What is 8D? How to calculate Cpk? What is a MIFA? How to set the Upper Control Limit? We compiled a comprehensive list of tools and techniques used in modern process management, such as Lean and Six Sigma. Feel free to use this content – just be fair and reference the originator leanmap.com. In the spirit of continuous improvement, if you notice anything that needs to be fixed or added, feel free to contact us.

---

-#-

[#]-Terms: 1 Sample Test, 2 Sample t Test, 3P Model of TQM, 3D Dirt Danger Defect, 3 Losses, 3M Muda Mura Muri, 5S, 5 Laws of Six Sigma, 5 Why, 5Z,  6M Fishbone, 7 Quality Tools, 7 Wastes, 8D Problem Solving Process, 8 Wastes, 10M Fishbone, 14 Obligations for Top Management.

1 Sample Sign Test – test probability of a sample median to be equal to hypothesized value:
Ho: m1=m2=m3=m4 (null hypothesis).
Ha: 1+ is different (alternate hypothesis).

2 Sample t Test - used to test the hypothesis that the means of two samples are being equal.

3P Model of TQM – improve 3 elements/parameters to raise quality-level:
1. People: satisfying internal and external customers (employees and consumer).
2. Product: meet specification and expectation.
3. Process: capable and continuously improving process.

3D – DIRT + DANGER + DEFECT – malfunction in product or system, producing deviations from the acceptable standard.

3L – 3 Losses – see 3M.

3M – MUDA + MURA + MURI – the 3 Losses (3L): waste, variability and unevenness, strain and stress.

5S – process to achieve and maintain a safe, clean and orderly work-environment:
1. Sort (Seiri) – putting things in order, remove what is not absolutely needed.
2. Straighten (Seiton) – arrange systematically so things can be found when needed.
3. Shine (Seiso) – clean up from ceiling to floor, remove all trash, dust, dirt.
4. Standardize (Seiketsu) – create a process to consistently repeating step 1-3.
5. Sustain (Shitsuke) – teach and make people commit to the process, audit frequently.

5 Laws of Lean Six Sigma – provide direction:
1. Law of the Market – Critical to Customer (CTC) defines quality and is the highest priority for improvement, followed by Return On Invested Capital (ROIC) and Net Present Value (NPV).
2. Law of Flexibility – velocity is proportional to the flexibility of the process.
3. Law of Focus – Pareto Principle: 20% activities cause 80% of delays and defects.
4. Law of Velocity – Little’s Law: velocity is inversely proportional to amount of WIP.
5. Low of Complexity – complexity wastes more money than poor quality and low speed.

5W – 5WHY’s – getting to the root-cause by asking “why” five times.

5Z – Japanese method to promote, maintain, and improve process control by defining what NOT(ZU) to do:
+ UketoraZu – don’t accept defects.
+ TsukuraZu – don’t create defects.
+ BaratsukasaZu – don’t create variations.
+ KurikaesaZu – don’t repeat mistakes.
+ NagasaZu – don’t supply defects.

6M/10M – categories to organize causes found during a brainstorming-session, displayed as Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram:
1. Man (people).
2. Machine (equipment).
3. Material (parts, supplies).
4. Method (processes).
5. Metrics (measurements, targets).
6. Milieu/Mother Nature (environment).
7. Mindpower (brain, intellect).
8. Management (decision making).
9. Money (capital, cash).
10. Miscellaneous/Moon (unknowns).

6W Planning – six elements of an effective plan or procedure:
1. What to do (action/observation).
2. Why to do it (reason/cause).
3. Where to do it (location).
4. Who needs to do (owner).
5. When to do (start/finish/duration).
6. Which specifics (requirements, conditions, limits, results).

7QT – seven QUALITY TOOLS:
1. Run Charts.
2. Histograms.
3. Cause & Effect Diagram.
4. Check Sheets.
5. Pareto Charts.
6. Control Charts.
7. Scatter Charts.

8D – systematic problem solving process in eight steps:
D1 – Describe the problem.
D2 – Establish a team, assign responsibilities.
D3 – Develop interim containment action.
D4 – Define and verify root-causes.
D5 – Select and verify corrective actions.
D6 – Implement and validate permanent corrective actions.
D7 – Prevent recurrence.
D8 – Communicate and recognize the team.

7W – 7 WASTES – identical with the 8 Wastes, without “unused skills” as waste-8.

8W – 8 WASTES – resources-consumption beyond what is required to satisfy customer-requirements – easy to remember as “TIM WOODS”:
T – Transportation (moving parts, people, information).
I – Inventory (work in process, parts, supplies, information).
M – Motion (reaching, bending, lifting, stretching).
W – Waiting (for components, decisions, resources, information).
O – Overproduction (producing too many or too early).
O – Overprocessing (producing higher quality than required).
D – Defects (unclear instructions or faulty parts causing rework, repair, scrap).
S – Skills (untrained people or underutilized capabilities of people).

