Which of the following Japanese techniques is most clearly identified with small incremental change?

• A. Kaizen (Kaizen blitz or blast can speed up things a great deal)
• B. Jidoka
• C. Heijunka
• D. Andon

Answer: (A)

Small, ongoing improvements are the hallmark of Kaizen. This concept focuses on continuous, incremental changes suggested and implemented by people at all levels to steadily improve processes, reduce waste, and enhance quality. The idea is to make tiny adjustments—everyday tweaks to how work is done, how the layout is arranged, or how steps are performed—so improvements accumulate over time.

Kaizen blitz (or Kaizen event) is a concentrated version of this approach, where a team makes rapid, targeted changes in a short period. Even so, the underlying philosophy remains centered on small, continual improvements rather than large, one-off changes, which is why Kaizen best fits the idea of small incremental change.

The other techniques focus on different aspects: Jidoka emphasizes built-in quality and stopping the line when a defect is detected; Heijunka aims to level production to smooth out workload and reduce variability; Andon is a signaling system to alert when problems occur. While important, they do not embody the same emphasis on continual, incremental improvements as Kaizen.