A Word plan for a focused improvement event of a few days. It holds the charter (scope, problem, measurable target), the team and their roles, the baseline data, a day-by-day agenda, the open-action list for after the event, and the plan for keeping the gain once the team goes back to their jobs.
Tip: Put the controlled work instruction or standard work update on the action list with an owner and a date before the report-out. A kaizen gain that only lives on a flip chart usually fades within weeks.
Charter
Event name, area, sponsor, scope (start and end of the process), problem statement, targets, out of scope
Team
Facilitator, team lead, members and their roles, and on-call support
Baseline and targets
Each metric with its baseline, target and how it is measured
Agenda
Pre-event preparation, each event day, and the report-out
Action list
Open items after the event, with owner and due date
Sustain plan
Documents to update, training, audits and the 30-day result check
Example Plan for a changeover kaizen on press 4 at Example Stamping Co., a fictional metal stamping shop. The times, targets, team and dates are invented for illustration; use your own baseline data.
| Event | Press 4 die changeover, 2026-11-09 to 2026-11-12 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor / facilitator | Operations Manager / CI Lead |
| Scope | Last good part of the old job to first good part of the new job on press 4 |
| Problem | Die changes on press 4 averaged 92 min over the last 10 changeovers, so the press runs large batches |
| Out of scope | Die design changes and buying a new press |
| Metric | Baseline | Target | How measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changeover time | 92 min (average of 10) | 45 min | Last good part to first good part, timed by the setup lead |
| Changeovers per week | 3 | 3 (no change) | Production schedule |
| Internal steps done while the press is running | 0 of 31 | At least 12 of 31 | Video of the changeover, steps classed internal or external |
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Before | Charter signed, baseline timed and filmed, team booked, dies and carts available |
| Day 1 | Kaizen basics, watch the video, list and time every changeover step |
| Day 2 | Separate internal and external steps; move external steps before and after the stop |
| Day 3 | Try changes on the press: staging cart, preset tools, quick clamps on trial |
| Day 4 | Time two changeovers with the new method, write the new standard work, report out |
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Where the process starts and stops for this event. Narrow enough to finish in the days you have. | Last good part to first good part on press 4 |
| Problem statement | What is wrong, where, and how big, using data, with no cause or solution built in. | Changeovers average 92 min over the last 10 |
| Target | A number and a unit, measured the same way as the baseline. One or two targets, not a list. | 45 min changeover |
| Out of scope | What the team will not change, so the event stays focused and the sponsor knows the limits. | Die design changes |
| Sponsor | The manager who owns the area, removes roadblocks and attends the report-out. | Operations Manager |
| Team | People who run the process, plus the support functions whose approval or skills the changes need. | 2 setup techs, operator, maintenance tech, quality tech |
| Baseline | Data collected before the event, ideally several cycles, with the method recorded so the after measurement can match it. | 92 min, average of 10 changeovers |
| Agenda | What the team does each day, ending in a report-out to the sponsor. Most time should be spent in the area, not in a meeting room. | Day 3: trial changes on the press |
| Action list | Every item not finished during the event, with one owner and a due date. Review it weekly until it is closed. | Quick clamps for 2 dies, Maintenance, 2026-11-30 |
| Sustain plan | The documents, training and checks that keep the new method in place, and when the result will be measured again. | Updated work instruction; time the next 10 changeovers |
A short, focused improvement project, often three to five days, in which a small cross-functional team studies one process in the area where it happens, makes changes, and standardizes the new method. Kaizen itself means continuous improvement; the event is one way to do it.
Long enough to observe, change and standardize one process, which for many teams is three to five days, plus preparation before and follow-up after. Smaller problems can be handled in a shorter session.
People who do the work in the area, a facilitator who knows the method, and support from functions the changes will need, such as maintenance, quality and engineering. Six to eight people is a common size, but fit the team to the problem.
A kaizen event is a time-boxed, hands-on workshop. An A3 is a one-page problem-solving report that can run over weeks. Many teams use an A3 to frame the problem and a kaizen event to carry out part of the solution.
Update the controlled work instruction and standard work, train everyone on the new method, check it is followed in regular audits, and measure the result again after 30 days in normal production.
COPLAIN AI PLATFORM
After the event, describe the new method to Coplain’s Document Update Assistant. It places the change in each affected work instruction and returns a redlined Word file for review, so the standard is updated before the gain fades.
Generate yours automatically with Coplain →