Lean thought for the day

Lean Glossary Abridged
BOTTLENECK: A process in any part of the enterprise (office, production, sales, etc.) that limits the throughput of the whole process.
CHANGEOVER: The time from when the last good piece comes off of a machine or process until the first good piece of the next product is made. Changeover time includes set up, warm up, trial run, adjustment, first piece inspection, etc.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: The never-ending pursuit of waste elimination by creating a better workplace, better products, and greater value to society.
CYCLE TIME: Cycle time is the time it takes to do one repetition of any particular task. Cycle time can be categorized into 1) manual cycle time, 2) machine cycle time, and 3) auto cycle time. Also referred to as touch time or hands-on time.
FIVE S: Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain

GEMBA: is a Japanese word meaning "actual place," or the place where you work to create value. In manufacturing this is the factory. In each industry, the Gemba will be a different place.
INTERNAL SET-UP: Set-up tasks that can only be done when the machine is stopped. Examples are changing the fixture, changing the tools, or making adjustments. After as many of the internal tasks have been externalized as is possible, the remaining internal changeover time is reduced through use of quick-change mechanisms.
INVENTORY: A major cost for most businesses, inventory is all raw materials, purchased parts, work-in-process components, and finished goods that are not yet sold to a customer. In some cases inventory may include consumable goods used in production.
JUST-IN-TIME PRODUCTION (JIT): A production system to make what the customer needs when the customer needs it in the quantity the customer needs, using minimal resources of manpower, material, and machinery. The three elements to making Just-in-Time possible are Takt time, Flow production, and the Pull system.
KAIZEN: Japanese for 'change for the better' or 'improvement'. A business philosophy of continuous cost reduction, reduce quality problems, and delivery time reduction through rapid, team-based improvement activity.
KAIZEN BLITZ: A rapid continuous improvement event, usually taking less than four days. Some blitzes could take minuets or hours.
KANBAN: A Japanese word for 'sign', Kanbans are typically a re-order card or other method of triggering the pull system based on actual usage of material. Kanbans are attached to the actual product, at the point of use. Kanbans are cards that have information about the parts (name, part number, quantity, source, destination, etc.) but carts, boxes, and electronic signals are also used. Squares painted on the floor to indicate storage or incoming areas are frequently, but mistakenly, referred to as kanbans.
LEAD-TIME: The time it takes to produce a single product, from the time of customer order entry to shipment.
LEAN MANUFACTURING: A systematic approach to identify and eliminate waste ( non-value added activities), though continuous improvement by flowing the product at the pull of the customer (internal and external) in pursuit of perfection.
LEAN ENTERPRISE: A Lean Enterprise is an organization that is engaged in the endless pursuit of waste elimination. A Lean Enterprise has a culture that does not tolerate waste of any kind.
LEAN TRANSFORMATION: Developing a culture that is intolerant to waste in all of its forms. A successful Lean Transformation should result in a Lean Enterprise, an organization that is engaged in the endless pursuit of waste elimination.
LEVELING: Smoothing out the production schedule by averaging out both the volume and mix of products. Production leveling allows a consistent workflow, reducing the fluctuation of customer demand with the eventual goal of being able to produce any product any day.

