A Selected Glossary of Terms, Acronyms and Concepts in Alphabetical Order

for Kaizen / Lean Transformation Practitioners

© Marypat Cooper, September 2009

 

A Selected Glossary of Terms for Kaizen / Lean

Transformation Practitioners

© Marypat Cooper, September 2009

 

14 Points

                   From a theory for management founded by Dr. W. Edwards Deming:    

                         1. Create Constancy of Purpose toward improvement of product and service,

                         2. Adopt the model across the board,

                         3. Cease dependence on mass inspection,

                         4. End the practice of awarding business on pricetag,

                         5. Constantly and forever improve the system of production and service to improve quality 

                   and productivity and thus constantly decrease costs,

                         6.  Institute value adding methods of training,

                         7.  Institute value enhancing methods of leadership both in supervision and in management -

                   leaders whose purpose is to help people and machines and fixtures do a better job,

                         8. Drive out Fear,

                         9. Break down barriers between departments,

                         10. Eliminate  slogans, exhortations and meaningless "fads of the  month",

                         11. Eliminate quotas,

                         12. Remove barriers that rob any worker of pride of workmanship,

                         13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement,

                         14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation  

                   is everybody's job. (W.E. Deming, Out of the Crisis, MIT, 1982)

3 M's

                   Muda - Waste, Mura - Irregular Actions, and Muri -  Strain,  are the “3 M's” of waste.

5 M's

                   Manpower, Machine, Material, Method and Measurement; the 5 M's, are tried and true

                   headlines for fishbone diagrams illustrating process cause and effect, each headline it's own

                   path of inquiry for cause and effect analysis.

5 S's


                   The five degrees of world-class workplace organization and cleanliness translated from the

                   Japanese as Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke meaning Sort, Situate, Shine, Safeguard

                   and Standardize.

7 Flows

                   Flow of: People, Raw Material, Sub Parts, Final Products, Equipment, Information and

                   Engineering.  All of these must be evaluated in setting up a flow layout.

7 Wastes

                   Waste of: overproduction, correction, transporting, unnecessary stock, unnecessary motion,

                   waiting, and waste from the process itself.  Also: add waste of a person.

80 / 20 rule

                   Italian mathematician, Pareto, showed that 80 % of frequency is caused by 20% of the issues.

Activity Based Costing

                   Method in accounting to allocate costs on the basis

                    of cost drives such as number of purchase orders

                   issued, may encourage larger batches in order to

                   spread the cost over a larger number of units to

                   reduce the cost per unit. Compare to lean thinking

                    which drives us to reduce or eliminate the cost,

                   not just spread it out over more products or

Affinity Diagram

                   Tool used in initial stages of brainstorming to get

                   the most thinking out a diverse group of people

                   regarding a wicked problem. The brainstorming

                   topic is posed in a question such as: "What issues

                   are involved with solving X?" The group silently

                   writes each possible issue component on sticky

                   notes, one for each thought. The large number of

                   sticky notes are arranged silently into related

                   groups. Titles are written for each group. The

                   groups with titles form the affinity diagram. 

Annual Inventory

                   Annual inventory turns -- A measure of asset

                   management that is calculated by dividing the

                   annual cost of goods sold (for the most recent full

                   year) by the average on-hand total inventory

                   value at plant cost. Total inventory includes raw

                   materials, work in process, and finished goods.

                   Plant cost includes material, labor, and plant

                   overhead.

Auto-NO- mation

                   Equipment running by itself that can stop if there

                   is a defect, which takes one piece at a time - loads,

                   processes, unloads, triggered by an operator who

                   needs the part.  Several autonomated pieces set

                   together in a circular feed pattern make up a chuka

                    chuka line.

Back Office

                   The administration area of the company or

                   organization that supports the core business, for

                   example in the case of a community college:

                   Admissions, Human Resources, Security,

                   Community Relations are back office processes,

                   where instruction is the core business.

Bar Codes

                   Bar coding -- A coding system used to identify

                   products, packages or services by encoding

                   identification data in a printed pattern that is then

                   placed on an object. Data is retrieved with an

                   electronic scanning device linked to a computer.

Bottleneck

                   Bottleneck -- Any point in  operations at which

                   movement is slowed because demand placed on a

                   resource is equal to or more than capacity.

Brainstorming

                   A confirmed process to creatively and efficiently

                   generate a high volume of ideas through an

                   approach that is free of criticism and judgment.

Buffer

                   Inventory - or a stack of files - put in a flow as a

                   protection against fluctuations. A necessary evil

                   which should be relentlessly pursued.

Catchball

                   Process of passing requests for resources and

                   responses of commitments up and down the

                   organizational food chain.

Cell

                   Cellular production -- an approach in which

                   equipment and workstations are arranged to

                   facilitate small-lot, continuous-flow production --

                   often in a U-shaped cell. In a "cell," all operations

                   necessary to produce a component or subassembly

                   are performed in close proximity, thus allowing for

                    quick feedback between operators when quality

                   problems and other issues arise. Workers in a  cell

                   typically are cross-trained and, hence, able to

                   perform multiple tasks as needed.

