Toyota’s 1992 View: Standardized Work and Kaizen Are Two Sides of the Same Coin

Lean Blog by Mark Graban · Jul 22, 2026

Most Lean programs treat standardized work and kaizen as opposites. Standardized work is the rigid part. Kaizen is the creative part. One constrains, the other improves. Pick whichever side you prefer and argue with the other camp at the next conference. The 1992 Toyota booklet doesn't see them as opposites. It sees them as parts of the same activity cycle, carried out by the same people and connected through the same standards. Standardized work establishes […] The post Toyota’s 1992 View: Standardized Work and Kaizen Are Two Sides of the Same Coin by Mark Graban appeared first…