14 OBLIGATIONS FOR TOP MANAGEMENT by Deming:

1. Create constancy of purpose for continual improvement.
2. Adopt the new philosophy.
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality.
4. End the practice of awarding business on price tag alone.
5. Constantly and forever improve all systems and activities.
6. Institute modern methods of training on the job.
7. Institute positive approach to supervision and leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers between departments.
10. Eliminate numerical goals (quotas) for the work force.
11. Eliminate work standards that prescribe quotas alone.
12. Remove barriers that impede pride of workmanship.
13. Institute a vigorous program of training for everyone.
14. Create a structure to push the above 13 points.

---

-A-

[A]-Terms: Abnormality Management, AQL Acceptable Quality Level, Acceptance    Number, Accessory Planning, Accountability, Accuracy, ABC Activity Based    Costing, Affinity Diagram, Alias, Alpha Risk, Producer’s Risk,    Alternative Hypothesis Ha, ANOVA Analysis of Variance, Anderson-Darling    Normality Test, Andon, Appraisal Cost, APQP Advanced Product Quality    Planning, Artisan Process, A-Square, Attribute Data, Autocorrelation, Autonomation, Availability, AIQ Average Incoming Quality, AOQ Average Outgoing Quality.

ABNORMALITY MANAGEMENT — ability to see and respond to an abnormality (any violation of standard operations) in a timely manner.

AQL — Acceptable Quality Level or Assured Quality Level — the max number of defects in a sample that makes the lot still acceptable. Problem with AQL is that a “good” lot may still contain many bad items. Zero defects is the only true AQL. See also Reject Quality Level (RQL).

ACCEPTANCE NUMBER — highest number of defectives in a sample that still permits to accept the lot per AQL.

ACCESSORY PLANNING — planned utilization of remnant material (leftovers) for value-added purposes.

ACCOUNTABILITY — conditional personal and professional liability by action or responsibility, assuming:
1. Willingness to be held accountable.
2. Possessing adequate expertise.
3. Being capable of performing the job.

ACCOUNTABLE — willingness to explain the difference between the target and deviating current condition.

ACCURACY — difference between data average and target, aiming right but still large spread. Accuracy is different from precision, which measures the tightness of the cluster, where all data are close together, easy to correct by adjusting offset.

ABC — Activity Based Costing – accounting method that focuses on assigning cost to activity rather than to functional units (departments, work-centers). ABC delivers better data for managers than traditional cost accounting.

AFFINITY DIAGRAM — tool to sort and present many data (ideas, problems, solutions) in logical categories.

ALIAS — lost interactions in a DOE (Design of Experiment) when 2+ parameters have been changed at the same time in the same way. Aliasing is a critical feature of Plackett-Burman, Taguchi designs or standard fractional factorials. For Aliasing see also Confounding.

ALPHA RISK – rejecting good parts — also called “Type-I-Error” or “Producer’s Risk”.

ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS (Ha) — statement that samples are NOT equal, while the hypothesis (Ho) says that they are equal.

ANOVA – Analysis of Variance — statistical method to test for a difference between 2+ means by comparing the variances within and between groups. ANOVA is a calculation procedure to allocate process variation and determine if it is (a) significant or (b) caused by random noise. A balanced ANOVA has equal numbers of measurements in each group or column. In a stacked ANOVA, each factor and response has data in only one column.

ANDERSON-DARLING NORMALITY TEST – plot data to check p. Not normal when p<0.05. Normal when p>=0.05.

ANDON — paper lantern in ancient Japan – signaling device audio, visual, mechanical (cord) to indicate problems or resource shortages. Example: traffic-light.

APPRAISAL COST — cost for preventing defects, example: cost for SOPs, audits, training.

APQP — Advanced Product Quality Planning:
1. PLAN program by determining customer needs, requirements and expectations Quality Function Deployment (QFD).
2. PRODUCT-DESIGN – defining inputs, processes, outputs using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Design for Manufacture/Assembly (DFMA), design verification, -validation, -review, -gates.
3. PROCESS-DESIGN – defining requirements for developing the manufacturing systems – including control plans, Material and Information Flow Analysis (MIFA), Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Standard Work Chart (SWC), and Standard Work Instructions (SWI).
4. VALIDATION of product and processes – defining conditions, limits/trigger-points, flow/handling to meet target quality and quantity.
5. OPTIMIZATION – launch/release, ramp-up, feedback, assessment and correction – to continuously reduce variability and non-conformance.

ARROW DIAGRAMS — tool used to define optimal schedules by identifying relationships between tasks to implement a plan. Nodes = events. Arrows = Activities. Used in Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM).

ARTISAN PROCESS — pioneering effort to invent something new. See Project, Operations, Automated Process).

