LANGUAGE OF LEAN CULTURE
HEIJUNKA: A method of levelling production at the final assembly line that makes just-in-time production possible; this
3 involves averaging both the volume and sequence of different model types on a mixed-model production line.
3P: Production Preparation Process. Rapidly designing production processes and equipment to ensure capability, built-in
quality, productivity, and Takt-Flow-Pull. The Production Preparation Process minimises resources needed such as capital,
tooling, space, inventory, and time.
3 ELEMENTS OF DEMAND: The three dr iver s of customer satisfaction are, 1) Quality, 2) Cost, and 3) Deliver y.
5 HOSIN KANRI: Also known as Hoshin Planning. "The nervous system of Lean". A means by which goals are estab-
5S: A systematic process of workplace organisation; the principle of waste elimination through visual work-
place organisation. At a minimum, a workplace continuously working to excel at 5S provides necessary ease of access to
knowledge, tools and communications while promoting the good corporate image, safety and employee engagement.
1. Sort means to separ ate needed tools, par ts, and instr uction from unneeded mater ials and to remove the latter.
2. Set-in-Order means to neatly ar r ange and identify par ts, tools and locations for ease of use. A home for ever y-
thing, everything in its home that can be found fast by any worker.
3. Shine means to conduct regular cleanup campaigns keeping all areas of the wor kplace tidy and safe.
4. Standardise ways to perform and adhere to Sort, Set-in-Order and Shine at frequent intervals to maintain a place of
work in perfect condition.
5. Sustain means to for m the habit of always following the 5S model. A self-discipline and team-discipline that not
only maintains but improves itself through engagement, management support and audits.
5 WHYs: A simple but effective method of analysing and solving problems by asking ‘why?' five times (or as many
times as needed) to find the root-cause .
5M’s OF EFFICIENCY: Profitable Manufactur ing is rooted in the 5M' s of Efficiency: Manpower, Mater ials, Ma-
chines, Methods and Money. Sometimes represented or used as a fish diagram or in a management planning structure the
5M's can be used to evaluate processes or problems in manufacturing to determine the root-cause of inefficiency.
8 tion, equipment, files, etc. Inventory reduction is key to other Lean tools and initiatives to ultimately save an incredible
8 WASTES OF PRODUCTION: Eight types of waste describe all wasteful activity in a production environment. Elimina-
tion of the eight wastes leads to improved profits. The eight wastes are:
Over-production (Making more than required)
Motion (of oper ator or machine)
Waiting (of oper ator or machine)
Transportation (handling more than once, delays in moving mater ials, unnecessar y moving or handling)
Over-Processing (rewor k, excessive ener gy to achieve quality)
Inventory (stor ing r aw mater ials, equipment, WIP and finished goods)
Defects (rewor k & scr ap)
Unused employee creativity and talent (br ain power, creative thinking)
A the plant, 3) Link all processes to customer demand through simple visual tools (kanbans), and 4) Maximise flexibility of
ACTIVITY BASED COSTING: An accounting system that assigns costs to a product based on some resources used to de-
sign, order or make it.
ANDON: A Japanese word meaning light or ‘lantern’. A production area visual control device, such as a lighted overhead
display, colour code card or sign. It communicates the status of the production system and alerts team members to emerging
problems.
AUTONOMATION: Automation with a human touch. Refers to semi-automatic processes where the operator and machine
work together. Autonomation allows man-machine separation. See Jidoka.
B ness practices of business systems.
BALANCED PRODUCTION: All operations or cells produce at the same cycle time. In a balanced system, the cell cycle
time is less than takt time.
BATCH PRODUCTION (BATCH-AND-QUEUE): Producing more than one piece of an item and then moving those
items forward to the next operation before that are all needed there. Thus, things need to wait in a queue. Batch production
also means larger work in progress inventory and may lead to idle work, poor safety and lower moral. Quality is weak as a
single defect is more likely to be replicated throughout the batch.
BENCHMARKING: The process of measuring products, services, and practices against those of leading companies.
BOTTLENECK: Any resource whose capacity is equal to or less than the demand placed on it.
BEST-IN-CLASS: The best-known example of performance in a particular operation. One needs to define both the class and
the process to avoid using the term loosely.
BLITZ: A blitz is a fast and focused process for improving some component of business - a product line, a machine or a pro-
cess. It often utilises a cross-functional team of employees for a quick problem-solving exercise, where they focus on design-
ing solutions to meet some clear goals.
