More Tools Glossary!  

Physical Transformation Task 

The task of taking a specific product from raw materials to a finished product in the hands of the customer.

Pitch

The pace and flow of a product.

Point of Use

Keeping all items needed for the job at the location of use in a neat and organized manner. 

Poka-yoke

Japanese word that refers to a mistake-proofing device or procedure used to prevent a defect during the production process.

Policy Deployment 

 The selection of goals, projects to achieve the goals, designation of people and resources for project completion, and establishment of project metrics.

PQPR

Product Quantity Process Routing Analysis. The PQ (Product Quantity) refers to Pareto analysis to determine the 80/20 rule of the top products or services that make up 80% of work volume.  The PR (Process Routing) refers to the Parts-Process Matrix analysis to determine product families by grouping of products with similar process flows. 

Prerequisite Tree (TrT) 

The TOC thinking process used to break the injections needed in the solution down into smaller logical steps.

Problem Solving Task 

 The task of taking a specific product from concept through detailed design and engineering to production launch.

Process 

A series of activities that collectively accomplish a distinct objective.

Process Capacity Table

A chart primarily used in machining processes that compares set-up and machine load times to available capacity.

Process Hierarchy 

A hierarchical decomposition from core business processes to the task level. 

Process Kaizen 

Continuous improvement through incremental improvements.

Process Segment 

A series of activities that define a subset of a process.

Processing Time

The time a product is actually being worked on in a machine or work area.

Product Delivery Process 

The stream of activities required to produce a product or service. 

Production Preparation Process (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.

Production Smoothing 

 Keeping total manufacturing volume as constant as possible.

Project Buffer 

The time buffer placed at the end of the critical chain to protect the customer from the fluctuations and disruptions that occur in the Critical Chain.  Sometimes called Critical Chain Completion Buffer (CCCB). 

Protective Capacity 

Protective capacity describes the amount of installed capacity that is necessary to overcome disruptions.

Pull production

Products are made only when the customer has requested or "pulled" it, and not before.

Push System

Product is pushed into a process, regardless of whether it is needed.

QCD (Quality, Cost, and Delivery)

Key customer satisfaction metrics that determine if a company is competitive.

QCDSM (Quality, Cost, Delivery - Safety & Morale)

A set of performance management measures that includes employee satisfaction (safety & morale) as well as customer satisfaction.

Quality

Meeting expectation and requirements, stated and un-stated, of the customer.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

Using a cross-functional team to reach consensus that final engineering specification of a product are in accord with the voice of the customer.

Queue Time

The time a product spends in a line awaiting the next design, order processing, or fabrication step.

Quick Changeover

The ability to change tooling and fixtures rapidly (usually minutes), so multiple products can be run on the same machine.

Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) 

A methodology and system allowing rapid response to changing customer requirements.

Real Value

Attributes and features of a product or service that, in the eyes of customers, are worth paying for.

Reengineering

Improving fundamental business processes.

Resource Activation

Using a resource regardless of whether throughput is increased.

Resource Utilization

Using a resource in a way that increases throughput.

Right-size

Matching tooling and equipment to the job and space requirements.

Root Cause

The most basic underlying reason for an event or condition. 

Sanitizing

The act of cleaning the work area. 

Seiban 

A Japanese management practice taken from the Japanese words "sei", which means manufacturing, and "ban", which means number. A Seiban number is assigned to all parts, materials, and purchase orders associated with a particular customer job, or with a project, or anything else. This enables a manufacturer to track everything related with a particular product, project, or customer.

Sequential Changeover

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 minimized to one Takt beat.

Set Up Reduction

Reducing the amount of time a machine or a process is down during changeover from the last good piece to the first good piece of the next product.

Seven wastes

Taiichi Ohno¹s original catalog of the wastes commonly found in physical production. These are overproduction ahead of demand, waiting for the next processing stop, unnecessary transport of materials, overprocessing of parts due to poor tool and product design, inventories more than the absolute minimum, unnecessary movement by employees during the course of their work, and production of defective parts.