A-SQUARE — test statistic for ADN – measures how closely a dataset follows the normal distribution. Ho = normal. Only for large A-squared > small p-value > reject the null hypothesis > not normal.

ASSURANCE — confidence in establishing/maintaining processes/skills/systems to meet targets.

ATTRIBUTE DATA – binary/qualitative data, can only be counted but not analyzed (good/bad, yes/no).

AUDIT – process/system of inspection to ensure that specifications conform to documented standards.

AUTHORITY — granting or taking power and liability to make decisions on the behalf of others.

AUTOCORRELATION – means that observations are not independent – causes underestimating sigma-level.

AUTOMATED PROCESS – reducing labor in work processes in an attempt to improve efficiency.

AUTONOMATION – equivalent of the Japanese term “Jidoka” – means “Automation with Human Intelligence, adding “intelligence” to machines so they stop automatically when abnormalities are detected. Poka Yoke, the mistake-proofing techniques are integral part of Jidoka.

AVAILABILITY – being ready (product, person, process) to perform satisfactorily when needed.

AIQ — Average Incoming Quality – quality level going into the inspection point.

AOQ — Average Outgoing Quality – quality level leaving the inspection point after removing or rectifying defects. Without quality-control, AOQ = AIQ.

 

---

-B-

[B]-Terms: B10 Life, Back Date, Balanced Experiment, Balanced Production,  Balanced  Scorecard, Bar Chart, Barett Test, Baseline, Baselining,  Benchmarking,  Best Practice, Beta Risk, Bias, Bimodal Distribution,  Binomial  Distribution, Black Belt, Black Noise, Blocking, Bottleneck,  Box-Cox Transformation, Box Plot, BPM Business Process Management, MPMS  Business Process Management System, Brainstorming, BRM Business Risk  Management, Buffer, Business Metrics, Business Value Add.

B10 LIFE – time by which 10% of the product population (all units shipped) will get failed.

BACK-DATE – start and finish dates for each operation calculated back from the ship date.

BALANCED EXPERIMENT – when all factor levels (or treatment groups) have the same number of units. Balance is nonessential but desirable to reduce complexity. Imbalance is acceptable for low significance factors.

BALANCED PRODUCTION – a level of production where capacity is perfectly balanced to market demand.

BALANCED SCORECARD (BSC) – management tool to drive performance and accountability throughout the organization, typically measures (a) financial performance, (b) operational performance, (c) employee satisfaction, (d) customer satisfaction.

BAR-CHART – graphical translation of values into length of bars.

BARLETT-TEST – for ANOVA to determine if there is a difference in variance between 3+ samples or groups.

BASELINE – snapshot of inputs and outputs at a specific time, used as a reference to measure improvement.

BASELINING – assessing process performance against an internal reference <> Benchmarking is baselining against an external reference.

BENCHMARKING – measuring performance against a reference in two steps:
1. Identifying best performance within the company or industry or physical limit.
2. Measuring current performance against the benchmark reference.

BEST PRACTICE – superior method of accomplishing a result, better than all other known methods.

BETA RISK – risk of accepting and shipping bad parts. Type-II-Error = Consumer’s Risk. At 0.10 probability, the risk of making the wrong decision is 10%, acceptable for non-critical processes such as filling water-bottles, but not good enough for testing life critical components, such as pace-makers or airbag-controllers.

BIAS – difference between the observed mean (sample-average) and real/reference value (population-mean).

BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION – two values occur more frequently in data set than rest of the values “camel curve”.

BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION – trail where only two outcomes are possible (yes/no, success/failure). X=success in n=trials with p=probability of success in a single trials.

BLACK BELT – group-leader responsible for implementing a Six Sigma or Lean initiative across the value-chain, improving quality, productivity, and customer-satisfaction. Black Belts are knowledgeable in statistical tools to analyze processes. They should have good people skills to lead cross-functional implementations. Black Belts have demonstrated mastery of the subject matter through applied projects and an exam. Black Belts train Green Belts and are being trained by Master Black Belts.

BLACK NOISE – non-random sources of variation “Special Cause Variation”.

BLOCKING – neutralizing an uncontrollable background factor which can not be eliminated through randomizing by spreading them across the experiment in a controlled way. Used when:
+ Insufficient units from one lot > take 5 units from lot-A and 5 from lot-B
+ Insufficient capacity > assign x units to machine-A and x units to machine-B
+ Others: applied to demographics, gender, groups, countries etc.

BOTTLENECK – any resource with output below demand (time, money, labor, equipment etc). See also Theory of Constraints (TOC).

BOX-COX TRANSFORMATION – used for convert data to a normal distribution > to determine process-capability.

