Kaizen Glossary
- • 3 ‘G’ Principles
- Gemba - shop floor
- Gembutsu - the actual product
- Genjitsu - the facts
- 3Ms
Muda - waste,
Mura - irregular actions, and
Muri - strain make up the 3 M's.
Existing perception of factory work is that it is dangerous, dirty and stressful, full of waste and unpredictable events
- 3 Principles of Lean
- Takt time
- One piece flow production
- Downstream pull system (from the customer)
- 5Cs
- 5M of Production
- Man
- Machine
- Material
- Method
- Measure
- 5S
5S is the principle of waste elimination through workplace organisation. It is derived from the Japanese words:
· Seiri - sort
· Seiton - straighten
· Seiso - sweep
· Seiketsu - standardise
· Shitsuke - sustain
7 Tools of QC
Data gathering and analysis tools used for kaizen activities originally by QC Circles. They are flow charts, histograms, Pareto diagrams, scatter diagrams, cause and effect diagrams (fishbone charts), control charts, and check sheets
7 Wastes of Production
There are types of waste that describe all wasteful activity in a production environment. No more, no less. Anything that does not add value is considered waste. Elimination of the 7 wastes leads to improved profits. The 7 wastes are
· Overproduction
· Transportation
· Motion
· Waiting
· Processing
· Inventory
· Defects
7 Flows
Flow of: People, Raw Material, Sub Parts, Final Products, Equipment, Information and Engineering. All of these must be evaluated in setting up a flow layout
14 Points
The 14 points could be called founding factors of transformation of manufacturing to flow production systems — the original lean compass by Dr. W. Edwards Deming
1. Create Constancy of Purpose toward improvement of product and service
2. Adopt the model across the board
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection
4. End the practice of awarding business on price tag
5. Constantly and forever improve the system of production and service to improve quality and productivity and thus constantly decrease costs
6. Institute value adding methods of training
7. Institute value enhancing methods of leadership both in supervision and in management — leaders whose purpose is to help people and machines and fixtures do a better job
8. Drive out Fear
9. Break down barriers between departments
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and meaningless "fads of the month"
11. Eliminate quotas
12. Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of pride of workmanship
13. Make education and continuous training and retraining part of company's institution
14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. Kaizen is everyone's job
80/20 rule
Italian mathematician, Pareto, showed that 80% of frequency is caused by 20% of the issues.
Abnormality Management
Also called Ijo-kanri. It is the process of identifying and immediately responding to activities that are outside of the standard method of operation
Activity Sheet
Lists the team, objectives, current situation, problems, and charts for a kaizen topic. A summary sheet (an activity sheet) should be filled out well before the start of the kaizen. It should carefully define the scope and breadth of the kaizen, illustrating why the topic is important and how it fits into the scheme of goals of the company. It should be communicated at the kick-off among all company leaders who may have processed affected by the kaizen
Affinity Diagram
Tool used in initial stages of brainstorming to get the most thinking out a diverse group of people
Agile Manufacturing
Agile manufacturing strategies — tools, techniques, and initiatives that enable a plant or company to thrive under conditions of unpredictable change. Agile manufacturing not only enables a plant to achieve rapid response to customer needs, but also includes the ability to quickly reconfigure operations — and strategic alliances — to respond rapidly to unforeseen shifts in the marketplace. In some instances, it also incorporates "mass customisation" concepts to satisfy unique customer requirements. And, in the broadest sense, it includes the ability to react quickly to technical or environmental surprises
Andon
An andon is a tool of visual management, originating from the Japanese for 'lamp' and is a set of lights placed on machines or processes to indicate their operational status. The lights are commonly colour-coded green for normal operations, yellow for a changeover or planned maintenance, and red for abnormal down time. The red light is often combined with an audible signal such as music or an alarm
Annual Inventory Turns – Stock Turn
Annual inventory turns -- A measure of asset management that is calculated by dividing the annual cost of goods sold (for the most recent full year) by the average on-hand total inventory value at plant cost. Total inventory includes raw materials, work in process and finished goods. Plant cost includes material, labour, and plant overhead
Auto Time
The time when a machine is running on automatic cycle and a person is not needed to operate the machine. It is commonly applied to NC machine cycles, oven cycles, wash cycles , etc.
