Jishuken

A type of hands-on, learn-by-doing workshop. The term literally means “self-learning” in Japanese.

Jishuken can run in length from one week to several months. Toyota’s Operations Management Consulting Division developed this process as a means of developing skills and raising the level of TPS in a certain area, often focusing on supplier operations projects lasting three to four months. Outside of Toyota, jishuken became common in the form of the five-day kaizen workshop. Whatever the length, the goal of any jishuken is to learn by doing and produce an improvement in an area of operations.