Shipping Buffer 

The time buffer that is placed before the customer to protect them from disruptions.

Shojinka 

Continually optimizing the number of workers in a work center to meet the type and volume of demand imposed on the work center.

Shusa

The leader of the team whose job is to design and engineer a new product and it into production.

Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)

A series of techniques designed for changeovers of production machinery in less than ten minutes.

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 methodology and set of tools used to improve quality to than 3.4 defects per million or better.

Standard Work

Specifying tasks to the best way to get the job done in the amount of time available while ensuring the job is done right the first time, every time.

Standard Work Combination Sheet

A document detailing the sequence of production steps assigned to a single worker performing Standard Work.

Standard Work Sheet (SWS)

Shows the work sequence, takt time, standard working process, and layout of the cell or workstation.

Statistical Fluctuations

Information that cannot be precisely predicted.

Strategic Planning

Developing short and long-term competitive strategies using tools such as SWOT Analysis to assess the current situation, develop missions and goals, and create an implementation plan.

Student Syndrome 

One of the common behaviors in a project that lead to tasks being later than they need be.

Sub- Optimization

A condition where gains made in one activity are offset by losses in another activity or activities, created by the same actions creating gains in the first activity.

Sunk Cost

Any expenditure that has already taken place and can not be undone.

Supermarket

A tool of the pull system that helps signal demand for the product. In a supermarket, a fixed amount of raw material, work in process, or finished material is kept as a buffer to schedule variability or an incapable process.

Sustaining

The continuation of sifting, sweeping, sorting and sanitizing. 

Sweeping

Collecting nonessential goods and removing them from the work area.

Synchronization 

The bringing together of materials information and anything else needed in a coordinated manner such that no part is waiting long for another 

Takt Time

Daily production number required to meet orders in hand divided into the number of working hours in the day.

Target Costing

A way of establishing a cost goal for a product or service in the design phase.

Tebanare

Japanese for 'hands-free'. The goal of tebanare is to use low cost automation on manual machines to allow people to do work that is more valuable that only a person can do.

Teian 

A proposal, proposition, or suggestion. A teian system can be likened to a system which allows and encourages workers to actively propose process and product improvements. 

Theory of Constraints (TOC)

A management philosophy that stresses removal of constraints to increase throughput while decreasing inventory and operating expenses.

Throughput

The rate the system generates money through sales.

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. 

Time Buffer 

A key part of the TOC applications that protects against disruptions 

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Maximizing equipment effectiveness and uptime throughout the entire life of the equipment.

Tsurube

A way to keep product flow continuous even when there are interruptions such as outside processing or batch operations.  

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. 

UnDesirable Effect (UDE) 

These are the negative things the problems that are visible and caused by the thing (Core Problem) that must be changed.

Value

A capability provided to a customer at the right time at an appropriate price, as defined by the customer.

Value Analysis

Analyzing the value stream to identify value added and non-value added activities.

Value Chain

Activities outside of your organization that add value to your final product, such as the value adding activities of your suppliers.

Value Engineering

Optimizing products or processes to improve value to the customer.

Value Stream

A value stream is a series of all actions required to fulfill a customer's request, both value added and not.

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.

Vertical Handling

When tasks are assigned in such a way that the materials processes are being progressively worked towards completion, this is vertical handling. This in contrast to horizontal handling which only focuses on the output of a specific process.

Visual Management

Simple visual tools are used to identify the target state, and any deviance is met with corrective action.

aste

Anything that uses resources, but does not add real value to the product or service.

Water Spider

A skilled and well-trained person who makes the rounds supplying parts, assisting with changeover, providing tools and materials.

Work Cell 

A logical and productive grouping of machinery, tooling, and personnel which produces a family of similar products.

Work Sequence

The defined steps and activities that need to be performed in order for the work to be completed.

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