Home / Kata Programs

Toyota Kata Training and Coaching

When Solutions and Improvement Are Top-Tier Priorities

What is Toyota Kata?

A kata is a pattern for learning, practicing and implementing new skills, methods and processes. The patterns in Toyota Kata are designed to develop scientific thinking, which is at the core of Toyota Corporation’s renowned — and widely emulated — continuous improvement philosophy.

Toyota employees at all levels are trained and encouraged to make daily improvements to work processes. When changes are made, they are deployed in incremental steps. This serves to enhance the overall performance of the organization, rather than disrupt it.

Rather than mimic Toyota’s specific processes, organizations that practice Toyota Kata are tasked with finding their own solutions to their unique challenges.

Toyota Kata includes:

Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) – The scientific approach to assessing the need for change and taking action
Improvement Kata – A routine workers practice until they develop the skill of scientific thinking
Coaching Kata – A routine in which the coach leads the learner as they develop the skill of scientific thinking

In Toyota Kata, every employee is imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit, conducting experiments to improve operations in the long term.

Learn about Kata Knowledge Certificate

Why Kata Is Effective

People Focused

Your people become involved and feel appreciated; their performance and emotional commitment takes problems solving and improvement to new heights.

Becomes Second Nature

Practicing kata establishes a culture of continuous improvement and active employee engagement; it becomes the natural reflex when facing everyday problems. Instills an instinct to seek and pursue process improvements on a daily basis.

Develops Scientific Thinking

PDCA – Plan, Do, Check, Act – is a proven model for improvement. Enables testing potential solutions on a smaller and more controlled scale.

Aligned with Goals

Before any training begins, we work with you to understand what you need to accomplish and set target metrics accordingly. In itself, target and goal setting are elements of Kata.

Available Programs

There are three basic Kata training programs. All enable and empower your frontline leaders and workers with the skills to solve more problems and innovate improvements. We can advise you on staging and sequencing our programs depending on what you need to do or which problems you need to solve.

Introduction to Practicing Kata

Provides expert guidance in Improvement Kata by setting your goal, establishing current and target conditions, identifying obstacles, introducing PDCA-based experimentation, and practicing Coaching Kata while being mentored by TWI Institute Certified Trainers.

Learn More

Driving & Coaching Improvement with Simulation

Learn Kata and TWI principles in this immersive, one-day foundations and simulation training program.

Learn More

Kata Training — Trainer Development

Give your leadership team the skills they need to sustain a culture of constant improvement with this 40 hour Kata Trainer Development program.

Learn More

What Our Clients Say

I got so much from it (Kata Workshop) and I am excited to begin applying the pattern. I am completely impressed by how you serve others through your teaching and sharing, it is truly admirable.

Marissa Brinkman From Fishback Financial Corporation

Become a Certified TWI Institute Trainer

Remember how much you enjoyed your favorite teacher? The teacher who turned a learning process into an enriching experience? If you love the idea of inspiring people, helping them improve and watching them grow with a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction, then consider becoming a Kata Trainer, sanctioned and certified by TWI Institute.

Learn More