MUDA: Japanese for 'waste'. Any activity that adds cost without adding value to the product.
NON VALUE-ADDED WORK: Activities that may be necessary but do not add value as defined by the customer. Examples are packaging, paperwork, and inspection. Non value-added tasks can create value if their function is to identify and eliminate waste.
ONE-PIECE FLOW: One-piece flow production is when parts are made one at a time and passed on to the next process. Among the benefits of one-piece flow are 1) the quick detection of defects to prevent a large batch of defects, 2) short lead-times of production, 3) reduced material and inventory costs, and 4) design of equipment and workstations of minimal size.
PACEMAKER: A device or technique use to set the pace of production and maintain takt time.
PARETO CHART: A problem solving tool in the form of a vertical bar graph showing the bars in descending order of significance from left to right. A Pareto Chart focuses improvement activity on the “vital few” and not the trivial many. The 80/20 rules comes from the Pareto Principle, stating that 20% of the items account for 80% of the activity (problems, sales, defects, etc.).
POINT OF USE STORAGE (POUS): Keeping all items needed for the job at the location of use in a neat and organized manner. POUS is on of the goals of 5S activity.
POKA YOKE: Japanese for 'mistake-proofing'. Mistake-proofing and fool-proofing devices made by designing parts, processes, or procedures so that mistakes physically or procedurally cannot happen.
PULL SYSTEM: One of the 3 Elements of JIT. The pull system enables the production of what is needed, based on a signal of what has just been sold. The downstream process takes the product they need and 'pulls' it from the producer. This 'customer pull' is a signal to the producer that the product is sold. The pull system links accurate information with the process to minimizes overproduction.
PUSH SYSTEM: In contrast to the pull system, product is pushed into a process, regardless of whether it is needed right now. The pushed product goes into inventory, and lacking a pull signal from the customer indicating that it has been bought, more of the same product could be overproduced and put in inventory.
ROOT CAUSE: The most basic underlying reason for an event or condition. The root cause is where action must be taken to prevent recurrence.
SET-UP REDUCTION: Reducing the amount of time a machine or a process is down during changeover from the last good piece to the first good piece of the next product.
SIX SIGMA: A methodology and set of tools used to improve quality to than 3.4 defects per million or better.
SMED: Single Minute Exchange of Dies. A system of set-up reduction and quick changeover pioneered and developed by Shigeo Shingo. For more information on step by step instructions to achieve single minute set-ups and changeovers, see our Quick Change Over Toolkit.
STANDARD WORK: Standard Work is the most efficient combination of man, machine, and material. The three elements of standard work are 1) takt time, 2) work sequence, and 3)standard work-in-process. Performing standard work allows for a clear and visible 'standard' operation. Deviation from standard work indicates an abnormality, which is then an opportunity for improvement.
STANDARD WORK SHEET (SWS): A visual work instruction drawing for Standard Work. Shows the work sequence, takt time, standard working process, and layout of the cell or workstation.
SUPERMARKET: The supermarket is a tool of the pull system that helps signal demand for the product. In a supermarket, a fixed amount of raw material, work in process, or finished material is kept as a buffer to schedule variability or an incapable process. A supermarket is typically located at the end of a production line (or the entrance of a u-shaped flow line).
TAKT TIME: Takt time is the pace at which the customer is buying a particular product or service. Takt time is the total net daily operating time divided by the total daily customer demand. Takt time is not how long it takes to perform a task. Takt time cannot be reduced or increased except by changes in production demand or available time to work. Takt time is one of the 3 Elements of JIT. Takt is a German word for 'beat' or 'rhythm'.
THROUGHPUT: The rate at which the entire system generates money.
TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (TPS): A methodology that resulted from over 50 years of Kaizen at Toyota, one of the most successful companies in the world. TPS is built on a foundation of Leveling, with the supporting pillars of Just-in-Time and Jidoka. TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE (TPM):Total productive maintenance aims at maximizing equipment effectiveness and uptime throughout the entire life of the equipment.
TPM: Total Productive (Predictive) Maintenance.
TWO-BIN SYSTEM: An example of both visual management and the pull system, whereby two bins or containers are used trigger reorder of parts or materials. Each bin contains enough parts to last during the delivery lead-time. When one bin is empty, it is time to reorder the two-bin quantity.
VALUE-ADDED WORK: Work that the customer is willing to pay for. A transformation of the shape or function of the material/information in a way that the customer will pay for.
VALUE STREAM: A value stream is a series of all actions required to fulfill a customer's request, both value added and not. A value stream contains a product or a family of products that have similar material and information flows. Value Streams are typically identified using a combination of Pareto Analysis and Process Routing analysis.
VALUE STREAM MAPPING: Creating a picture of the complete material and information flow from customer request through order fulfillment for an operation. Value Stream Mapping can be done at an enterprise level (showing customer-supplier relationships as well as distributors), a door to door level showing the flow of material and information primarily within a factory, office, or hospital operation, and a process level map with a narrower scope and more detail. The 'Current State' is how the process works today and the 'Future State' map shows improvements towards a long-term 'ideal state'.
VISUAL CONTROLS: Various tools of visual management such as color-coding, charts, andons, schedule boards, labels and markings on the floor.
VISUAL MANAGEMENT: When the normal state and abnormal state can be clearly and visually defined, visual management is possible. In visual management, simple visual tools are used to identify the target state, and any deviance is met with corrective action.
WASTE: Non-value added activity (eight wastes)
WATERBUG: The water-bug is a skilled and well-trained person who makes the rounds supplying parts, assisting with changeover, providing tools and materials, and any additional help needed to maintain Standard Work and keep the flow going. The water-bug has a routine and knows all processes thoroughly enough to step in if needed. At Toyota, performing the water-bug role is a prerequisite for supervision and management positions. Named after the whirligig beetle that swims about quickly in the water.