BOX-PLOT or box and whisker diagram shows centering, spread, and distribution of a continuous data set in 5 points:
1. The box represents the middle 50% of the data.
2. Median is the point where 50% of the data is above it and 50% below it or left and right depending on orientation.
3. The 25th quartile is where max 25% data fall below it.
4. The 75th quartile is where max 25% data are above it.
5. Whiskers cannot extend more than 1.5x the length of the inner quartiles, any data points outside are outliers. See Outliers.

BPM – Business Process Management – concept of defining steps on a macro and micro level, assigning ownership, cycle times, job description and success measures.

BPMS – Business Process Management System – used to stabilize immature processes by making them more repeatable and reliable. BPM uses ten steps to model, deploy and manage mission-critical business processes across multiple applications, functions and/or locations:
1. Create Process Mission (what, why).
2. Document Process (how, who, when).
3. Document Requirements (for internal process and external customer).
4. Identify SIPOC Measures (Supplier-Input-Process-Output-Customer).
5. Design Process Management System (Standard Operating Procedure SOP).
6. Establish Data Collection Plan (integrate into SOP).
7. Implement Process Performance Tracking (create metrics).
8. Develop Dashboard System (add filters, set targets, calculate gaps).
9. Implement Periodic Review Cycles (to identify opportunities).
10. Implement Action Plans (to implement improvements)

BRAINSTORMING – method to generate ideas or solve problems. Rules:
+ No evaluation (there are no bad ideas).
+ All voices will be heard.
+ Vote to identify best ideas.
+ Build on best ideas.

BRM – Business Risk Management – process to evaluate business risk and make decisions to control those risks.

BUFFER – storage location that contains semi-finished goods to smoothen demand variations (Mura) and ensures continuous flow. Buffer-size is calculated based on lead time (time to replenish) and takt-time (pace of customer demand).

BUSINESS METRICS – high level management performance indicators, such as sales, profitability, inventory, fulfillment, delivery, etc.

BUSINESS VALUE ADD – step required by the business but not noticed by the final customer. Example: quality checking, performance reporting.

 

---

-C-

[C]-Terms: Calibration, CAP Change Acceleration Process, CAPA Corrective and Preventive Action, Capability, Capacity, CAR  Corrective        Action Report, Cause & Effect Diagram, CCR Capacity Constraint Resource, Cellular Manufacturing, Cell, Center,  Central Limit  Theorem, Central Tendency, Chaku-Chku, Champion,  Change Agent, Change Management, Change Team, Characteristic,  Charter, Chi Square Test, CI Continuous Improvement, Circumstance,  CmK, COC Cost of Conformance, Coefficient of Variation, Common Cause,  Confidence Band, Confidence Interval, Confounding, Consequential  Metric, Consumer’s  Risk, Constraint, Containment, Continuous Data,  Continuous Flow,  Control  Chart, Control Limits, Control Plan, CONC,  Cost of  Non-Conformance, COPQ Cost of poor Quality, COQ Cost of Quality,  COPIS  Customer Output Process Input Supplier, Correction, Corrective  Action,  Correlation, Covariates, Cpk, CTQ Critical to Quality, CTC Critical to  Customer, CRT Current Reality Tree, Customer Focus, Cusum Chart, Cycle  Time.

CALIBRATION – adjusting instrument performance to a standard of known accuracy to minimize errors.

CAP – Change Acceleration Process – tool to lead change towards a common goal, gauging the political, strategic, and cultural environment to plan for action. CAP measures how much success can be achieved within existing operating boundaries with tools like: ARMI, GPRI , In/Excludes, SWAT, In/Out Frame etc. CAP uses models from mechanics and physics: Vg(Final Velocity) = Ug(Initial Group Velocity) + Ag(Group Acceleration) * Tg(Group Time). It means that the final velocity to achieve a change or target depends on initial velocity or enthusiasm and positive acceleration moving forward.

CAPA – Corrective And Preventive Action in three steps:
1. Correction – “Quick Fix” or “Band-Aid” – immediate containment to stop the problem from spreading.
2. Corrective Action – “Permanent Fix” to eliminate root-cause of non-conformity and prevent recurrence.
3. Preventative Action – “Total Fix” to eliminate the cause of potential non-conformity.

CAPABILITY – ability to perform according to expectations (process, skill, system) to satisfy requirements.

CAPACITY – maximum throughput, ability, speed, volume – constrained by the bottleneck (example: output-rate, skill, engine-performance, size of container). For a process: Capacity = 1/CycleTime.

CAR – Corrective Action Report – used in response to a defect in three steps:
1. Reporting on a detected non-conformance (NCR or NCMR).
2. Root cause analysis.
3. Action to prevent the defect from reoccurring.

CAUSE – anything (factor X) that impacts a result (response variable Y). Cause is the source of variation (=bad) in a process, product or system that adversely affects nature, timing, or magnitude of any effect.

