Lean Glossary


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3 M's



These are: MUDA, MURI and MURA.


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5 S's



These are: SEIRI, SEITON, SEISON, SEIKETSU and SHITSUKE.


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7 W's



The main wastes are seven (7W):

  • W1 - Overproduction
  • W2 - Inventory
  • W3 - Waiting
  • W4 - Transportation
  • W5 - Motion
  • W6 - Process (useless steps in a process)
  • W7 - Defects



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ANDON (lantern)



This is a visual control device (e.g. electrical signboard) which alerts a T/M or Leaders to a problem.


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CAPABILITY



The capability of a product, process, practicing person or organization is the ability to perform its specified purpose based on tested, qualified or historical performance, to achieve measurable results that satisfy established requirements or specifications.


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CHOSEI BENCHI (adjustment bench)



Where the product is checked and adjusted to specification.


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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT (CI)



Adopting new activities and eliminating those which are found to add little or no value. The goal is to increase effectiveness by reducing inefficiencies, frustrations, and waste (rework, time, effort, material, etc). The Japanese term is KAIZEN, which is taken from the words "Kai" means change and "zen" means good.


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CSM (Current State Map)



The Current State Map identifies the process exactly as it exists today, and follows a product's path from order to delivery.

These are the most important steps to take using State Map Icons:
  • Draw while on the shop floor
  • Involve the operators and tell them what you are doing
  • Begin with the most downstream process (i.e. shipping)
  • Draw the customer, supplier and production control icons
  • Enter the customer requirements
  • Collect for each of the processes: cycle time, changeover time, line speeds, uptime, number of operators
  • Draw all communication arrows
  • Collect the inventory amounts between the processes
  • Draw push and pull icons

Here is an example of a current state map:




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FSM (Future State Map)



When you have created the Current State Map, the goal is to create a Future State Map. This is achieved by answering many questions and redrawing the map.

These are the most important questions:
  • What is the takt time?
  • Can you meet the takt time?
  • Do you need buffer and/or safety stock?
  • Where can you apply single piece flow?
  • Do you need supermarket pull systems?
  • At what point in the process will you send the schedule (pacemaker)?
  • How will you level the production mix at the pacemaker?
  • What increment of work will you consistently release and take away at the pacemaker?
  • What process improvements will you need?


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GENCHIGENBUTSU (go see for your self)



This is the practise of gaining knowledge first hand by actually working on/seeing the process.


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GEMBA (workplace)



Any place of work.


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HANCHO (team leader)



This can mean diferent things to different organisations, but in general it is the first level of management.


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HEIJUNKA (levelled work)



Finding and keeping average production levels of different specifications of the product. (A prerequisite of JIT production)


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JIDOHKA (human intervention of automation)



This refers to the ability of production lines to be stopped in the event of a problem either by machines automatically or by workers who push a line button.


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J.I.T. (Just-In-Time)



Refers to manufacturing and conveyance of only what is needed, when it's needed and in the amount needed.


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JUNDATE (making an order)



A system of having parts already picked to be fitted to a product.


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KAIZEN (continuous improvement)



This refers to a series of activities whereby instances of MUDA are eliminated by encouraging members to always look for a better way.


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KAMISHIBAI (story cards)



System of cards with questions/checks that need to be confirmed.


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KANBAN (signboard)



This is a small signboard that is the key control tool for Just-In-Time production.


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KANJIRU (feel)



This is the action of actually touching a product i.e. to check a bolt's tightness.


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KANKETSU (completion)



The act of completing a job there and then.


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KUMICHO (group leader)



The leader of a work/improvement group.


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LEAD TIME



The amount of time, defined by the supplier, which is required to meet a customer request or demand. (Note; Lead Time is not the same as Cycle Time).


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MEDE MIRU KANRI - (visual control)



The state of operations should be apparent at a quick glance to anyone at the worksite. E.g. ANDON, KANBAN


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MUDA (waste)



This is the elements of production that add no value to the product.


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MURI (overburden)



This is too many/much people or equipment.


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MURA (unevenness)



Irregularities that occur during the production process.


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POKA YOKE (fool proof)



This is an automatic system to find a defect.


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RELIABILITY



The reliability of an item is the probability that it will adequately perform its specified purpose for a specified period of time under specified environmental conditions.