C mentation for each task or job being performed in controlled measures. Kitting eliminates time-consuming trips from one
CAPACITY CONSTRAINT RESOURCES: Where a series of non-bottlenecks, based on the sequence in which they per-
form their jobs, can act as a restrict ion.
CATCH-BALL: A series of discussion between managers and their employees during which data, ideas, and analysis are
thrown like a ball; this opens productive dialogue throughout the entire company.
CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM: A problem-solving tool used to identify relationships between effects and multiple
causes (also Fishbone Diagram, Ishikawa Diagram).
CELLS: The layout of machines of different types performing different operations in a tight sequence, typically in a U or L-
shape, to permit single piece flow and flexible deployment of human effort.
CELLULAR MANUFACTURING: An alignment of processes and equipment in the cor rect process sequence, where
operators work within the cell and materials are presented to them from the outside of the cell. Taking advantage of similari-
ties between parts, through standardisation and typical processing, the workflow can be improved in this model with the la-
bour of multi-skilled teams becoming semi-autonomous.
CHAKU-CHAKU: A method of conducting single-piece flow, where the operator proceeds from machine to machine, tak-
ing part from one machine and loading it into the next.
CHALK CIRCLE: Also known as Ohno Circle. Ohno was known for dr awing a chalk circle around manager s and
making them stand in the circle until they had seen and documented all of the problems in a particular area. An excellent
way to train one's eyes to see waste and to provide structure for the team leader to make daily improvements or for the busy
executive with limited time to go to Gemba .
CHAMPION: An exper ienced tr ained and tr usted the individual to act as a coach, go-between and assistant to supervi-
sors and managers to achieve customer satisfaction and help drive standards such as 5S, Visual workplace, Quality in pro-
cess, Visual Work Instructions and Total Productive Maintenance.
CHANGE AGENT: A visionar y and a catalytic force whose objective is to help cause the tr ansfor mation from the cur -
rent state to lean by leading a change project or business-wide initiative through defining, researching, planning, building
business support and carefully selecting volunteers to be part of change teams.
CHANGEOVER: The installation of a new type of tool in a metal wor king machine, a different paint in a painting
system, a new plastic resin and new mould in an injection moulding machine, new software in a computer, and so on.
CONCURRENT ENGINEERING: Designing a product (or ser vice), its production process, the suppor ting infor -
mation flow, and its delivery mechanism at the same time.Benefits include shorter development time from concept to market,
a higher product quality, lower overall development cost and less product or service unit cost. Concurrent engineering re-
quires up-front planning and dedicated resources early in the initial stages of development.
CONSTRAINT: Anything that limits a system from achieving higher performance or throughput. Also known as bottleneck.
CONTINUOUS FLOW: Items are produced and moved from one processing step to the next one piece at a time. Each pro-
cess makes only the one piece that the next process needs and the transfer batch size are one. Also called " single-piece flow"
or "one-piece flow."
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: The never -ending pursuit of waste elimination by creating a better workplace, better
products. May even influence and greater value to society outside the workplace.
CONTROL CHART: A statistical problem-solving tool that indicates control of a process within established limits.
CONTROL ELEMENT: Any par ticular process var iable that must be monitored. The measurement of a control ele-
ment indicates whether the process is operating under stable conditions.
COST OF POOR QUALITY: Costs (exposed and hidden) associated with manufactur ing or supplying a poor quality
product or service. Categories of cost include internal and external failure causing defects, poor communication, and other
types of customer dissatisfaction.
COST OF QUALITY: Costs (exposed and hidden) associated with supplying a quality product through standar d best
practices. Categories of cost include prevention, verification, and also includes the incurred cost of poor quality.
COUNTERCLOCKWISE FLOW: A pr inciple of L ean manufacturing cell layout is that the m ovem ent of material and
the motion of people should be from right to left or counterclockwise. The origin of this idea came from the design of lathes
and machine tools with the chucks on the left side, making it easier for right-handed people to load from right to left.
CURRENT STATE MAP: Helps visualise the current production process and identify sources of waste.
CULTURE CHANGE: A change of mind of how things are viewed and done among all staff. One of the most difficult
things to achieve in Lean, but one of the most rewarding! See also Lean Culture.
CYCLE TIME: The time required to complete one cycle of an operation.