CAUSE & EFFECT, ISHIKAWA, FISHBONE DIAGRAM – visual tool to organize causes or opportunities – to solve a problem or achieve a specific target.

CCR – Capacity Constraint Resource – weakest link in a chain – slowest machine in a line (highest cycle time). See also Theory of Constraints (TOC).

CELLULAR MANUFACTURING – people, machines and stores arranged in close proximity to each other and in sequence of the actual process. Purpose is to minimize lot sizes by creating flow and move parts quickly in very small batches – ideally, one at a time (single-piece-flow). Typical cellular designs are in U, L, T, H shape where operators remain inside the cell and material is fed from the outside to minimize operator movement and maximize flow efficiency.

CENTER – average value of a set of data. See also Mean.

CENTRAL LIMIT THEOREM – states that with increasing sample-size, a sampling distribution of the mean approaches the normal distribution as variance decreases (variance/n) by increasing sample-size (n).

CENTRAL TENDENCY – indication of the location “how central data are” – measured by three elements:
1. Mean = numerical average.
2. Median = midpoint of data set, half of points are above or below the median point.
3. Mode = value that occurs most frequently.

CHAKU-CHAKU – means “load-load” – machines off-load parts automatically for operators to take to the next work-center without waiting. Operations only handle loading, not unloading.

CHAMPION – senior executive giving advice to the implementation team, steering activities, and ensures that resources are available to meet team objectives.

CHANGE AGENT – person who implements change with the mission to lead from the current state (status quo) to the future state. Change agents are used in Six Sigma implementations and Lean Transformations. Superior project management and people skills are required to succeed.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT – process to control the implementation of agreed changes.

CHANGE TEAM – group of 2-10 people implementing improvements (from Kaizen or Kaikaku event) – reporting weekly to the Executive Steering Committee (ESC).

CHARACTERISTIC – measurable feature of any variable, process, product, system.

CHARTER – document specifying scope, purpose, critical success factors, activities, team, sponsors, metrics, and timeline of an improvement project – defined by Executive Steering Committee (ESC) and Change Team.

CHI SQUARE TEST – statistical test, most popular hypothesis testing method for discrete data:
1. Goodness of fit – if the sample was drawn from a population with specific distribution.
2. Test for Homogeneity – if several populations are homogeneous to a specific characteristic.
3. Test of Independence – if the null hypothesis is valid, that two criteria are independent = no association.

CI – Continuous Improvement – improving effectiveness by reducing inefficiencies from waste, variability, inflexibility.

CIRCUMSTANCE – sum of essential facts conditioning or determining the probability of an event.

Cmk – Machine Capability index. Target: Cmk>2.00 for a good process. Short-term capability, calculated using continuous samples.

COC – Cost Of Conformance – total cost for ensuring that a product is conforming (testing, training, inspection, prevention).

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION –relative measure of dispersion by expressing the standard deviation as a percentage of the mean.

COMMON CAUSE – source of random variation (noise, bad) inherent in the process itself.

CONFIDENCE BAND or CONFIDENCE INTERVAL – measurement of certainty that the true regression line fits within the confidence bands. Example: an estimated defect in a population is 10% and 95% and Confidence Interval is +/-2% means the true population parameter is 8%…12% with 95% certainty.

CONFIRMATION – most critical step of a DOE is getting confirmation that process settings deliver calculated results. If an (uncontrolled) interaction is present, confirmation is generally not possible.

CONFOUNDING – factor or interaction effects are confounded when the effects of multiple factors on a response cannot be separated.

CONSEQUENTIAL METRIC or SECONDARY METRIC – measures negative side effects as a result of improving the primary metric.

CONSUMERS RISK – concluding that an item is good/pass when it is actually is bad/fail (Type-II Error).

CONSTRAINT – any obstacle limiting throughput (quantity) or quality level.

CONTAINMENT – systematic search and quarantine of nonconforming product/material throughout the value-chain.

CONTINUOUS DATA – information measured on a continuum or scale – any numeric value is possible.

CONTINUOUS FLOW – continuous flow means that items are processed and moved directly from one step to another without waiting or being stored in between. The rate of production (the supply) must be perfectly in sync with the demand of the next process step to achieve continuous flow: “make one – move one” philosophy.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT – see CI.

CONTROL – absence of erratic (non-random, special cause) variation, just noise (random, common cause) is acceptable.

CONTROL CHART – graphical representation of changes to monitor a process and track performance (typically over time).

CONTROL LIMITS – area defined as +/- 3 standard deviations from the mean or centerline.

CONTROL PLAN – defines process variables, sampling, validation to ensure capability of a process.

CONVERSIONS – translate capability into sigma level and defect rate: Cpk = z(short-term) = Z(long term)+1.5 = SigmaLevel/3. DPMO/1,000,000 > read z(short-term) from the table of standard normal curve > convert into SS-level.

