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Activity-based costing
An accounting system that assigns costs to products based on the amount of resources used to design, order or make
a product.
Andon board
A visual control device in a production area, such as a lighted overhead display. It communicates the current
status of the production system and alerts team members to emerging problems.
Balancing the line
The process of evenly distributing both the quantity and variety of work across available work time, avoiding
overburden and underuse of resources. This eliminates bottlenecks and downtime, which translates into shorter flow
time.
Cell
An arrangement of people, machines, materials and equipment--with the processing steps placed right next to each
other in sequential order--through which parts are processed in a continuous flow. The most common cell layout is a
U shape.
Chaku-Chaku
A Japanese word that means "load-load." It is a method of conducting single-piece flow in
which the operator proceeds from machine to machine, taking a part from the previous operation and loading it in
the next machine, then taking the part just removed from that machine and loading it in the following machine.
Chaku-chaku lines allow different parts of a production process to be completed by one operator, eliminating the
need to move around large batches of work-in-progress inventory.
Continuous flow
A concept where items are processed and moved directly from one processing step to the next, one piece at a time.
Also referred to as "one piece flow" and "single piece flow."
Cycle time
The time required to complete one cycle of an operation. If cycle time for every operation in a complete process
can be reduced to equal takt time, products can be made in single-piece flow.
Error proofing
A process used to prevent errors from occurring or to immediately point out a defect as it occurs. If defects don’t
get passed down an assembly line, throughput and quality improve. See "poka-yoke."
Feeder lines
A series of special assembly lines that allow assemblers to perform preassembly
tasks off the main production line. Performing certain processes off the main production line means fewer parts in
the main assembly area, the availability of service-ready components and assemblies in the main production area,
improved quality and less lead time to build a product.
Flow
The progressive achievement of tasks along the value stream so that a product proceeds
from design to launch, order to delivery, and raw materials into the hands of the customer with no stoppages, scrap
or backflows.
Heijunka
The creation of a "level schedule" by sequencing orders in a repetitive pattern and
smoothing the day-to-day orders to correspond to longer-term demand.
Hoshin Kanri
A strategic decision making tool that focuses resources on the critical initiatives necessary to accomplish the
business objectives of the company.
Just-in-time (JIT)
A system for producing and delivering the right items at the right time in the right amounts. The key elements of
just in time are flow, pull, standard work and takt time.
Kaikaku
Radical improvement of an activity to eliminate waste.
Kaizen
A Japanese word that means "continuous improvement." It refers to incremental
improvement of an activity to create more value with less waste.
Kaizen event
A highly focused, action-oriented workshop that typically involves a team of five
to 15 individuals. It usually lasts three to five days. The goal of a kaizen event is to concentrate on improving
one specific process.
Kanban
A Japanese word that means "card" or "visible record." It refers to a small card
attached to boxes of parts that regulates pull by signaling upstream production and delivery.
Kitting
A process in which assemblers are supplied with kits--a box of parts, fittings and tools--for each task they
perform. This eliminates time-consuming trips from one parts bin, tool crib or supply center to another to get the
necessary material.
Lead time
The total time a customer must wait to receive a product after placing an order.
Lean manufacturing
A manufacturing philosophy that shortens the time between the customer order
and the product build and shipment by eliminating sources of waste. It attacks waste within a plant or process;
waste elimination results in cost reduction.
Monument
Any design, scheduling or production technology with scale requirements necessitating
that designs, orders and products be brought to the machine to wait in queue for processing. The opposite of a
right-sized machine.
Muda
Japanese term for waste. See "waste".
One-piece flow
The opposite of batch production. Instead of building many products and then
holding them in queue for the next step in the process, products go through each step in the process one at a time,
without interruption. It improves quality and lowers costs.
3P
The production preparation process is a tool used for designing lean manufacturing environments. It is a highly
disciplined, standardized model. 3P results in the development of an improved production process where low waste
levels are achieved at low capital cost.
Point of use
A technique that ensures people have exactly what they need to do their job--the
right work instructions, parts, tools and equipment--where and when they need them.