D or work a form of waste. Anything the customer is not willing to pay for. Many non-value added activities are excused as a
DASHBOARD: A location for concise visual indicator s that display: clear, measur able and valid metr ics for each ob-
jective, targets for each metric, and the status of each metric. Can also be used a general communication tool for the gamba.
DEPENDENT EVENTS: Events that occur only after a previous event.
DEFECTS: Anything produced or created below defined standar ds or specification, including products or ser vices.
E
ELEMENTS OF WORK: The elements of wor k ar e 1) value-added work, 2) non-value added work, and 3) Muda
(waste). Thoroughly understanding the details of work is an essential first step to lean thinking.
ERROR PROOFING: Designing a potential failure or cause of failure out of a product or process.
ESSENTIAL NON-VALUE ADDED: A process or function that is of no value, but either by design or limited technol-
ogy of current, must be done today to achieve something that is of value.
EXTERNAL SET-UP: All set-up tasks that can be done while the machine is still running. Examples are collecting tools,
the next piece of material, preparing or setting up fixtures. Moving set-up activities from internal to external to reduce ma-
chine downtime is a central event of set-up reduction and Single Minute Exchange of Dies.
F size.
FAILURE MODES AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS (FMEA): A step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures in
design, manufacturing or assembly process or a product or service.
FIRST IN FIRST OUT (FIFO): A system of keeping tr ack of the or der in which infor mation or mater ials need to be
processed. The goal of FIFO is to prevent earlier orders from being delayed unfairly for new orders.
FLOW: Flow is at the heart of the lean message, where shortening the elapsed time from raw materials to finished goods (or
services) will lead to the best quality, lowest cost, and shortest delivery time.
One of the important concepts that passed directly from Henry Ford to Toyota. Ford recognised that, ideally, production
should flow continuously all the way from raw material to the customer and envisioned realising that ideal through a produc-
tion system that acted as one long conveyor, see also Flow Production.
FLOW CHART: A problem-solving tool that maps out the steps in a process visually. Flow (or lack of) becomes evident,
and the wastes and redundancies are identified.
FLOW PRODUCTION: A way of doing things in small quantities in sequential steps, r ather than to great batches,
lots or mass processing.Product (or service) moves (flows) from process to process in the smallest, quickest possible incre-
ment (one piece). Only acceptable quality goods or services are accepted by the downstream customer. See also, One-Piece
Flow.
FRANKENSTEIN: A project or equipment made up of ill-fitting parts stitched together in the hope that something will
come to life. Often a lazy way of avoiding a professional workplace and corrections to issues.
FUNCTIONAL LAYOUT: The practice of grouping machines or activities by type of operation performed.
FUTURE STATE MAP: A blueprint for lean implementation. Your organisation's vision, which forms the basis of your im-
plementation plan by helping to design how the process should operate with reduced or eliminated wastes.
G changes.
GEMBA: A J apanese wor d meaning " actual place” or real place or the place where the work happens to create value.
Often used to mean the shop floor. In each industry, the Gemba will be a different place.
GEMBA PRODUCTION SYSTEM: An oper ations tr ansfor mation str ategy based on the Toyota Production System .
GEMBUTSU: J apanese for 'actual thing' or 'actual product'. The tools, mater ials, machines, par ts, and fixtures that
are the focus of kaizen activity.
GENJITSU: J apanese for 'the facts' or 'the reality'. The facts or the r eality of what is happening on the shop floor and
in the business.
GO AND SEE: A key pr inciple of many lean jour neys that says, to tr uly under stand a situation one needs to go to the
Gemba where work is done as observation and investigation can remove subjectivity and create clarity for creative think-
ing.
GREENFIELD: A new production facility where lean pr inciples are designed into the philosophy, manufactur ing and
management systems from the very beginning.
H Q
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD): A visual decision-making procedure for multi-skilled project teams
See, Levelling.
HEIJUNKA BOX: A production scheduling tool that tells visually when what, and how many to build. A Production
Scheduler usually loads the heijunka box with withdrawal kanbans based on the day's order.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems may be used for such orderly scheduling.
HORIZONTAL HANDLING: When tasks are assigned to a per son in such a way that the focus is on maximising a
particular skill set or use of certain types equipment. Horizontal handling does not benefit flow.
lished and measures are created to ensure progress toward those aims, mainly asking the systematic questions of, "where
are we going?", and, "how do we get there?" with both short-term (one-year goals) and long-term (three to five years); then
aligning company resources at all levels to achieve the goals while using the PDCA cycle.
