Kaikaku

Kaikaku is a radical, revolutionary improvement of a value stream intended to quickly create more value with less waste. It is also called breakthrough kaizen and is contrasted with gradual, step-by-step kaizen. Examples include relocating equipment over a weekend to create single-piece flow in a compact cell, or switching a large product such as a commercial airliner from stationary to moving assembly.

Source checked1/1 values · 2026-10-25Methodology

Specification

1 source

Kind	methodology

Study notes

Sometimes called kakushin.
Also called breakthrough kaizen, in comparison with more gradual, step-by-step kaizen.
Example: moving equipment over a weekend so products formerly fabricated and assembled in batches in isolated process villages are made in single-piece flow in a compact cell.
Example: quickly switching from stationary to moving assembly for a large product such as a commercial airliner.
The document cross-references PDCA and process village.