Automatic Time
Same as Auto Time
Autonomation
Also called Jidoka. autonomation is automation with 'the human touch', capable of detecting and preventing defects, and stopping a machine or process when an abnormality occurs. It is a pillar of the Toyota Production System
Blast
Rapid Process Improvement following a standard format
Bottleneck
Bottleneck -- Any point in manufacturing operations at which movement is slowed because demand placed on a resource is equal to or more than capacity
Brainstorming
A confirmed process to creatively and efficiently generate a high volume of ideas through an approach that is free of criticism and judgment
Cellular Manufacturing
Cellular manufacturing -- A manufacturing approach in which equipment and workstations are arranged to facilitate small-lot, continuous-flow production -- often in a U-shaped cell. In a manufacturing "cell," all operations necessary to produce a component or subassembly are performed in close proximity, thus allowing for quick feedback between operators when quality problems and other issues arise. Workers in a manufacturing cell typically are cross-trained and, hence, able to perform multiple tasks as needed
Check Sheet
A deceptively simple device to accurately record easy-to-understand data, forcing agreement on the definition of each condition — various people observing record the same information. A complete check sheet includes complete source description (time, date, conditions, etc.) and content in columns by categories of what is being counted. The count itself is marked at each instance. A four-sided box with a line through the middle is a more accurate tally than the traditional hash marks — easy to overstrike a hash mark
Chaku-chaku line
A production line where the only human activity is to 'chaku' or 'load' the machines. The machines eject the finished parts automatically using hanedashi
Counter-clockwise flow
A basic principle of lean production cell layout is that the flow of material and the motion of people should be from right to left, or counter clockwise. The origin of this idea came from the design of lathes and machine tools with the chuck facing right, making it easier for right-handed people to load from the right
Cycle Time
Manufacturing cycle time is often confused with production lead-time. Cycle time is the time it takes to do one repetition of any particular task.
Cycle time can be categorised into
1. manual cycle time
2. machine cycle time
3. auto cycle time that is also referred to as touch time or hands-on time
Downstream Pull System
See Pull System
Elements of work
The elements of work are
· value-added work
· non value-added work
· waste
Thoroughly understanding the elements of work is a key first step to becoming lean
External Set-Up
All set-up tasks that can be done while the machine is still running, such as collecting tools, the next piece of material, or fixture. Transferring set-up activities from internal to external in order to reduce machine down time is a central activity of set-up reduction and SMED
FIFO
Also known as First-in First-out.
It is a system of keeping track of the order in which information or products need to be processed. The goal of FIFO is to prevent earlier order from being delayed unfairly in favour of new orders
Flow Production
One of the 3 Elements of JIT, flow production is defined as moving the product or information from one value-added step to the next continuously. See also One-Piece Flow
Gemba
Gemba is Japanese for 'actual place' or 'the place where it happens'. In manufacturing, gemba is the shop floor. The gemba is where value is created
Gembutsu
It is Japanese for 'actual thing' or 'actual product'. The tools, materials, machines, parts, and fixtures that both add value and cause problems are your gembutsu
Genjitsu
It is Japanese for 'the facts' or 'the truth'. The actual facts or the reality of what is happening on the shop floor and in the business
Hanedashi
An auto-eject device that unloads the part from the machine once the cycle is complete. This allows the operators to go from one machine to the next, picking up and loading. It is a key component of chaku-chaku lines
Ijo-kanri
It is Japanese for 'abnormality management'. The goal of standardisation and visual management is ijo-kanri, allowing the supervisor or manager to monitor abnormalities in order to take quick action to correct them. Continuous waste elimination and problem solving through kaizen are only possible when the abnormalities are clearly visible
Internal Set-Up
Internal set-up tasks can only be done when the machine is stopped, such as changing the fixture or changing the tools. After as much of the internal tasks have been externalised, the remaining internal changeover time is reduced through use of quick-change mechanisms
Just-In-Time Production
A production system to make what the customer needs when the customer needs it in the quantity needed, using minimal resources of man, material, and machinery. The three elements to making Just-in-Time possible are Takt time, Flow production, and the Pull system
Kaiaku
Kaikau si the opposite of kaizen.
Change for the worse.
Bad change.
