Continuous improvement of an entire value stream or individual process to create more value with less waste.
There are two levels of kaizen:
1. System or flow kaizen, which focuses on the entire value stream. This is kaizen for management.
2. Process kaizen, which focuses on individual processes. This is kaizen for work teams and team leaders.
Value stream mapping is an excellent tool for identifying a complete value stream and determining where flow and process cues are in place.