Glossary
Lean Manufacturing Terms

Andon Lights/Boards
A visual control device in a production area

Autonomation
Semi-automatic operations where the operator and machine work together

Error-Proofing
Designing a potential failure or cause of failure out of a product or process

Five S’s
A scheme based on five Japanese words that begin with ‘S’, Five S focuses on effective work place organization and standardization of work procedures elements to create a workplace suited for visual control and lean production

Five why’s
Taiichi Ohno’s practice of asking "why" five times in order to uncover the root cause of a problem so that effective countermeasures can be developed and implemented

Flow
The progressive achievement of tasks along the value stream

Flow Manufacturing
A manufacturing methodology that pulls items from suppliers through a synchronized manufacturing process to the end product

Hoshin Kanri
A strategic planning approach that focuses resources on the critical initiatives necessary to accomplish the business objectives of the firm

Just-In-Time (JIT)
System for procuring, producing and delivering the right items at the right time in the right amount

Kaikaku
Radical improvement of an activity to eliminate waste

Kaizen
Continuous incremental improvement of an activity to eliminate waste

Kanban
Stocking system using signals to make production systems respond to real needs and not predictions and forecasts

Muda
Waste—anything that interrupts flow, or consumes resources and produces no value

One Piece Flow
Producing or procuring one unit at a time as opposed to in large lots

Quality at the source
Prevention versus detection

Six Sigma
Structured process improvement program for achieving virtually zero defects (3.4 parts per million) in manufacturing and business processes

Spaghetti Chart
Map of the path taken by a product as it travels down the value stream in a mass production organization

Total Employee Involvement (TEI)
Building a culture and practice of involvement and responsibility in every person in the organization

Value Stream Mapping
Representation of every process in the material and information flow, along with key data identifying the activities in the value stream, value added to a product or service as it travels along the value stream.