CONC – Cost Of Non-Conformance – total cost of failures including rework, lost materials, scrap, legal, cost of warranty, returns etc.

COPQ – Cost Of Poor Quality – all cost as a result from producing defects, excludes COC for detection and prevention but includes CONC plus opportunity-cost from missed sales as resources are used to rectify the problem:
1. Cost for rectification (labor + material + utilities).
2. Lost revenue/margin (today’s profits).
3. Lost opportunity, customer-value and market-share (future profits).

COQ – Cost Of Quality – money lost from a product/service that was not right the first time = COC + CONC.

COPIS – Customer-Output-Process-Input-Supplier – reverse of SIPOC used to analyze a business from outside-in, from the customer back through the process to the inputs and resources.

CORRECTION – action to rectify a known nonconformance: (1) corrective action + (2) preventive action.

CORRECTIVE ACTION – to prevent the recurrence of a defined nonconformance by eliminating the cause.

CORRELATION –technique to identify the relationship between two continuous variables. Example: increasing temperature makes rubber soft – so softness is positively correlated to temperature.

CORRELATION COEFFICIENT (r) – quantifies the degree of linear association between two variables (r=-1…1). Example: r=70% means that 70% of the rubber’s softness can be explained by the environmental temperature.

COVARIATES – uncontrolled, random variables (noise) treated as concomitants (something that influences the result) but does not interact with any of the key parameters (factors) being tested.

Cp – Process Capability without Centering – index to measure the ability of a process to produce consistent results = ratio between required and actual variability. Required range = specified range = tolerance = permissible spread = difference between upper and lower specification limit. Actual spread = 3 Standard Deviations (arbitrarily defined, 3Z = 99.7%). Cp = (USL-LSL)/(6Sigma). Cp does NOT consider how well the process is centered (see Cpk).

Cpk – Process Capability with Centering– index similar to Cp but considers how well the process is centered – ratio between required/specified/permissible variability and actual variability – measured from the mean value to the nearest specification-limit. Cpk = Min [(USL-Mean)/(3Sigma), (Mean-LSL)/(3Sigma)]. Desired: Cpk >1.33(4/3). Imagine: 4 standard-deviations are small enough to fit in oe half-spec tolerance.

CTQ – Critical To Quality – customer-needs (CTC) translated into measurable characteristics to be controlled to satisfy customers.

CTC – Critical To Customer – input to Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to analyze customer needs and created best value by optimizing cost/performance ratio. Example: readable display, good grip, easy to handle etc.

CRT – Current Reality Tree – tool to identify the relationships links between current UnDesirable Effects (UDEs) causing most of today’s problems, subject for root-cause analysis and corrective action.

CUSTOMER – person who receives and evaluates a product or service against needs.

CUSTOMER FOCUS – putting the customer at the center of all attention and as a reference for all activities. See also Voice of the Customer (VOC).

CUSUM CHART – control chart based on cumulative sum to detect small changes below 0.5 sigma, used in biology and Pharma industry.

CYCLE TIME – total time it takes for a process to complete before it repeats = process-time + move-time + waiting. When an operator feeds a machine, it is important to distinguish between Operator Cycle Time (OCT) and Machine Cycle Time (MCT) to achieve balance and maximum efficiency. Total Cycle Time (TCT) considers setup time as well (TCT = CT + setup-time/batch-size).

 

---

-D-

[D]-Terms: Dashboard, Data, Datsu Chaku, Defect, DOF, DFMA, Design for  Manufacturing and Assembly, DFMEA, Define-Failure-Mode-Effect-Analysis,  Directive,  Discrete Data, Dispersion, DMADV,  Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify, DMAIC,  Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control, DMEDI,  Define-Measure-Explore-Design-Implement, DOE, Design of Experiment,  DPMO, Defects per Million Opportunities, DOF, Degree of Freedom, DPU,   Defects per Unit, DRA, Design Risk Assessment, Drift.

DASHBOARD – tool to display and monitor business metrics, such as cost, quality, delivery, efficiency.

DATA – information used as basis for discussion, reasoning and analysis (singular form: “datum”).

DATSU CHAKU – Japanese “unload/load” used in manufacturing to prepare and unload a machine after processing. See also: Chaku Chaku “load/load”.

DEFECT – undesired result such as failure, deviation, delay.

DEFECT% – ratio of defectives to total unit count, opposite of yield. Example: 3% defectives = 97% yield.

DOF – Degrees of Freedom – the “currency of statistics”, every additional data point increases or earns DOF-points, while every estimated parameter reduces or costs DOF-points. Calculated: (#Rows-1)(#Columns-1).

DFMA – Design For Manufacturing and Assembly – tool to improve manufacturability by (1) assessing repeatability and reproducibility and then (2) optimizing and simplifying the design to reduce time and cost.