HANEDASHI: Equipment that automatically ejects, auto-unloads a completed part once its operation is complete,
readying the unit for transfer to the next production stage. Used in Chaku-chaku line production.
I RESOURCE UTILIZATION: Using a resource in a way that increases throughput, without sacrificing other good busi-
INFORMATION FLOW: The task of moving and sharing information for taking a specific product from order entry,
through detailed scheduling to delivery of a satisfied customer. See Value Stream.
INSPECTION: Comparing product or component against specifications to determine if such product or component meets
requirements. There are two forms of inspection, ‘informative' or ‘quantitative', based on no documented requirements and
‘judgment inspection' or quantitative, based on subjective judgments from work experience.
INTERNAL SET-UP: Set-up tasks that can only be done when the machine is stopped. Examples are changing the fix-
ture, changing the tools or making adjustments. After as many of the internal tasks have been externalised as is possible,
the remaining internal changeover time is reduced through the use of quick-change mechanisms.
INVENTORY: A major cost for businesses. Inventor y is all r aw mater ials, purchased par ts, wor k-in-progress compo-
nents, and finished goods that are not yet sold to a customer. Inventory may also include consumable goods used in produc-
amount money and energy; less inventory = less management of it, and less waste.
INVENTORY TURNS: How many times you can "Turn" your money over in a year; expressed as a ratio of the total in-
ventory to the annual sales. Example: If the dollar value of the inventory is $5,000,000 and the annual sales are
$25,000,000 the inventory turns is five. If the stock can be reduced to $1,000,000, the inventory turns become 25. Increas-
ing your inventory turns may require a paradigm shift by a finance team who may think inventory is only something of val-
ue and not potential muda.
J ous and do not interfere in any way with continuous flow.
JUST-IN-TIME (JIT): Producing the right item at the right time in the right quantity. Anything else is muda. The key el-
ements of Just-in-Time are, 1) Flow, 2) Pull, 3) Standard Work, and 4) Takt Time.
The basic JIT rules are 1) Don’t produce something unless ordered, 2) Level demand so that work moves smooth through
people, tools and machinery.
JIDOKA: Providing machines and wor ker s with the ability to stop a line or process automatically when er ror s are
detected. Attention is directed at the stopped equipment and the employee who stopped the operation. The Jidoka system
puts faith in the worker as a thinker and allows all employees the right to halt the line. See Autonomation.
K ments. May also include having details such as process time, takt time, training requirements and layout of the cell or
KAI-AKU: The opposite of kaizen. Change for the wor se.
KAIKAKU: Radical improvements or refor m that affect the future value stream . Often these are changes in busi-
KAIZEN: J apanese for 'change for the better ' or 'improvement' . A business philosophy of continuous cost reduc-
tion, reduce quality problems, and delivery time reduction through rapid, team-based improvement activity. The key to
successful kaizen is to going to the shop floor, working with the actual product and getting the facts.
KAIZEN NEWSPAPER: A tool for visually managing continuous improvement suggestions. Based on the PDCA cy-
cle and designed to control input by the workforce in an organised way.
KANBAN: A J apanese wor d for 'sign', kanbans are typically a re-order card or other method of triggering the pull sys-
tem based on actual usage of material. Kanbans are attached to the actual product or production location, at the point of
use. Kanbans are cards that have information about the parts (name, part number, quantity, source, destination/customer,
how to transport, lead time, etc.). Carts, boxes, bins, electronic signal, racks that hold a certain number of products and vis-
ually trigger a need are also forms of kanban.
KANBAN RULES: As a result of the impor tance of k anban in the wor kplace, six r ules (or preconditions) have been
developed to govern the operation of a kanban system:
1) No withdrawal of parts without a kanban, 2) the subsequent process comes to withdraw what is needed only, 3) do not
send the defective part to the subsequent process, 4) the preceding process should produce only the exact quantity of parts
withdrawn by the following process; ensuring minimum inventory, 5) smoothing of production, 6) fine tuning of produc-
tion using kanban.
KITTING: A process in which wor ker s are supplied with kits of par ts, fittings, fixtures, tools and sometimes docu-
part bin, tool storage, labs or supply centre to another to get material essential to work or tasks. May involve the use of real
-time kanban and or scheduled work orders.
L SYSTEM KAIZEN: Improvement aimed at an entire value stream.
