This schedule describes a 5 day event, but many Kaizen events are only three or four days long. The same basic list of activities will still need to take place, but they will need to be compressed to fit into the time allowed. On a shorted Kaizen event, the training and brainstorming activities may need to take place on Day 1, for example.

Experience has shown that a 5 day Kaizen is really 4 days of hard work and one day (Day 5) of lesser activity. Day 5 may even be a short day for team. On the other hand, Day 3 is often a long day, and if implementation details need to be completed it can also be a long night. Kaizen events are sometimes referred to as “4 Days and 1 Night” for this reason. It is a good idea to give the team advance notice of the possible need to stay late on Day 3, so that they can make any necessary arrangements ahead of time.