Change Management

                   Conscious intervention by the leadership of a

                   company to force different behavior by the people

                   in the company, to build a new cycle of better

                   actions causing better results that will in turn

                   reinforce a new company culture. The intervention

                    should be strong, immediate, clearly explained,

                   sustained, and supported by expert knowledge of

                   the improved actions system (such as lean

                   enterprise).

Change Over

                   Single Minute Exchange of Die

Checksheet

                   A clear, complete and easy way to collect process

                   performance measures in the work area as they

                   happen. A count, a yes/no audit, as little subjective

                    decision making - no analysis - all just the

                   primary element under study - whether number of

                    defects, time lost in machine downtime,   the time

                   spent in design of checksheet to save the operators

                   time which should not be taken away from the

                   value stream to the customer.  A pilot's takeoff

                   checksheet. Not to be insulting, or trying to

                   remember - critical source of raw data with as little

                    interpretation as possible.

Chucka Chucka

                   A line set up with self loading and unloading

                   equipment, triggered by an operator who is

                   smoothly moving in a circular pattern between

                   stages - taking/checking/placing parts from one

                   station to the next in a choreography of value

                   adding motions.

Code of Conduct

                   Ground Rules for Company Behavior, such as

                   Respect Others, Tell the Truth, Be Fair, Try New

                   Ideas, Ask Why, Keep the Promises and Do your

                   Share.

Common Cause

                   Abnormality that occurs within the control limits

                   of a process.

Company Culture

                   Companies are made up of people who work

                   towards something, under some common

                   understanding about how certain actions bring

                   certain results. This common understanding tends

                   to be reinforced over time, often becoming numb

                   to actual or potential changes outside.

Competitive Benchmarking

                   Formal programs that compare a plant's practices

                   and performance results against "best-in-class"

                   competitors or against similar operations.

Constraint

                   The prevention of motion towards a desired goal

                   except in a reduced manner or direction that

                   causes wasted time and effort.

Container Kanban

                   Anything that carries parts in a kanban system.

                   Cleverly designing and using containers for

                   competitive advantage is breakthrough thinking

                   put into profitable action.

Control Chart

                   A run chart with upper and lower control limits

                   showing the essence of common and special caused

                    variation.

Critical Path

                   Tool to schedule sequential and simultaneous

                   tasks to allow a team to find both the most efficient

                    path and most realistic schedule for the

                   completion of a project.

Customer Service

                   100% Customer Service - often measured as 100%

                   on time at a level of quality that surpasses

                   expectation.

Cycle Time

                   How long it takes in seconds to do something

                   from start to finish.

DMAI

                   DMAI - From the 6 Sigma Approach: DEFINE - A

                   project team will be set up to tackle a quality issue

                   based on business and/or customer needs. A list of

                   'Critical to Quality Characteristics' (CTQs) drawn

                   up and measured. The best ones to look at are

                   termed as the 'Big Y' the customers’ highest

                   priority.  MEASURE - From definition of CTQs,

                   the next step is to look at processes which affect

                   CTQs. For instance if one of the CTQs is to look at

                   customer returns based on damaged packaging,

                   then obviously the effectiveness of your packaging

                   process is measured.  ANALYZE - From looking at

                    the processes which affect the CTQs the next step

                   is to analyze which factors are causing the

                   processes to vary in quality. In the packing

                   example it could be that one packaging team may

                   be using a different method to pack the products 

                   IMPROVE - The project team from measuring and

                   analyzing the CTQs should now be in a position

                   quantify maximum and minimum ranges for

                   acceptable performance.

DOE

                   Design of experiments is the application of

                   geometric principles to statistical sampling to

                   obtain desired results such as minimizing the

                   number of experiments necessary to obtain the

                   answer to a problem or minimizing the variance of

                    estimated coefficients obtained through

                   regression. The first result above affects quantity of

                    effort and, hence, cost. The second affects quality

                   of result. Cost and quality are the basic elements of

                    value. Thus, DOE is a powerful tool in designing

                   for value.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming

                   Internationally renowned consultant whose work

                   led Japanese industry into new principles of

                   management and revolutionized their quality and

                   productivity. See also - Deming's 14 points for

                   management.

EBITA

                   Net Earnings adjusted to exclude Provision for

                   Income Taxes, Interest and Other Expensis, and

                   Amortization of Goodwill and Other Intangible

                   Assets.

EBITDA

                   Net Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation

                   and Amortization. EBITDA can be used to analyze

                    the profitability between companies and

                   industries, because it eliminates the effects of

                   financing and accounting decisions.


ECN

                   Engineering Change Notice, an essential process

                   that should be highly understood and documented

                    by a process flow chart.

EDI

                   Electronic Data Interchange Information-system

                   linkages, based on communication protocols and

                   document formats, which permit inter-company

                   computer-to-computer communications. EDI links

                   not only speed communication, but also eliminate

                   re-keying of information and reduce the

                   opportunity to introduce errors. A typical EDI

                   application might speed information exchange

                   between a customer and supplier company for

                   purchase orders, invoices, or other transactions.

                   EDI communications often are facilitated through

                   "electronic mailbox" systems on third-party value-

                   added networks.

Eyeball

                   A slang verb meaning to go out and look at

                   something. In value stream mapping, a symbol to

                   indicate the need for direct decision-making at that

                    point in the process. The decision point may also

                   be represented by a pair of eyeglasses.

