Master the meaning of lean terms and concepts. Get clear definitions that turn the language of management into practical results in your day-to-day work.
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A mass-production approach to operations in which large lots of parts are processed and moved to the next process, regardless of actual need, where they wait in a queue. See : Continuous Flow, Lean Production, Overproduction, Push Production.
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A philosophy of designing and buying machinery that makes it possible to add or subtract small increments of capacity as demand changes. As a result, the amount of capital required per part produced can be kept nearly level (linear). See : Labor Linearity, Monument, Right-Sized Tools.
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A location where the processing steps for a given item take place immediately one after another, so that parts, documents, etc. can move in a flow very close to continuous, whether one unit at a time or in small batches, maintained throughout the complete processing sequence.
See: Continuous Flow, Operator Balance Chart, Standardized Work.
A method of conducting one-piece flow in a cell in which the machines unload parts automatically, so that the operator (or operators) can carry a part directly from one machine to the next without stopping to unload it, thereby saving time and motion.
See : Cell, Continuous Flow.
The process of switching production from one product to another on a machine (for example, a press or an injection molding machine) or on a series of linked machines (an assembly line or cell) by changing parts, dies, fixtures, molds, etc. (Also known as setup.) Changeover time is measured as the time elapsed between the last part of the run just completed and the first good part after the changeover.
See : Single-Minute Exchange of Die - SMED.
A facility that selects and (re)combines a variety of items coming from various suppliers so that they can be shipped to the various customers, such as assembly plants, distributors or dealers.
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The time required to produce a part or complete a process, as actually measured.
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Production time lost due to stoppages, whether planned or unplanned. Planned downtime includes scheduled stoppages for activities such as start-of-shift production meetings, changeovers and maintenance. Unplanned downtime includes stoppages due to breakdowns, machine adjustments, material shortages and absenteeism.
See: Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
Meeting customer requirements exactly with the minimum amount of resources.
See : Overproduction, Seven Wastes.
A production system introduced by Henry Ford at the Highland Park plant in Michigan in 1913. The aim of flow production was to drastically reduce product throughput time and human effort through a series of innovations. See : Continuous Flow.
Compare with : Mass Production.
Leveling the type and quantity of production over a fixed period of time. This enables production to efficiently meet customer demands while avoiding excess inventory and reducing costs, labor, and production lead time throughout the value stream.
See : Demand Amplification, Every Part Every Interval (EPEx), Just-in-Time (JIT), Muda, Mura, Muri, Single-Minute Exchange of Die - SMED.
A measure of how quickly materials are moving through a plant or through an entire value stream, calculated by dividing a given cost measure by the amount of inventory on hand.
See : Inventory.
A philosophy for flexibly managing the amount of labor needed in a production process (particularly in a cell) so that the number of operators increases or decreases with production volume. See : Capital Linearity.
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See: Heijunka.
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A work practice in which operators run more than one machine in a layout of process islands. It requires separating human work from machine work and is normally made easier by applying jidoka and auto-eject devices on the machines.
See: Jidoka, Multi-Process Handling.
A work practice in which operators work on more than one process in a layout oriented to the flow of products. It requires training operators to handle different types of machines (e.g., cutter, polisher, tester, etc.) so that they can move products through the cellularized operations.
See: Multi-Machine Handling.
Tasks in processes with many operators that require him or her to interrupt the work rhythm or leave the area.
See : Standardized Work.
Making and moving one piece at a time. See : Continuous Flow, Every Product Every Interval (EPEx), Single-Minute Exchange of Die - SMED.
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Work performed on an item by a machine or a person.
See: Process.
Operational availability is the fraction of time a machine works properly when needed. Operating rate is the amount of time in a given period (shift, day, etc.) that a machine is used.
See : Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
A graphical tool that helps create continuous flow in a multi-step, multi-operator process by distributing the operator's work elements in relation to takt time. Also known as an operator loading diagram or yamazumi board.
See: Yamazumi Board.
A total productive maintenance (TPM) metric that measures how effectively a piece of equipment is used.
See : Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
See: Standardized Work.
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A board, usually a large whiteboard, placed next to a process to show actual performance compared with planned performance.
See: PDCA.
The task of controlling and setting a pace for production so that products flow smoothly and quickly to meet customer requirements.
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See: Cycle Time.
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See: Heijunka.
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Highly capable process equipment that is easy to maintain (and therefore available to produce whenever needed), allows quick changeovers, is easy to move and is designed to be installed in small increments of capacity, in order to facilitate labor and capital linearity.
See : Capital Linearity and Labor Linearity.
Compare with : Monuments.
The process of reducing the time needed to change a process over from one model to another, from the last piece of the previous product to the first good piece of the next product.
See: Changeover, Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED).
A process for changing production equipment over from one part to another in the shortest possible time. SMED refers to the goal of reducing changeover times to a single digit, or less than 10 minutes.
See : Changeovers, Setup Reduction, Shingo.
Establishing precise procedures for the work of each operator in a production process, based on the following three elements: Takt time, which is the rate at which products must be produced to meet customer demand.
The exact work sequence in which an operator performs tasks within takt time.
The standard inventory, including items on the machines, required to keep the process operating smoothly.
See : Kaizen, Operator Balance Chart, PDCA, Takt Time.
Available production time divided by customer demand. For example, if a factory operates 480 minutes per day and customer demand is 240 units per day, takt time is two minutes. Similarly, if customers want two new products per month, takt time is two weeks. The purpose of takt time is to precisely match production with demand by providing a rhythm for the production system. It is the heartbeat of a lean system.
See: Cycle Time, Heijunka, Just-in-Time Production, Operator Balance Chart, Pacemaker Process, Pitch, Takt Image.
The development and production cost that a product cannot exceed if the customer is to be satisfied with the product's value and the manufacturer is to obtain an acceptable return on its investment.
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A series of techniques pioneered by Denso (Toyota Group) in Japan to ensure that every machine in the production process was always able to perform its tasks. See : Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
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Human actions (movements) involved in making products. These actions can be divided into three categories: value creation, incidental work and waste.
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Yamazumi is the Japanese term for "pile" or "heap".
See : Operator Balance Chart.
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It is a glossary of terms and concepts used in lean management. It helps you understand lean terminology by aligning definitions and examples for study, reading and day-to-day application.
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