LEAD TIME: The total time a customer must wait to receive a product after placing an order. When a scheduling and pro-
duction system is running at or below capacity, lead time and throughput time are the same. When demand exceeds the ca-
pacity of a system, there is additional waiting time before the start of scheduling and production, and lead time exceeds
throughput time.
LEAN: A business pr actice char acter ised by the endless pur suit of waste elimination. A business that is lean in one
that continuously aims for the minimum amount of manpower, materials, money, machines, space, etc. to get the job done
on time with the best quality in an excellent work environment.
LEAN CULTURE: Building a culture of continuous improvement is cr itical to the success of improvement effor ts.
Taiichi Ohno insisted that "building products means building people". Enthusiasm for leadership behaviours and organisa-
tional structures are needed to create involved employees and influential organisations for a long term, continuous success.
A lean culture is where all people think Lean and behave as a unified Lean Enterprise. See also, Culture Change.
LEAN ENTERPRISE: A Lean Enter pr ise is an or ganisation that is engaged in the endless pur suit of waste elimina-
tion through the entire value stream or supply chain. A Lean Enterprise has a culture that does not tolerate waste of any
kind.
LEAN TRANSFORMATION: Developing a culture that is intoler ant to waste in all of its for ms. A successful Lean
Transformation should result in a Lean Enterprise.
LEVELING: Smoothing out the production schedule by aver aging out both the volume and mix of products. Pro-
duction levelling allows a consistent workflow, reducing the fluctuation of customer demand with the eventual goal of be-
ing able to produce any product any day. Levelling is the foundation of Gemba Production System.
M ery cycle, from research and development through marketing and distribution of the final product. A broad-based compet-
MACHINE AUTOMATIC TIME: The time it takes for a machine to produce one unit, not including the manual
time to load and unload.
MACHINE CYCLE TIME: The time it takes for a machine to produce one unit, including the manual time it takes
to load and unload.
MACHINE WORK: Wor k that is done by a machine. The time it takes to do machine wor k can over lap with manu-
al work, if the machine is manually operated.
MANUAL WORK: Wor k that is done by people, without the aid of machiner y. The human tasks of oper ating or
loading machines can also be called manual work.
MUDA: J apanese for 'waste'. Any activity that adds cost without adding value to the pr oduct. Muda is often a
symptom of obstacles to flow. Eliminating each if the 8 Wastes of Production is one of the main keys to removing non-
value added activities.
MURA: Var iations and var iability in wor k method or the output of a process, lack of standard work and proper
controls of processes. Seeing mura means an eye for ergonomics, safety, quality, productivity, cost benefits, workflow and
reliability of processes.
MURI: Exer tion, over wor king (a per son or machine). Unreasonable or absur d wor k.
MULTI-MACHINE HANDLING: When a machine oper ator is r unning more than one machine of a par ticular
type.
MULTI-PROCESS HANDLING: When a machine oper ator is doing tasks for multiple processes sequentially, and
this is contributing to the flow of material.
N Job Methods Training (JM): Tr ains super visor s how to improve job methods to produce greater quantities of qual-
NON-VALUE ADDED: Activities or actions taken that add no real value to the product or service making such activities
cost of doing business or ‘overhead'.
Learning to see the difference between value and non-added value is critical in the lean journey.
NEMAWASHI (根回し): “Going around the roots” or, “preparing the ground for planting/transplanting”. A process of
laying the foundation for any proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support feedback,
and gaining involvement.
With proper, thoughtful and careful vetting, nemawashi enables changes to be carried out with the consent of all sides; it is
therefore driven by leadership, alignment of purpose and teamwork. The principle of nemawashi is so much a part of Japa-
nese culture that it is a natural part of working with ideas and improvements.
O VALUE-ADDED ANALYSIS: With this activity, a process improvement team strips the process down to it essential ele-
OHNO: (大野 耐 Taiichi Ohno, Febr uar y 29, 1912 - May 28, 1990) a rational, progressive thinking and a prominent
Japanese businessman who is often deemed the father of the Toyota Production System, which birthed the Lean Produc-
tion system in the United States of America.
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
OPERATOR CYCLE TIME: The time it takes for a wor ker or machine oper ator to complete a sequence of oper a-
tions, including loading and unloading, but not including waiting time.
OPEN ROOM EFFECT: This standar d pr actice in J apanese offices involves taking down the walls and cubicles of
an office and laying all of the desks out into one big 'open room'; this saves space and improves communication between
those performing related tasks and creates a sense of teamwork.