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SEIRI (sifting)



This is often translated as "Sorting".


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SEITON (sorting)



This is often translated as "Simplify".


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SEISON (sweeping and washing)



This is often translated as "Shine".


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SEIKETSU (spick and span)



This is often translated as "Standardise".


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SHITSUKE



This is often translated as "Sustain".


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SHUKKA KENSA (final inspection at shipping)



This is the last form of rigorous checking before shipping a product.


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SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die)



This is one of the Lean tools that reduces the changeover time. It has a set of procedures to be followed for a successful implementation.

Some Advantages:
  1. Setup reduction and fast, predictable set ups enable Lean Manufacturing.
  2. Setup reduction reduces set up cost, allows small lot production, smoothes flow, and improves kanban.



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STANDARDISED WORK



An effective and orderly method of production without waste and centred around human movement.


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STATE MAP ICONS



These are the most common icons used to draw Current State Maps.

  Process
  Customer / Supplier
  Data Box
  Inventory
  Truck Shipment
  PUSH Arrow
  Finished Goods to Customer
  Operator
  Supermarket
  Safety or Buffer Stock
  Withdrawal
  Kaizen Lightning Burst
  Manual Information Flow
  Electronic Information Flow



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SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT/DEVELOPMENT



Managing the movement of goods from raw materials to the finished product delivered to customers. Supply Chain Management aims to reduce operating costs, lead times, and inventory and increase the speed of delivery, product availability, and customer satisfaction.


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TAKT TIME



This is the time which should be taken to produce a component or product.


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THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS (TOC)



This is a body of knowledge on the effective management of (mainly business) organizations, as systems.

TOC consists of:
  • Some basic concepts and principles
  • The five thinking processes
  • Their applications to various domains, such as:
    • Managing manufacturing operations (synchronous manufacturing)
    • Project management (critical chain)
    • Accounting and performance measurement (throughput accounting)

All real-world systems have at least one constraint; otherwise they would be capable of infinite throughput, which is clearly impossible, except in the unlikely case of a Technological singularity. TOC claims that a real-world system with more than three constraints is extremely unlikely. This claim is based on linear programming models, which are capable of solving optimisation problems for systems with many hundreds of constraints. Researchers found that all but a few such solutions were so unstable that they would be completely impractical amid the noise of a real-world system. The stability had a strong correlation to the number of constraints in the problem; the more constraints, the less stability. TOC practitioners claim that in practice three constraints is the realistic maximum. A major implication of this is that managing a complex system or organization can be made both simpler and more effective, by providing managers with a few specific areas on which to focus.

TOC was initiated by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and is being actively developed by a loosely coupled community of practitioners around the world. TOC is also sometimes referred to as "Constraint Management".


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THINKING PROCESSES (Five)



Thinking processes in theory of constraints are the five methods initially developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt to enable the focused improvement of any system (especially business system). The purpose of the five thinking processes is to help one answer three questions essential to achieving focused improvement:
  • What to change?
  • What to change to?
  • How to cause the change?

The five thinking processes are:
  1. Current reality tree
  2. Conflict resolution diagram (a.k.a. evaporating cloud)
  3. Future reality tree
  4. Prerequisite tree
  5. Transition tree



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VALUE-ADDED (VA)



To be a value added action the action must meet all three of the following criteria:
  1. The customer is willing to pay for this activity.
  2. It must be done right the first time.
  3. The action must somehow change the product or service in some manner.
You will need to look for the "7 elements of waste" and when categorizing need to break out your % split into:
  • True Value Added,
  • True Non Value Added, and
  • Necessary Waste (i.e. legal requirement).

If your processes are typical then the %VA will be less than 5%.


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VALUE STREAM MAPPING (VSM)



A technique that enables an organisation to 'see' its process from start to finish and in particular where value is added and where waste occurs.


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WASTE



Waste in a process is any activity that does not result in moving the process closer to the final output or adding value to the final output.


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YAMAZUMI (stacked bar chart)



Based on work element time it's used to rebalance work between processes when Takt Time changes.


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YOKOTEN (implement throughout)



Implementing an idea/kaizen throughout all other processes in the business.


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YOSH (good/finish)



This is when a good job has been done.


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