Facilitator Role

                   Supporter of the process more than the topic, the

                   facilitator does not contribute directly to the

                   objectives of the team, but rather keeps the team

                   on track along a standard approach.

FG

                   Finished Goods

FIFO

                   First In First Out - as in inventory flow to a rack

Fishbone Diagram

                   Originally developed by Professor Kaoru Ishikawa

                   to show causes (the ribs) and the effect (the head).

                   A negative fishbone can be replaced by a positive

                   one - as one of the 7 basic tools of problem-solving.

Flow Chart

                   Illustration of sequence of steps of any process

                   using appropriate symbols to show inputs,

                   outputs, actions, decisions, and direction.

Flow of Equipment

                   Equipment must be arranged in the sequence of

                   processes and should make the flow of people and

                   materials easy. Equipment should have narrow

                   fronts. Loaded in the front, with waste and

                   maintenance items in the back.  Right sized, small,

                   economical, modular, home built equipment that is

                    easily movable is best.  Poka yoke and hanedashi

                   devices must bee incorporated into equipment

                   design.

Flow of Final Product

                   Consider the assembly of the final product from

                   the bottom up, along a continuously moving line,

                   with test and audits included.

Flow of Information

                   Information should always travel with the

                   material, coming in such forms as signals,

                   kanbans, lights, sounds, music, spaces etc. Only

                   release the information needed at that time. Don't

                   allow information to stack up and become a push

                   out on the floor.  Don't allow people to sort

                   through kanban cards to pick the job they want to

                    do next. Don't have routine activities require

                   lights or bells - you will wind up with a floor full

                   of cacophony.  Have a regular route set up to pick

                   up and/or drop of routine items.  Have the route

                   illustrated by standard work, and have a card

                   travel with the part. Use lights or bells to signal

                   non-routine events - and work to make non-

                   routine events not occur.

Flow of People

                   Standard work shows people's movement between

                   process steps - movement should be unimpeded by

                   equipment, tools, materials and other team

                   members.  Watch eyes, hands and feet for stopping

                    or backing up - indicating disruption of the flow.

                   Observe people flow between steps, and at the step

                   itself: it should be one touch - for loading a

                   machine, making an assembly installation, quality

                   check, etc.  Each "one touch" should be less than

                   10 seconds.

Flow of Process

                   The arrangement of machines, materials, people,

                   and information in the order of processing so that

                   work flows without interruptions or waste.

Flow of Raw Material

                   To visualize Material flow, make a fishbone on the table or floor, with the

                   exploded parts - showing how they come together.

                     Connect the fish bones to maximize the control of

                    production on minimize the amount of material in

                    the system - materials should be ordered,

                   produced and delivered when they are needed,

                   where they are needed, in the amount needed,

                   presented in order of use.

Flow of Sub Parts

                   Flow of sub assemblies to a main line should be

                   single piece, fed to the main line at point of use,

                   with sub assemblies as complete as possible so that

                    hooking up to the main line does not slow it

                   down. Modules should plug in easily.

FMEA

                   Failure Mode and Effect Analysis - tool used to

                   predict and eliminate in advance any potential

                   design defect in a new product by analyzing the

                   effects of failure modes of component parts on the

                   final product.

Fresh Eyes

                   Has no knowledge of existing process, responsible

                   to ask why and help team find new ideas.

Gantt Chart

                   Tool that uses horizontal bars to show which

                   tasks can be done simultaneously over the life of

                   the project.  Its primary disadvantage is that it

                   cannot easily show which tasks are specifically

                   dependent on each other.

Gemba

                   The place where the work is done. "Go to the

                   Gemba!" is the constant refrain of people who

                   know how to practice the Toyota Production

                   System. In Japanese, gemba means 'real place' the

                   place where real action occurs.  Japanese use the

                   word gemba in their daily speech.  When the

                   earthquakes shook Kobe in January, 1995, TV

                   reporters at the scene referred to themselves as

                   'reporting from gemba'…In business, the value-

                   adding activities that satisfy the customer happen

                   in gemba." Quoted from Gemba Kaizen by Masaaki

                    Imai, McGraw Hill, 1997, page 13.

Group Norms

                   Form, Storm, Norm, Perform

Heijunka (Heijunka Box)

                   A "heyjunka" box is where production instruction

                   kanban cards are sorted into the most economical

                   and effective order for quickly meeting customer

                   demand. An essential tool for level loading. It takes

                    the shape of a matrix of slots, horizontally and

                   vertically arranged by chunks of time and work

                   cells.  Production instruction cards representing

                   chunks of time are placed into each slot as the

                   signal for what to make, where.

Heinrich's Law

                   A principle related to occurrence ratio of accidents

                   with injuries. Serious injury is to minor injury is

                   to no injury = 1:29:300

Histogram

                   One of the seven data tools for problem solving - a

                   bar chart that shows the curve of variation in the

                   output data of a process, collected over time,

                   illustrating the process output's center, spread,

                   and shape by presenting its frequency distribution

                   in a bar form.

Hoshin Kanri

                   From the Japanese meaning the physical property

                   of magnetically charged iron pointing in the same

                   direction. In organizations, the unified pull

                   towards a long term strategy - a continuing cycle

                   of planning built on open discussion of available

                   resources and prioritization of breakthrough

                   themes down to the few simple goals agreed upon

                   by leadership expressed in measurable targets to be

                    achieved by a given point in time. These targets,

                   resources and dates are shared through a policy

                   deployment process and grid.