OPERATING EXPENSES: The money required by the system to convert inventory into throughput.
OVERALL EQUIPMENT EFFECTIVENESS (OEE): Is calculated based on Availability x Per for mance x Quality
to determine how much of the time a piece of equipment is being used while it is making good parts at an appropriate
speed.
OVERPRODUCTION: Producing more, sooner or faster than is required by the next process. One of the deadliest of the
eight wastes.
P
PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act): is an iter ative four -step problem-solving process for carrying out change. Just as a circle
has no end, the PDCA cycle should be repeated and then again for continuous improvement. It is also known as the Dem-
ing Cycle.
Plan: Recognise an oppor tunity and plan change.
Do: Test the change. Car r y out a small-scale study.
Check: Review the test, analyse the results and identify what you've lear ned.
Act: Take action based on what you lear ned. If the change did not wor k, go through the cycle again with a dif-
ferent plan, beginning the cycle again. If you were successful, incorporate what you learned from the test into wider
PERFECTION: Always optimising value-added activities and eliminating waste. A company must never be satisfied; it
must strive for perfection to improve.
POKA-YOKE: A mistake-proofing device or procedure to prevent a defect during order taking or manufacture.
PROCESS: The flow of material in time and space. The accumulation of sub-processes or operations that transform mate-
rial from raw material to finished product.
PROCESS KAIZEN: Improvements made at an individual process or in a specific area. Sometimes called "point kaizen".
PROCESSING TIME: The time a product is being worked on in a machine or work area.
PULL (PULL SYSTEM): One of the three elements of JIT where the downstream process takes the product they need
and pulls it from the producer. The customer's pull is a signal to the producer that the product is sold. The pull system links
accurate information with the process to minimise waiting and overproduction; producing what has been consumed only.
PUSH (PUSH SYSTEM): In contrast to the pull system, a product is pushed into a process, regardless of whether it is
needed or not. 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. Push often encourages batch produc-
tion, non-value added activities and constraint by nature. Where there is push, there is waste.
which develops a common understanding of the voice of the customer and a consensus on the final engineering specifica-
tions of the product. QFD integrates the perspectives of team members from different disciplines, ensures that their efforts
are focused on resolving fundamental trade-offs in a consistent manner against measurable performance targets for the
product and deploys these decisions through successive levels of detail. The use of QFD eliminates expensive backflows
and rework as projects near launch.
QUICK CHANGEOVER: The ability to change tooling and fixtures rapidly (usually minutes), so multiple products can
be run on the same machine.
QUEUE TIME: The time a product spends in a line awaiting the next design, order processing or fabrication step.
R
RE-ENGINEERING: The engine that drives Time-Based Competition.
To gain speed, firms must apply the principles of reengineering to rethink and redesign every process and move it closer
to the customer.
ness practices.
ROOT-CAUSE : The most fundamental underlying reason for an event or condition. The root-cause is where action must
be taken to eliminated the issue to prevent recurrence. Anything else is only to be treating the symptoms.
S
SENSEI: An outside master, teacher or consultant that assists in implementing lean practices.
SEQUENTIAL CHANGEOVER (SEQUENTIAL SET-UP): When changeover times are within takt time, changeo-
vers can be performed one after another in a flow line. Subsequent changeover assures that the lost time for each process
in the line is minimised to one takt beat. A set-up team or expert follows the operator so that by the time the operator has
made one round of the flow line (at takt time), it has been completely changed over to the next product.
SHADOW BOARD: A visual management tool to indicate what tool belongs where and what tools may be miss-
ing.
SHIGEO SHINGO: (新郷 重夫, Shingō Shigeo, 1909-1990) considered the dean of productivity and quality consult-
ants. One of the world’s leading experts on manufacturing practices and The Toyota Production System and improve-
ments to Lean. In 1988, Utah State University recognised Dr. Shingo for his lifetime accomplishments and created the
Shingo Prize that recognises world-class, lean organisations.
SINGLE MINUTE EXCHANGE OF DIES (SMED): A series of techniques designed for changeovers of production
machinery in less than ten minutes. The long-term objective is always Zero Setup, in which changeovers are instantane-
SINGLE-PIECE FLOW: See One Piece Flow and Continuous Flow.
