Evaluating kaizen event performance using data envelopment analysis

A Kaizen event is a short-term improvement project focused on producing accelerated change in a target work area. As a complex production activity, Kaizen events seek to transform scarce resources into both business results and employee outcomes. Due to the paucity of prior research, the determinants of Kaizen event success are not well-understood and it is not clear that managers understand how to evaluate the relative success of Kaizen events, while considering differences in resource levels. This paper presents a methodology for evaluating Kaizen event success using data envelopment analysis (DEA), and discusses results and directions for future research.