Kaizen
Kaizen is Japanese for 'change for the better' or 'improvement'. A methodology of continuous cost reduction, quality improvement, and delivery time reduction through shop floor involvement and rapid action now practiced in businesses worldwide
Kanban
Japanese for 'sign'. The kanban system is a tool of the pull system to signal that the customer has 'pulled' or bought the product from the producer. Cards, carts, boxes, electronic signals are examples of kanban. Squares painted on the floor to indicate storage areas are often mistakenly referred to as kanbans
LIFO
The result of a typical material or information flow system without FIFO, resulting in earlier orders being perpetually delayed by new orders arriving on top of them. Also Last In First Out
Lead-Time
Typically, the time from customer order to shipment of the product ordered. The lead-time includes actual cycle time, order-processing time, and time lost by the 7 wastes of production. Lead-time can be measured as
· production lead-time
· inventory lead-time, or
· customer lead-time
Lean Manufacturing
The authors James Womack and Dan Jones coined ‘Lean production’. Lean is a competitive strategy focusing on delivering greater value to the customer by eliminating wasteful steps through continuous improvement activities, based on the Toyota Production System
Levelling
Smoothing out the production schedule by averaging out both the volume and mix of products. Production levelling allows a consistent workflow, which makes it possible to set standards and identify abnormalities. Level loading is the foundation of the Toyota Production System
Machine Work
Work that is done by a machine. Machine work can overlap with manual work, if the machine is manually operated
Manual Work
Work that is done by people, without the aid of machinery. The human tasks of operating or loading machines are also called manual work
Muda
Japanese for 'waste'. Elimination of the muda inherent in production and office processes leads to improved profitability. See also 7 Wastes
Multi-Machine Handling
When a machine operator is running more than one machine of a certain type, this is called multi-machine handling
Multi-Process Handling
When a machine operator is doing tasks multiple processes, this is called multi-process handling
Non Value-Added Work
Activities that may be necessary but do not add value in a way that the customer is willing to pay for. 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
4. design of equipment and workstations to minimal size
Open Room Effect
This common practice in Japanese offices involves taking down the walls 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
PDCA
PDCA stands for 'Plan-Do-Check-Act'. This is a basic principle followed for effective problem solving during kaizen
Pokayoke
Pokayoke or poka-yoke is Japanese for 'goof-proof'. Mistake proofing and fool proof 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. In the pull system, 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 minimises waiting and overproduction
Push System
In contrast to the pull system, product is pushed into a process, regardless of whether it is needed. 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
QCD (Quality, Cost and delivery)
Quality, Cost, and Delivery are the 3 Elements of Demand. Kaizen activity focuses on improving QCD metrics
Sequential Changeover
Also sequential set-up. When changeover times are within Takt time, changeovers can be performed one after another in a flow line. Sequential 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
SMED
SMED is an acronym for Single Minute Exchange of Dies. A system of set-up reduction and quick changeover pioneered and developed by Shigeo Shingo
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
3. standard work-in-process
Performing standard work allows for a clear and visible 'standard' operation. Deviation from standard work indicates a problem, which is then an opportunity for improvement
Standard Work In Process
Also Standard WIP. The minimum work-in-process required to maintain standard work. Standard WIP parts are
1. parts completed and in the machine after auto cycle
2. parts placed in equipment with cycle times exceeding Takt Time
3. parts currently being worked on or handled by the operators performing standard work
Stop-the-line authority
When workers are able stop the line to indicate a problem, this is stop-the-line authority. The production line or machine remains stopped until the supervisor, manager, engineer, maintenance personnel, or support staff have identified the problem and taken corrective action
Suggestion System
In a suggestion system workers are encouraged to identify wastes, safety, and environmental concerns and submit improvement ideas formally. Rewards are given for suggestions resulting in cost savings. These rewards are typically shared among the production line or the kaizen team
Supermarket
A supermarket is typically located at the end of a production line (or the entrance of a u-shaped cell). In a supermarket, a fixed amount of raw material, work in process, or finished material is kept. The supermarket is a tool of the pull system that helps signal demand for the product
Takt Time
German word for 'beat' or 'rhythm'. Takt time is the pace at which the customer is buying a particular product or service. Takt time is calculated by taking the available time to work and dividing it by demand for that period of time. Takt time is not how long it takes to perform a task. Takt time cannot be reduced or increased except by changes in sales or available time to work. All cycle times must be within Takt time for customer demand to be met. Takt time is one of the 3 Elements of JIT
Tebanare
Japanese for 'hands-off'. The goal of tebanare is to inexpensively automate manual machines to allow people to do work that is more valuable that only a person can do
Total Productive Maintenance - TPM
TPM aims at maximising equipment effectiveness and uptime throughout the entire life of the equipment. Often the operator is involved in simple, regular tasks such as cleaning, checking, and oiling the machine
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. The 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. Any activity that transforms the shape or function of the material or information in a way that the customer wants
Vertical Handling
When machines or operations are integrated into a production line in such a way that the material progresses through the process towards completion, this is called vertical handling. Also, vertical integration
Visual controls
Various tools of visual management such as colour coding, charts, andons, schedule boards, labels and flow lines
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
Water spider
The water spider 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. The water spider has a routine and knows all processes thoroughly enough to step in if needed. At Toyota, performing water spider role is a prerequisite for management positions. Named after the whirligig beetle that swims about agilely in the water
Work Sequence
The defined steps and activities that need to be performed in order for the work to be completed
Resources?
You will find a number of resources to assist you in your understanding of lean - please feel free to browse our content and let us know if you require anything further.
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