Continuous improvement in Costa Rica: what is on the 2026 calendar
Lean Six Sigma is an active topic for Costa Rican industry this year. Here is what the public calendar shows and how a small team can start without a certification.
Use the national events as a source of ideas, but start with one repeated problem in your own operation and measure it before and after.
What the public calendar shows
The Cámara de Industrias de Costa Rica (CICR) announced the XIII Foro Nacional Lean & Six Sigma 2026, with a virtual session on 9 April and an in-person main event on 16 April in San José, followed by benchmarking visits and a master class on 17 April. Its Congreso de Excelencia is scheduled for 18 November 2026 at the Centro de Convenciones, where the finalists of the Compromiso con la Excelencia 2026 program are expected to present.
Dates come from public announcements and may change, so confirm them with the organizer before planning to attend. This note does not cover event outcomes.
Why it matters beyond large plants
Public job postings, such as a continuous improvement specialist role at a manufacturing plant in Belén, show that Lean tools are a stated skill requirement for local employers. That does not tell us how widely small businesses use them. We found no independent adoption figures for Costa Rica, so treat any percentage you read elsewhere with caution.
The underlying ideas are not limited to factories. Any team that repeats a task, such as quoting, scheduling or invoicing, can look for waiting, rework and handoffs.
A starting point without a certification
Synthetic example: a fictional bakery notices that delivery orders are often corrected after being written down. Instead of buying software, the owner counts corrections for two weeks, lists the three most common causes and changes one step, such as reading the order back to the customer. Then the count is repeated.
The method is simple: pick one problem, measure it, change one thing, measure again. Belts and formal programs can add rigor later, once you know which problems justify it.
How to measure without overcomplicating it
You do not need a dashboard or an elaborate spreadsheet. A printed sheet next to where the work happens, with one column per day and a tally mark each time the problem appears, is usually enough for the first two weeks. What matters is that the person doing the task can record it in seconds without stopping work.
Before you start, define in one sentence what counts as a problem. For example, "an order that had to be corrected after it was written down." If each person understands something different, the count cannot be used to compare before and after.
At the end of the period, review the marks together and note the likely cause of each one. Grouping similar causes often shows that a few of them explain most cases. That small group is where it makes sense to start.
After the change, repeat the same count, with the same definition and for the same length of time. If the number drops, document the new step so it does not depend on anyone remembering it. If it does not drop, try the next cause on the list instead of abandoning the method.
Bring the question to your team.
Three questions to explore together. Open one and use it to start a conversation.
01Which task does your team repeat weekly that regularly needs correction?
Write down a specific situation, listen to another perspective and agree on a small next step. If you would like an outside perspective, we can talk it through.
Discuss with the studio02What could you count for two weeks to see how often it happens?
Write down a specific situation, listen to another perspective and agree on a small next step. If you would like an outside perspective, we can talk it through.
Discuss with the studio03Which single step could you change first, and how would you know it helped?
Write down a specific situation, listen to another perspective and agree on a small next step. If you would like an outside perspective, we can talk it through.
Discuss with the studioFurther reading
Public references that explore these ideas further.
What could this look like in your business?
Start with a free 30-minute conversation about your goals and priorities.
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