House of Quality

                   The HOQ is a storehouse of information that the

                   team analyzes to make decisions as to the most

                   important and most difficult areas for

                   improvement. The input to the HOQ are the

                   Customer needs, called the "WHATS". These

                   WHATS are translated into performance

                   measurables, called the "HOWS". The HOWS

                   represent the measurement systems we will use to

                   compare concepts in order to select the best one.

                   The HOWS are not design solutions.  In addition

                   to the customer needs, the needs of the

                   organization and the mandates of the regulatory

                   agencies need to be addressed through the HOQ

Interrelationship Diagraph

                   Tool to systematically identify, analyze and classify

                    the cause and effect relationships that exist among

                    all critical issues so that key drivers or outcomes

                   can become the heart of an effective solution.

                   Topics are arranged in a large circle, and one way

                   arrows are assigned from cause to affect. The topics

                    with the higher number of outgoing arrows are

                   the most likely candidates for immediate action.

Intranet

                   Intranet -- A secure, internal corporate Internet-

                   based network.

ISO 9000-9004

                   ISO is the general name for the quality standard

                   accepted throughout the European Economic

                   Community, initially adopted in 1987, a series of

                   documents on quality assurance published by the

                   Geneva-based International Standards

                   Organization.   Contents of each: 9000 = selection

                   and use of quality systems contained in 9001-9003.

                   9001 QA in design, development, production,

                   installation and servicing. 9002= QA in production

                    and installation.  9003 = QA for final inspection

                   and testing. 9004 = guidelines for QA management

                   and quality system elements.

ISO International Standards

                   A worldwide federation of national bodies,

                   established in 1947, representing approximately 90

                   member countries, covering standardization in all

                   fields except electrical and electronic engineering

                   standards, which are the responsibility of the

                   International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). 

                   Together, the ISO and IEC form the specialized

                   system for worldwide standardization - the

                   world's largest nongovernmental system for

                   voluntary industrial and technical collaboration at

                    the international level. Published standards

                   include those for grading of steel, testing strength

                   of woven textiles, storage of fruits, magnetic codes

                   on credit cards, for automobile safety, and for

                   ensuring the quality and performance of the

                   world's diversity of products.

Jidoka

                   A device that stops a machine whenever a defective

                    product is produced.  It was the essential

                   introduction of true JIT to Mr. Toyoda - thorough

                    his mother's weaving equipment - a steel wire

                   would drop when a thread was broken, saving

                   endless hours of rework and waste.  Mr. Toyoda

                   built on this central idea to found the Toyota

                   Production System.

Just In Time

                   Produce only what is needed, where it is needed,

                   when it is needed.

Kaikaku

                   Larger than kaizen, radical change, reform and

                   innovation beyond the scope of average

                   operations. Rethinking the very purpose of what

                   you do -along the lines of 3P

Kaizen

                   Defined in 1993 edition of the New Shorter Oxford

                   English Dictionary as continuous improvement of

                   working practices, personal efficiency, etc. as a

                   business philosophy. Kaizen is Japanese for ‘a

                   change for better’ which results in ‘continuous

                   improvement’.  Kaizen logic was first enshrined in

                   written text with Masaaki Imai’s book ‘KAIZEN -

                   The Key To Japan’s Competitive Success’ (1996). 

                   Kaizen uses the Japanese logic of bringing

                   improvements internally from within the

                   workplace along with the American logic of

                   scientific thing and data-based decision making. 

Kaizen Forms

                   Paper kaizen forms guide better practice of kaizen

                    because they breakdown and illustrate required elements step by step

                   The names of the sheets may vary in translation 

                   such as a Big Idea or Summary Sheet -

                    which have also been translated as an area

                   profile or activity sheet.

Kaizen Promotion

                   People helping others practice kaizen have many

                   titles. A KPO (kaizen promotion officer), Kaizen

                   Coordinator, Internal or external consultant, all

                   are experts charged with promoting a successful

                   kaizen event that results in the safe and significant

                    achievement of company goals.

Kanban

                   A kanban is a signal to produce or to withdraw

                   supplies. Kanban is attached to a given number of

                   parts or products or files in the process,

                   instructing the delivery of a given quantity.  In the

                    case of a withdrawal kanban, when the

                   parts/supplies have all been used, the kanban is

                   returned to its origin as a signal for re-supply. As

                   a kanban for production instruction; the kanban

                   represents a set of work and goes to  where it

                   becomes an order to produce more.

Kanban Post

                   Place to hold kanban cards

Key Measures

                   Key Measures reflect progress towards the overall

                   goals through numbers unclouded by ratios and

                   complex formulas  focusing on the health of the

                   organization and the joy of the customer.

Layout

                   Scaled map of an area showing position of people,

                   equipment and wip - using the standard work

                   form.

Lead Time

                   Process time plus inspection time plus move time

                   plus wait time.

