluated.
See full story on isixsigma.com