SIX SIGMA: A disciplined, data-driven approach of quality that strives for near perfection by systematically improving
processes by eliminating defects and variation in processes. Lean Manufacturing focuses on speed, and traditional Six
Sigma focuses on quality. Combining the two (Lean—Six Sigma), the result is better quality faster for best optimisation.
STANDARDS: These involve comparison with accepted norms, such as are set by regulatory bodies, customer require-
ments and internal processes and operations.
STANDARD WORK COMBINATION SHEET (SWCS): A document detailing the sequence of production steps
assigned to a single worker performing standard work. This document outlines the best combination of worker and ma-
chine.
STANDARD WORKSHEET (SWS): A visual wor k instr uction dr awing for standar d wor k. Shows the wor k se-
quence and standard working process as related to the direct labour of manufacturing parts to meet customer require-
workstation.
STANDARD WORK IN PROCESS: The minimum wor k-in-process needed to maintain standard work. Standard
W.I.P. parts are, 1) parts completed and in the machine after auto cycle, 2) parts placed in equipment with cycle times ex-
ceeding takt time, and 3) the parts currently being worked on or handled by the operators performing standard work.
STANDARD WORKSTATION(S): Standard workstation configuration and design that allows for a clear and visible
'standard' operation supporting: 5S, limited motion, ergonomics and uniformity.
STANDARD OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS (SOP): Procedure or process document that suppor ts the quality
policy or operations manual and mission statement by providing a set of step-by-step instructions specific to the direct or
indirect labour to help workers carry out routine activities. The SOPs aims to achieve efficiency, quality output and uni-
formity performance while reducing failure. Where a Standard Work Sheet or Work Instruction guides workers to direct
labour, SOPs may be a higher level document to machinery use/maintenance, process flow, chemical use, communica-
tions, programming, etc.
STOP-THE-LINE AUTHORITY: When tr ained wor ker s can stop the line or process to indicate a problem. The
production line or machine remains stopped until the supervisor, manager, engineer, maintenance personnel, support staff
or president have identified the problem and taken corrective action. Stopping does not mean ignoring, rather it creates an
immediate need to find a proper solution. Use of an andon is helpful in stopping the production line or machine. See
Jidoka.
STRATEGIC PLANNING: Developing shor t and long-term competitive strategies using analysis tools to assess the
current situation, develop missions and goals and create an implementation plan all while documenting the process.
SUGGESTION SYSTEM: In a suggestion system wor ker s are encour aged to identify wastes, safety, environmental
concerns and submit improvement ideas formally. Recognition may be given for ideas and initiative resulting in improve-
ments. Some companies provide that are shared among the production line or by the kaizen team.
SUNK COST: Any expenditure that has already taken place and can not be undone. Decisions should not be made
based on sunk costs.
SUPERMARKET: A super mar ket is a tool of the pull system that helps signal demand for the product. In a supermar-
ket, a fixed amount of raw material, work in progress or finished material is kept as a controlled inventory of items that is
used to schedule production at an upstream process. Made very visible with the use of kanban and other lean tools.
SUB-OPTIMIZATION: A condition where gains made in one activity are offset by losses in another activity or activi-
ties, created by the same actions creating gains in the first activity.
T
TAIICHI OHNO: See Ohno.
TAKT TIME: Takt is a Ger man wor d for 'beat' or ' r hythm'. It is the daily production number required to meet
orders in hand divided into the number of working hours in the day. Takt time is the pace at which the customer is buying
a particular product or service. Takt time is not how long it takes to perform a task. It cannot be reduced or increased ex-
cept by changes in production demand or available time to work. It is one of the 3 Elements of JIT.
TARGET COSTING: A way of establishing a cost goal for a product or service in the design and planning phase.Target
costing follows this formula: Sales price (value) - Target Profit (within the value stream)= Target Cost; or Allowable Costs
= Customer Value - Profit Requirement.
TEBANARE: J apanese for 'hands-free'. The goal of tebanare is to use low-cost automation on manual machines to al-
low people to do work that is more valuable and that only an individual may do.
THROUGHPUT TIME: The time required for a product to proceed from concept to launch, order to delivery or raw
materials into the hands of the customer. Includes both processing and queue time. Also, the rate at which the entire sys-
tem generates money.
THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS: A lean management philosophy that stresses removal of constraints to increase
throughput while decreasing inventory and operating expenses.
TIME-BASED COMPETITION: Time-based competition is the extension of JIT into every facet of the product deliv-
itive strategy which emphasises time as the major factor for achieving and maintaining a sustainable competitive ad-
vantage; seeking to compress the time required to propose, develop, manufacture, market and finally deliver products to
the customer.
TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE (TPM): A series of methods, originally pioneered to ensure that every ma-
chine in a production process is always able to perform its required tasks so that production is never interrupted.
TIME-BASED STRATEGY: Dr iving improvement activity through focus on time and its relation to quality, cost,
delivery, safety and morale. Reduction in lead-time, set-up time, cycle time as a means of becoming more competitive.
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM): A Quality Control System focused on the correction of quality issues
before they are permitted to subsequently be passed on for further processing. Proper TQM systems are often "built-in" to
all manufacturing processes.
TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (TPS): A methodology that resulted from over 50 year s of k aizen at Toyota,
one of the most successful companies in the world. TPS is built on a foundation of levelling, with the supporting pillars
of Just-in-Time and Jidoka. See also, Gemba Production System.
TRADITIONAL MANUFACTURING: (Mass Production). Grouping like processes together (paint, welding fabrica-
tion, etc.) and then making large batches of a part and holding them in queue waiting for the next process. See "Batch Pro-
duction.
TRAINING WITHIN INDUSTRY (TWI): TWI is a method used for the development of super visor skills and
forms the culture in Lean industries. It is based on the idea that supervision is the key role in assuring production goes
smoothly that quality products are made, that costs are under control, improvements are being made and that people are
safe and safe working. Three techniques or programs are focused on in TWI:
Job Instruction Training (JI): Tr ains super visor s how to instr uct employees so they can quickly remember to do a
job correctly, safely and conscientiously. Prepare, present, try performance, follow-up
ity products in less time by making the best use of manpower, machines and materials available (Lean Production).
Break down job, examine and question the details, develop new methods, apply new methods/improvements.
Job Relations Training (JR): Tr ains super visor s how to lead people so that problems are prevented and give them
an analytical method to resolve problems that do happen effectively. Get all the facts, weigh and decide, make plan,
take action, check results.
TWO-BIN SYSTEM: An example of visual managem ent, kanban 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.
V
VALUE (VALUE ADDED): 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.
ments. The team isolates the activities that in the eyes of the customer add value to the product or service. The remaining
non-value adding activities ("wastes" are targeted for extinction).
VALUE CHAIN: Activities outside of your organisation that add value to your final product, such as the value adding
activities of your suppliers.
VALUE STREAM: A value stream is a ser ies of all actions required to fulfil 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 STREAM MAPPING: Creating of the complete mater ial and infor mation flow from customer request
through order fulfilment 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) or office operation. A 'Current State' value stream map is how a process works today and'Future State'
map shows improvements towards a long-term 'ideal state'.
VERTICAL HANDLING: When tasks are assigned in such a way that the mater ials processes are being progres-
sively worked towards completion, this is vertical processing. In contrast to horizontal handling which only focuses on the
output of a specific process.
VISUAL CONTROLS: Var ious tools of visual management such as color -coding, charts, andons, schedule boards, la-
bels and markings on the floor. Associated strongly with 5S.
VISUAL MANAGEMENT: When the nor mal state and abnor mal state can be clear ly 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.
W
WASTE: Anything that uses resources, but does not add real value to the product or service. See 8 Wastes.
WATERSPIDER: A skilled, 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
waterspider has a routine and knows all processes thoroughly enough to step in if needed. At Toyota, performing the wa-
terspider role is a prerequisite for supervision and management positions. Named after the whirligig beetle that swims
about quickly in the water.
WORK IN PROGRESS/WORK IN PROCESS (WIP): Product or inventory in various stages of completion through-
out the plant, from raw material to completed product.
WORK INSTRUCTION: See Standard W ork Sheet.
WORK SEQUENCE: The defined steps and activities that need to be per for med for the wor k to be completed.
WORK CELL: See Cell
WORKSTATION: The area or space used by employees to car r y out tasks and W ork and Inspection Instruction or
Standard Work Sheet.
Y
YAMAZUMI: yamazumi boar d is a bar gr aph typically showing the balance of wor kloads as oper ator cycle
times.The yamazumi can also be used for planning and scheduling. The Japanese word ‘yamazumi' literally means "to".
YIELD: Produced product related to scheduled product.
YOKOTEN: J apanese for " hor izontal deployment" meaning copying improvement ideas and applying them to
other areas of the company.
Author: Robert J. Leonardo, 2017