DFMEA – Design Failure Mode And Effect Analysis – for concept see FMEA.

DIRECTIVE – elements help guiding people and actions towards a goal:
1. Vision: an objective conceived of the intuitive awareness of forethought.
2. Mission: group sent to fulfill a promise/assignment.
3. Purpose: objective to be attained through a plan.
4. Plan: defined milestones to meet the objective.
5. Process: detailed steps to achieve milestones.

DISCRETE DATA – information categorized into a classification and based on counts. Example: units passed, population of a city, number of light-bulbs.

DISPERSION – data-spread around the mean – measured in range, variance and standard deviation.

DMADV – Define-Measure-Analyze-Design-Verify – data-driven Six Sigma methodology to design reliable products and processes.

DMAIC – Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control – data-driven improvement process used in Six Sigma methodology:
1. Define customer-requirements/expectations (CTC) and process-needs (CTQ), flow and boundaries.
2. Measure performance, develop data collection plan and metrics.
3. Analyze data collected, sources of variability, gaps between actual and target, and root-causes of defects.
4. Improve the process, fix/prevent issues – create and action plan and implement, confirm the solutions.
5. Control to lock gains and prevent slippage – institutionalize improvements by modifying systems.

DMEDI – Define-Measure-Explore-Develop-Implement – see DFSS.

DOE – Design Of Experiment – structured approach of controlled tests to determine the relationship between factors (inputs, conditions = X) and result-variable (output = Y).

DPMO – Defects Per Million opportunities – calculated by the average defects per unit divided by the number of opportunities – normalized to one million. Unit is Parts Per Million (PPM). See also Opportunity. DPMO = DPU*1,000,000.

DPO – Defects Per opportunity – total defectives divided by total opportunities. Example: 8/100 fail with each unit consisting of 5 parts (opportunities to fail) > DPO = 8/100*5 = 0.016=1.6%.

DPU – Defects Per Unit – number of defects divided by the total number of units tested. DPU = defectives /population. DPUs from sequential nodes can simply be added DPU_total = DPU(test1/prep) + DPU(test2/assy) + DPU(test3/final).

DPU Example-1 –producing 100 computers:
100 tested = 90 pass + 10 fail/rework
10 retested = 6 pass + 4 fail/rework
4 retested = 2 pass + 2 fail/scrap
Total:  113 tested = 98 pass + 2 scrap, Rolled Throughput Yield = 98/113 = 0.87 = 87%, DPU = 0.13 = 13%.

DPU Example-2 –producing 100 wine glasses:
100 produced = 80 pass + 20 broken/scrap
80 inspected = 70 pass + 10 rejected/rework
10 inspected = 5 pass + 5 rejected/scrap
Total: 190 tested = 75 pass + 25 scrap, Rolled Throughput Yield = 75/190 = 0.39 = 39%, DPU = 0.61 = 61%.

DRA – Design Risk Assessment – disciplined/systematic approach to evaluate risk in reliability, repeatability, supply-chain, processes and system risk to meet requirements:
1. External: CTC – Critical To Customer – risk from failing to meet customer needs using FMEA.
2. Internal: CTQ – Critical To Quality – risk in concept/design to meet quality/manufacturability using DFMEA.

DRIFT – shift from temperature, stress, strain, and aging causing quality to degrade, change of 1.5 Sigma between short and long-term variability.

 

---

-E-

[E]-Terms: ECO, Engineering Change Order, ECR, Engineering Change Request, Effect,  Effectiveness, Efficacy, Efficiency, Elemental Time, EMEA, Error Mode Effect Analysis, Empirical Rule,  Entitlement, Entry Criteria, Ergonomics, Error, Error Cause  Removal,  Error Proofing, ESC, Executive Steering Committee, EWMA,  Exponentially  Weighted Moving Average, Exit Criteria,  External Setup.

ECO – Engineering Change Order – revision of a technical design or process to fix a problem or improve performance.

ECR – Engineering Change Request – suggestion or request to improve a technical design or process.

EFFECT – mpact of a factor (X) on a response variable (Y).

EFFECTIVENESS – ability to produce a strong impact, impression, response – means “doing the right things”.

EFFICACY – ability to cause an effect.

EFFICIENCY – relationship between outputs and inputs, reducing inputs and waste in the conversion-process increases efficiency.

ELEMENTAL TIME – the time allocated for a task specified in standard-work.

EMEA – Error Mode Effects Analysis – tool to rank and prioritize potential causes of failure to determine the accuracy of a process and develop preventative actions.

EMPIRICAL RULE – defined properties of a normal, bell-shaped distribution:
68% values are within 1 standard deviation around the mean.
95% values are within 2 standard deviations around the mean.
99.7% values are within 3 standard deviations around the mean.

ENTITLEMENT – reference value to which an system can be improved without any capital investment – “making it as good as it can be”.