Leader

                   Has clearest view of vision and objectives; keeps

                   team on track; assigns action items; leads

                   presentations

Lean Sigma

                   Advanced version of statistical process analysis

                   and control put forth in TQC of the 80's, centering

                    improvement activities on the reduction of

                   variation combined with lean practices and

                   application of the Toyota Production System. See

                   also Six Sigma, Control Charts and design of

                   experiments to achieve best practices in meeting or

                   exceeding customer requirements.

Least-Waste-Way

                   The lowest, repeatable, reasonably understood to

                   be the best way to do something with the least

                   possible non-value-adding action or expense.

Lengthy Setup Causes

                   Setup procedure is not standardized. Procedure is

                   not properly practiced. Completion of setup is

                   uncertain to operator. Adjustments and re-

                   adjustments. Materials & tools not properly

                   prepared beforehand. Attaching & detaching

                   fixtures, tooling, etc... The setup has not been

                   properly evaluated. Unproven & incorrect CNC

                   programs.

Level Loading

                   many methods to make work processes smooth in

                   the face of changing customer demands, including

                   product family grouping / streamlining, product

                   design to eliminate unneeded variations, flexible

                   staffing, smed, cell layout for flexibility, mixed

                   modeling and heijunka systems.

Lot Size

                   Size of batch of work sent through the stream of

                   events

Material Control Board

                   Place where cards, or magnets representing cards,

                   are visually displayed and acted upon. Usually

                   divided into zones for SKU types, various

                   suppliers, areas of use, etc. Usually using color

                   codes of red, yellow and green to indicate danger

                   level of "running out"

Matrix

                   From mathematics: An array of elements in rows

                   and columns, as the coefficients of a set of linear

                   equations, treated as a unit to make the relations

                   between elements visible. From the latin meaning

                   womb, source, that which originates, used as

                   breeding records, turned into the meaning for

                   public registers, original music recordings, host

                   rock for crystal formations and intercellular

                   substances in biology.

Matrix Diagram

                   Tool to systematically identify, analyze and rate

                   the presence and strength of relationships between

                    two or more sets of information, such as customer

                    criteria to functions responsible (HOQ) or target

                   dates and teams responsible (Policy Deployment)

                   or possible kaizen topics to impact on key

                   measures.

Mixed Modeling

                   Making daily totals in a pattern of A B A B A C

                   instead of 3 A's, 2 B's and 1 C, reducing lead time

                   and increasing production flexibility through

                   seamless changeovers.

Mizusumashi

                   Waterspider or waterstrider to provide just what is

                    needed in value stream. Please see Waterspider.

Navigator

                   Has knowledge of kaizen format, forms, data

                   collection and charting; responsible for the

                   construction, documentation and presentation of

                   standard work.

OEE

                   Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Outdated ratio

                   measurement best replaced by real time data posted

                    on the equipment by operators and reviewed

                   regularly by leaders and TPM to take action on.

OEM

                   Original Equipment Manufacturer

One Piece Flow

                   One Piece Flow is one of three primary principles

                   of lean enterprise - make it one at a time - it is not

                   more efficient to batch, when considering the

                   performance of the whole company.

Operator

                   Has most extensive knowledge of existing process;

                   is responsible for keeping an open mind,

                   communicating possible issues, and participating

                   in improvements.

Overall Quality

                   is measured and communicated differently in every

                   organization. Quality can mean % of things done right

                   the first time, relying on after the fact inspection.

                   In lean enterprise, it more likely means upstream

                   audit of process and is measured as: (# audits - #

                   defects) / # audits. Ultimately, the customer of the process

                         is the only entity that decides quality.

Overhead

                   is any business expense such as rent, office expense, taxes or

                         depreciation which is not directly chargeable to production.

Overhead Projector

                   The least-waste-way of making real-time

                   presentations during the kaizen event - reducing

                   the cycle time of preparing and giving

                   presentations through computers

P/E Ratio

                   Price/Earnings ratio, a metric used to evaluate a

                   company's stock.The current stock prices of a

                   company divided by its earnings per share

                   (EPS).Simple to calculate, difficult to interpret

                   because earnings is an accounting figure that

                   includes non-cash items, can be applied differently

                   in different countries, affected by inflation, and can

                   change over time.

Paradigm

                   A paradigm is defined as the basic way of

                   perceiving, thinking, valuing, and doing

                   associated with a particular vision of reality.  A

                   dominant paradigm is seldom if ever stated

                   explicitly; it exists as unquestioned, tacit

                   understanding that is transmitted through culture

                    and to succeeding generations through direct

                   experience rather than being taught.

Pareto

                   One of the seven data tools for problem solving - a

                   bar chart that shows the greatest potential for

                   improvement by showing issues ranked by their

                   frequency in a descending bar chart. The chart also

                    shows a running sum of the percentage of each

Performance

                   Numeric indicators or metrics of specific process

                   outputs that illustrate the company's competitive

                   strengths and weaknesses in achieving goals. The

                   "score." The true picture of a company to evaluate

                   progress. Lean performance measures should: 1.

                   support the company's strategy, 2. be few in

                   number, 3. be mostly non-financial, 4. be

                   structured to motiviate the right behavior, 5. be

                   visual and easy to understand 6. measure the

                   process, not the people, 7. measure actual results

                   versus goals, 8. not combine measures of different

                   things into a single index, 9. be timely, e.g.,

                   weekly, daily or hourly, 10. show trend lines.

