Definition
Hazard Prediction Training — KYT, from Kiken Yochi Training — is a small-group safety activity in which a team examines a job, predicts the hazards that could occur, and decides on countermeasures before anyone is hurt. It is not merely a hunt for hazards. Its real purpose is to make safe behavior a habit and to raise each worker’s sensitivity to danger, because the large majority of workplace accidents stem from human behavior rather than from equipment alone.
The most common form is 4R-KYT — the activity carried out in four rounds. It is a broader Japanese industrial-safety practice, not a Toyota invention, which Toyota adopted and practices rigorously alongside its STOP6 framework.
Japanese Origin
- 危険 (kiken) — danger, hazard
- 予知 (yochi) — prediction, foreseeing
- 訓練 (kunren) — training, drill
“Danger-prediction training” — training the eye and the mind to foresee danger. The “4R” prefix refers to the four rounds the activity moves through.
The Four Rounds
Round 1 — Identify hazard spots. Watching the actual work (or a photo or video), every member calls out the hazards they see, stated as cause and consequence — “he’s leaning off the ladder, so he could fall.” Including the consequence makes the risk feel personal. Quantity is the goal here; no opinion is dismissed.
Round 2 — Pinpoint the most dangerous. From everything raised, the team narrows to the single hazard most in need of a countermeasure, weighing severity, frequency, and whether something has nearly happened recently. Because this is training, the team picks the one everyone genuinely feels is “the most dangerous and the one we most want to fix” rather than getting stuck on rigorous scoring.
Round 3 — Develop countermeasures. Members propose specific, personally actionable fixes for that hazard. The emphasis is deliberately on people-based countermeasures (“stand in the designated position with both feet together”) over equipment-based ones (“replace with safer equipment”) — not because equipment fixes are wrong, but because the training aims to build the habit of finding actions you can take today.
Round 4 — Decide and recite. The team settles on the countermeasure to implement, each person sets a personal action target, and the group performs a point-and-call (shisa kōshō) — pointing at the hazard and saying the slogan aloud together, e.g. “Cart stopper — check!” The recitation forges shared commitment and, because it sticks in the ear, keeps the day’s safety focus from being forgotten.
Three Principles
KYT rests on three principles that distinguish it from a paperwork exercise:
- Team activity — different members see different dangers; the discussion surfaces hazards no individual would catch alone.
- Floor-first (genba) — predictions are grounded in the actual work environment and the conditions of the moment, not in armchair theorizing.
- Shared awareness — a hazard one person notices prevents nothing unless the whole team shares it and agrees to act; the value is in the common commitment.
How Toyota Runs It
At Toyota, 4R-KYT is typically held once a month during working hours, about 30 minutes, in groups of four to five that deliberately mix experienced veterans, mid-level operators, and newcomers so the work is seen from a wider range of eyes. The session uses a 4R-KYT sheet, designates a leader and a recorder, and works through the four rounds in conversation while watching the actual operation, a video, or photographs. Once a countermeasure is decided, the team must actually practice it on the floor — and managers and supervisors must check that it is being followed.
Common Mistakes
Armchair theorizing. KYT done away from the genba, on generic scenarios, predicts generic hazards. It must be grounded in the team’s own real work to produce countermeasures that actually fit.
Over-strict criteria that stall the discussion. Treating Round 2 like a formal risk-assessment meeting kills the conversation. As training, its value is in everyone thinking and agreeing, not in perfect scoring.
Dismissing ideas. Shutting down “obvious” or “unlikely” hazards teaches people to stop contributing. The early rounds need breadth; judgment comes later.
Deciding a countermeasure and not living it. The activity is wasted if the agreed action is not practiced on the floor and reinforced by supervisors. The decision in Round 4 is a commitment, not a form to file.