Poka-yoke
A Japanese word that refers to a mistake-proofing device or procedure used to prevent a defect during the
production process. See "error proofing."
Pull production
The opposite of push production. It means products are made only when the customer has requested or "pulled" it,
and not before. Doing so prevents building products that are not needed.
Right sizing
A process that challenges the complexity of equipment. It examines how equipment
fits into an overall vision for how work will flow through the factory. When possible, right sizing favors smaller,
dedicated machines rather than large, multipurpose, batch-processing machines.
5S
A lean tool used for workplace organisation and standardisation. The 5Ss are sifting,
sweeping, sorting, sanitising and sustaining. Benefits include prompt problem detection and clear standards. In
addition, routine disciplines are established to keep the workplace in order and ensure that materials are in the
correct location to maximise productivity.
Sanitizing
One of the 5Ss used for workplace organisation. Sanitising is the act of cleaning the work area. Dirt is often the
root cause of premature equipment wear, safety problems and defects.
Sifting
One of the 5Ss used for workplace organisation. Sifting involves screening through
unnecessary materials and simplifying the work environment. Sifting is the separating of the essential from the
nonessential.
Simulation
A 3D technique used to balance the line. It involves using cardboard, wood and plastic foam to create full-sized
equipment mock ups that can be easily moved around to obtain an optimum layout.
Single-piece flow
A process in which products proceed, one complete product at a time, through various operations in design,
order-taking and production without interruptions, backflows or scrap.
Six Sigma
A standard of operational excellence used in lean manufacturing environments. It is a process that designs and
monitors everyday business activities in ways that minimise waste while increasing customer satisfaction. Six Sigma
objectives are directly and quantifiably connected to the objectives of the business.
Sorting
One of the 5Ss used for workplace organisation. Sorting involves organizing essential materials. It allows the
operator to find materials when needed because they are in the correct location.
Standard work
A precise description of each work activity specifying cycle time, takt time, the
work sequence of specific tasks and the minimum inventory of parts on hand needed to conduct the activity.
Standard work instructions
A lean tool that enables operators to observe the production process with an understanding of how assembly tasks
are to be performed. It ensures that the quality level is understood and serves as an excellent training aid. It
enables absentee replacement individuals to easily adapt and perform the assembly operation.
Sustaining
One of the 5Ss used for workplace organisation. Sustaining is the continuation of sifting, sweeping, sorting and
sanitizing. It is the most important and the most difficult, because it addresses the need to perform the 5S’s on
an on-going and systematic basis.
Sweeping
One of the 5Ss used for workplace organisation. Sweeping involves collecting nonessential goods and removing them
from the work area.
Takt time
A reference number that is used to help match the rate of production to the rate of sales. In other words, the rate
at which customers require finished units. It is determined by dividing the total available production time per
shift by the customer demand rate per shift. "Takt" is a German word for pace or beat.
Value
A capability provided to a customer at the right time at an appropriate price, as defined
by the customer.
Value stream
The specific activities required to design, order and provide a product, from concept to launch, order to delivery,
and raw materials into the hands of the customer. Whenever there is a product for a customer, there is a value
stream. Up to 90 percent of the actions and 99.99 percent of the time along a typical value stream can consume
resources, but create no value for customers.
Value stream mapping
The process of directly observing the flows of information and materials as they now occur, summarizing them
visually, and then envisioning a future state with much better performance. It raises consciousness of the enormous
waste of time, effort and movement that occurs. The relevant actions to be mapped consist of two flows: orders
traveling upstream from the customer and products coming downstream from raw materials to the customer.
Visual controls
Any devices, such as andon boards, that help operators quickly and accurately gauge production status at a glance.
Progress indicators and problem indicators help assemblers see when production is ahead, behind or on schedule.
They allow everyone to instantly see the group’s performance and increase the sense of ownership in the area.
Waste
Anything that does not contribute to transforming a part to the customer’s needs. There are seven types of
manufacturing waste: production over immediate demand; excess work in progress and finished goods inventories;
scrap, repairs and ejects; unnecessary motion; excessive processing; wait time; and unnecessary
transportation.
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