Plan Do Check Act

                   Plan, Do, Check and Act is the Shewhart Cycle of

                   Process Improvement, which became known as the

                    Deming Cycle because as Shewhart's protégé, Dr.

                   Deming put the cycle to use across the world.

Plan To Actual

                   Boards showing production plan based on

                   customer demand - against actual performance.

Plan, Do, Check and Act

                   Plan, Do, Check and Act is the Shewhart Cycle of

                   Process Improvement, which became known as the

                    Deming Cycle because as Shewhart's protégé, Dr.

                   Deming put the cycle to use across the world.

PLM

                   Product Lifecycle Management - information

                   driven approach to all aspects of a product's life

                   from design thru manufacture, deployment,

                   maintenance, removal from service and final

                   disposal that facilitates horizontal collaboration

                   with multiple suppliers and business partners.

                   Born in Auto and aerospace industries but also

                   applied to service industries.

Poka Yoka

                   Commonly referred to as "fool proofing", poka

                   yoka is uncommon genius built into products and

                   processes to prevent defects.  At the heart of the

                   Toyota Production System, along with Jidoka, a

                   poke yoke can be as simple as a half moon hole for

                   a half moon grommet to prevent the improper

                   placement of the grommet into the hole.  It can be

                   a fixture that is shaped in such a way as to

                   physically prohibit the improper assembly of a

                   part.

Post, Kanban Post

                   Place to hold kanban cards.

Process Capability

                   A mathematical analysis of a collection of output

                   data to determine whether a process, given its

                   natural variation, is capable of meeting established

                   customer requirements or specifications.

Process Capacity

                   The analysis and display of the maximum possible

                   output of each primary step of a process.  Such

                   analysis illustrates where the constraint is.

Process Improvement

                   Take a process, and improve it.  Lean enterprise is

                   a business model that combines Deming's quality

                   theory:( How do you know you are really

                   improving the process, and not tampering with

                   the structure of the organization?) with 50+ years

                   of best practices of the Toyota Production System

Production

                   A kanban card that instructs production to make

                   something the customer has bought

Production

                   Major tool of product or process development,

                   bigger than a kaizen, could be a kaizen theme or

                   hoshin. Standard work for profitable creativity.

                   Prerequisite: profound knowledge of customer

                   criteria.

PRODUCTIVITY

                   SALES PER EMPLOYEE = last 12 months net sales

                    divided by total FTE (full time

                   equivalent)headcount SALES PER EMPLOYEE =

                   last 12 months net sales divided by total FTE

                   headcount

Pull Systems

                   Pull production is one of the three basic

                   requirements of JIT production: the previous

                   process produces only as many products as are

                   consumed by the following process.

Push production

                   The opposite of pull production.  The previous

                   process produces as much as it can without regard

                    to the actual requirements of the next process, and

                    sends them to the next process whether there is a

                   need or not.

QFD

                   Quality Function Deployment - a practice using

                   visual tools such as a "house of quality" matrix

                   which illustrates the voice of the customer

                   throughout the design and implementation of a

                   new product, or the overhaul of an existing

                   product.

Quality

                   "Anything that can be improved." Masaaki Imai

Quality Function

                   A proactive development methodology that can be

                   used for products and services.  By using QFD, a

                   team can systematically translate the voice of the

                   customer (VOC) into appropriate requirements at

                   all stages of development.  A concise definition is

                   "Customer Driven Product  Development"

Quality Goal

                   50% Reduction in Defects - Each Year

Radar Chart

                   Shows the gaps among a number of current and

                   ideal performance measures

ROI

                   Return on Investment: An accounting summation

                   of all the activities of every individual on every day

                    of the period being measured. ROI is a resulting

                   affect, not a cause in itself. Working on the right

                   causes will result in an improved ROI affect.

Root Cause Analysis


                   Asking why 5 times to get to the real bottom of a

                   problem.

Run Chart

                   A graph plotting individual points over time.  Y

                   axis is the measure being studied; X axis is always

                   in sequence of date/time.

Scatter Diagram

                   Tool to measure relationships between variables,

                   especially helpful in measuring the changes in

                   experiments, before and after; such as in design of

                   experiments.

Scientific Approach

                   Observation and analysis of cause and effect,

                   careful measures of "before" and "after" in controled

                    experiments to determine solutions such as best

                   practices.

Sensei

                   the word used in Japan to refer with repect to a

                   teacher who has mastered the subject. Dr. Deming

                   repeatedly asserted: "There is no substitute for

                   profound knowledge!"

Setup Reduction

                   Analyze current situation, take time study.

                   Separate Internal Time from External Time.

                   Identify and reduce waste in Internal Time.

                   Identify and reduce waste in External Time. Repeat

                    Process.

Setup Time

                   The total length of time between the last good part

                    of the previous run & the“first good part of the

                   next run. It is the time the machine is down & not

                   running parts.  It is NOT the labor time for the

                   Setup operation. In service industries, setup can be

                    for example how long to change between

                   softwares, how long to get a room ready for the

                   next patient, etc.

Seven Flows

                   Flow of: People, Raw Material, Sub Parts, Final

                   Products, Equipment, Information and

                   Engineering.  All of these must be evaluated in

                   setting up a flow layout.

