A Lean Principle that states the process of eliminating waste is a continual process requiring one to always be on the lookout for ways to reduce the seven elements of waste is known as ____________ .

Question

Options

• AKaizen
• BIshikawa
• CKanban
• DMuda

• A
  73% (29)
• B
  5% (2)
• C
  15% (6)
• D
  8% (3)

Explanation

Kaizen (A) is correct because it is the Lean principle meaning "continuous improvement" - it embodies the ongoing, never-ending commitment to identifying and eliminating the seven wastes (TIMWOOD: Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects) as a daily discipline, not a one-time event.

Ishikawa (B) is a distractor - it refers to the cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram used in root cause analysis, named after quality expert Kaoru Ishikawa; it's a tool, not a continuous waste-reduction principle.

Kanban (C) is also a Lean tool - a visual scheduling/workflow system used to manage work-in-progress and signal demand - not the principle of continual waste elimination.

Muda (D) is the Japanese word for waste itself (the seven elements you're trying to eliminate), not the principle of continually eliminating it.

Memory tip: Think of Kai = change, Zen = good - "Kaizen" literally means change for the better, and since improvement never stops, it's the principle of continuous waste reduction. If the question mentions "ongoing" or "continual," think Kaizen.

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