SIC Code

                   A coding system of the U.S. Government used to

                   identify specific economic sectors.  Coding for

                   manufacturers encompasses the two-digit numbers

                    of 20 through 39. Service Industries have another

                   set of numbers.

Signal Kanban

                   A more passive visual kanban that uses the eye to

                   see that something is needed rather than having to

                    use a card. A signal might be an empty spot on a

                   shelf, a magnet on a board, a weight on a string

                   that swings free when the level is low enough for

                   re-supply. Operator knows exactly what to do

                   when they see the signal. If a decision must be

                   made between multiple signals, breakdowns will

                   occur. Eliminate the need for multiple signals,

                   either through further streamlining the supply

                   chain (good), or installing a physical kanban that

                   can be level-loaded (less good).

Six Sigma

                   Powerful statistical tool for reducing variation in

                   batches. Better as an array of measures to reflect

                   total quality than as an umbrella improvement

                   program: six sigma converts yield% , defects per

                   million opportunities (DPMO) into a number from

                    0 to 6, with 6 sigma equivalent to 3.4 defects per

                   million opportunities. A good way for a large

                   company to unify its leaders around a productive

                   series of steps. Using ego-stroking titles such as

                   black belts and green belts to reward ambitious

                   people for learning how to study the workplace,

                   take accurate measures and implement

                   improvements. A lengthy process better done with

                    kaizen and lean enterprise transformation, but

                   that's too holistic for most western organizations.

                   Some combinations by companies and consultants

                   called "lean sigma." see also lean sigma, six sigma

                   approach.

Six Sigma Approach

                   Based upon the General Electric model of six

                   sigma: DMAI - DEFINE - A project team will be set

                    up to tackle a quality issue based on business

                   and/or customer needs. A list of 'Critical to Quality

                    Characteristics' (CTQs) drawn up and measured.

                   The best ones to look at are termed as the 'Big Y'

                   the customers’ highest priority.  MEASURE -

                   From definition of CTQs, the next step is to look at

                    processes which affect CTQs. For instance if one of

                    the CTQs is to look at customer returns based on

                   damaged packaging, then obviously the

                   effectiveness of your packaging process is

                   measured.  ANALYZE - From looking at the

                   processes which affect the CTQs the next step is to

                   analyze which factors are causing the processes to

                   vary in quality. In the packing example it could be

                   that one packaging team may be using a different

                   method to pack the products  IMPROVE - The

                   project team from measuring and analyzing the

                   CTQs should now be in a position quantify

                   maximum and minimum ranges for acceptable

                   performance. 

SMED Single Minute Exchange of Die

                   A process for significantly reducing Setup times, to

                    permit more frequent Setups, resulting in smaller

                   batches and increased machine availability.

Special Cause

                   An abnormality which occurs outside the control

                   limits of a process output.

Standard Work

                   The optimum combination of people, equipment,

                   materials into a method providing reliable

                   achievement of customer requirements documented

                    in time and space by the standard work

                   combination sheet and the standard work sheet

                   (layout and WIP). The use of stable, repeatable

                   methods everywhere to maintain predictability,

                   timing and output of processes. Standard work is

                   the absolute key to achieve takt time, one piece

                   flow, and pull.

Statistical Process

                   To monitor, control, and improve process

                   performance over time by studying variation and

                   its source

Strategy

                   Approach based on achieving the vision that lasts

                   over several years. Often confused with Tactics

                   which results in a "fad of the month" cynicism

Strategy  Deployment

                   A process for illustrating and communicating

                   company breakthrough goals, target dates,

                   resources and teams allocated towards each

                   activity. The process is illustrated by a grid of

                   resources to targets, which cascades through

                   multiple layers of the organization, each layer

                   turning the grid 90 degrees. The process is a

                   communication loop rather than a top-down

                   proclamation.

Supermarket

                   A storage area that is on a pull system

Systems Thinking

                   Mental model based on process focus. Taught by

                   Deming, looks for root causes, understands and

                   applies profound knowledge in discerning between

                    special and common causes. Avoids jumping to

                   conclusions or blaming people for poor process

                   design.  Supports visual controls and flow of

                   operations by understanding the performance,

                   characteristics, and predictability of a system of

                   interrelated processes.

Tactics

                   Actions taken to address immediate concerns.

                   Often confused with Strategy.

Taguchi Loss 

                   By superimposing a histogram of the process over

                   the range of specification, GenichiTaguchi showed

                   in 1960 that loss occurs inside the requirement

                   range, not just outside. Taguchi Loss Function

                   illustrates the need for rational continuous

                   improvement beyond simple delivery of product or

                    service within specifications or contractual limits.

Taichii Ohno

                   Father of Kanban at Toyota

Takt Time

                   The speed of customer consumption of the process

                   under study, always calculated by Available Work

                   Time divided by Units Sold. Takt Time is not based

                    on forecast of sales. The faster the organization

                   can respond to variations in demand, the more

                   accurately Takt Time can be calculated. The longer

                   the response time, the more layers of wasteful

                   thinking and actions will accumulate between

                   what the customer actually wants and when, and

                   our actions to accomplish those customer desires.

                   Takt Time is one leg of a three-legged stool; Takt

                   Time, One Piece Flow, and Pull. Without all three

                   legs, the seat will tip over.

Tampering

                   Actions taken on a stable system in response to

                   variation within statistical control, in an effort to

                   compensate for this variation is tampering - i.e.

                   results of which will inevitably increase the

                   variation and will increase costs.

Target Costing

                   Requires the selling price to be determine at the

                   beginning of the product development process

                   with desired profit subtracted in order to

                   determine a cost target. This specification is folded

                   into a cross-functional product development

                   process such as QFD.

Team

                   Group of people working together towards a

                   common goal.

Time Study

                   Process of capturing and documenting profound

                   understanding of the sequence, value and type of

                   execution of events to complete a process in terms

                   of seconds.

Tollgate

                   Major timeline marker for a project

Toyota Production

                   TPS means to relentlessly pursue non-value

                   adding activities that occur anywhere from the

                   moment of the initial contact with the customer

                   /client/patient to the point when the transaction is

                   entirely completed: when all cash transferred and

                   ready to use.  Pathways for work are visible,

                   simple, direct, clear. Continuous improvement and

                    standard work are understood as the basic job

                   description for everyone in the organization.

TPM

                   Total Productive Maintenance maximizing

                   equipment effectiveness throughout its entire life,

                   involving everyone through small group and

                   individual activities building a maintenance system

                    dependant on data, education, housekeeping,

                   problem-solving and kaizens to achieve zero

                   breakdowns and accident-free performance.

TQM

                   Total Quality Management - organized activities

                   involving everyone in a company towards

                   continuous improvement at every level satisfying

                   cross functional goals of quality, cost, profit, and

                   development.

Try-storming

                   Brainstorming in action developing at least 7

                   different ideas to solve a problem, judging each

                   idea against the goals of the kaizen, selecting at

                   least 3 to mock up and test against each other,

                   measuring safety, time and space along with any

                   further kaizen goals.  Inspired by examples from

                   solutions found in nature, Trystorming has a

                   detailed sequence of steps  outlined by theprocess

                   map, trystorming forms and judging matrix. To

                   carry brainstorming to the Gemba - to quickly

                   make models of ideas using cardboard and tape,

                   and very little time. To complete such ideas off line

                   - out of the bright lights of criticism - to just try it

                   and measure it against goals.

Value Stream

                   A specialized Gantt Chart organized by value

                   stream loops, cascading objectives, measures and

                   actions, including follow up and status. See also

                   value stream map

Value Stream Map

                   A specialized flow chart that illustrates steps to

                   satisfy the customer along with information flow

                   on a time line that differentiates value adding from

                   non value adding elements - using standard icons

                   for work areas, materials, conveyance, work

                   planning and information flow.   Current State is

                   compared to Future State to help develop

                   improvement plan (Value Stream Improvement

                   Plan).

Variation

                   An ever present fact of life: variation exists in that

                   no two things are exactly alike.  The challenge of

                   continuous improvement is to continuously

                   change the method to continuously reduce the

                   variation. The difference between archaic

                   management and profitable leadership lies in the

                   analysis and response to variation in a system.

Vision

                   A statement of business philosophy to drive the

                   organization, or a joke if the organization makes

                   pretty posters that mean nothing in the face of

                   adversity. Example: Our Company Vision is to

                   provide a continuing growth opportunity and a

                   good place to work

Visual Controls

                   Method to provide information in clearly visible

                   manner to associates and leaders showing the

                   current state of operations and targets for

                   improvement; also helps people to identify

                   abnormalities promptly.

Voice of the customer

                   Face to face interviews, focus groups, telephone

                   interviews and observations of the product being

                   used with a single customer or focus groups.

Waste

                   Anything that takes up resources and does not

                   directly contribute to customer satisfaction is

                   waste.  Categories of waste include: making

                   corrections, overproducing, waiting, transporting,

                    and unnecessary stock on hand, unnecessary

                   motion, waste from processing itself, and waste of

                   a person.

Waterspider

                   A Water strider, or spider, (from the Japanese

                   Mizusumashi) is defined as an ultra high

                   frequency method or person used to collect and

                   deliver things such as parts or kits to multiple

                   value-adding processes that need those items just

                   when they need them. Water spider is not initially

                   a means to enhance the efficiency of

                   transportation, but rather a means to:    1.

                   Eliminate the motion of the operator turning

                   back.....2. Eliminate the work of choosing

                   parts.....3. Speed up the process of developing

                   multi-skilled cross-functional workers...... 4.

                   Prevent mistakes and mismatches ......5. Make line

                   delays visible

Withdrawal Card

                   A kanban card to pull a replacement for something

                    that was taken

Work in Process

                   Pieces of work in partial completion along the flow

                    of value

Work Standards

                   A best way to do the job - that is published -

                   understandable and measurable. Work Standards

                   are a SUBSET of Standard Work as understood

                   through the Toyota Production System

Work Study Trip

                   Combined tour, class and kaizen trip hosted by

                   such teachers of world class lean production

                   systems as the Shingijutsu Company. For further

                   information, see their website at shingijutsu.co.jp

Working Capital

                   YTD Net Sales divided by working capital, where

                   YTD net sales = last 12 months net sales and where

                    working capital = current month FIFO inventory

                   + (current month Accounts Receivable minus

                   Reserves) minus current month Accounts Payable