ENTRY CRITERIA – control conditions to be fulfilled to ensure that a process only received valid data – preventing “garbage-in”. See also Exit Criteria.

ERGONOMICS – the study of motion required to perform a task. Good ergonomics reduces motion waste. See also 7W/8W.

ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning – system to  manage transactions and data driven processes. Example: order-entry to  delivery including materials, production, human resources, development,  logistics etc.

ERROR – an incorrect action or interpretation of information or variation in observations or variation that cannot be assigned to controlled variables of the experiment:
Type-1 = Alpha Error = Producer’s risk: good part wrongly rejected.
Type-2 = Beta Error = Consumer’s risk: bad part wrongly accepted.

ERROR CAUSE REMOVAL – 14 step-methodology by Philip B Crosby to improve quality by reducing errors.

ERROR PROOFING – see Poka Yoke.

ESC – Executive Steering Committee – senior management team leading the implementation of a change-program.

EWMA – Exponentially Weighted Moving Average – method used in a control chart to detect small process shifts.

EXIT CRITERIA – control conditions to be fulfilled to ensure that a process is stable and produces at acceptable-level – preventing “garbage-out”. See also Entry Criteria.

EXTERNAL SET-UP – part of tooling or changeover that is performed outside a machine, while the machine is still in operation. External setup reduces significantly setup-times (in some cases over 90%) as it does not impact machine capacity or uptime. See also Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED).

EXPRESS TRAIN TIME (ETT) – cumulative cycle-times to determine theoretical lead time – the ETT is the basis for calculating value-add (VA).

 

---

-F-

[F]-Terms: F Test, Factor, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, FAST, FIFO,   First in first out, First Pass Yield, Fishbone, Fitted Value, FMEA,  Focus PDCA, Force Field Analysis, FPY, Fractional Factorial DOE, Frequency Plot, Full Factorial DOE, Function Analysis  Systems Technique.

F TEST – to test if two samples from different populations have same standard deviation.

FACTOR – independent variable (X) that influences the response variable (Y).

FAILURE MODE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS – see FMEA.

FAST – Function Analysis System Technique is a tool for value analysis and reengineering.

FIFO –First In First Out – method of inventory management/rotation to ensure that the oldest item (first in) is consumed next (first out).

FISH – “First In Still Here” – caused by bad or absent inventory control, when FIFO is not working.

FISHBONE –  diagram to group/organize ideas – used for problem solving – also called Ishikawa or Cause & Effect Diagram.

FITTED VALUE – response/output variable (Y) predicted by a regression calculation.

FMEA – Failure Mode and Effect Analysis – tool and disciplined approach to identify possible failure-modes and develop preventative measures:
1. Identify potential failure modes of a product, process, or system.
2. Rank frequency of occurrence, severity and ability to detect the failure.
3. Calculate risk as Risk Priority Number (RPN).
4. Develop preventative actions based on RPN-assessment.

FOCUS–PDCA – improvement process (Plan-Do-Check-Act) developed by W. Edwards Deming – steps:
F – Find a process to improve.
O – Organize an effort to work on improvement.
C –Clarify current knowledge of the process.
U –Understand process variation and capability.
S – select a strategy for continued improvement.

FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS – identifies driving and restraining forces or factors to solve a problem by strengthening positive force and reducing or reversing negative forces.

FPY – First Pass Yield – rate of good parts that pass first time without rework. FPY is used to track quality throughout the process. FPY just measures in/output of a process – considering scrap/shrinkage but not rework within the process. See also Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY).
Yield/process-1 = 90%.
Yield/process-2 = 80%.
Yield/process-3 = 95%.
FPY total process = 0.90 x 0.80 x 0.95 = 0.68 = 68% of units pass without defect.

FRACTIONAL FACTORIAL DOE – structured experiment that allows to reduce the number of factors (X) with the trade-off that some factors cannot be evaluated independently – higher-order interactions are confounded with main effects or lower-order interaction. This type of DOE is used when more than five factors are assessed to get faster to a result (but at lower precision).

FREQUENCY PLOT – graphical representation of how often a value occurs.

FULL FACTORIAL DOE – structured experiment that measures the response (Y) of every possible combination of factors (X) and factor levels (+/-). It allows assessing the main effect and all interactions, is practically used for up to five factors.

 

---

-G-

[G]-Terms: Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility, Gantt Chart, Gating, Gemba, Goal, GR&R, Green Belt.

GR&R – Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility – tool to determine variation caused by the measurement system – used to distinguish between process and system variation. A good system has at least 10x less variation than the process.

GANTT CHART – visual tool to manage project-schedules by task, duration and completion%.

GATING – minimizing opportunities for deviating from a proven process to minimize human error.

GEMBA – workplace or floor, the place where value is created day-by-day.

GOAL – targeted result or parameter of a process or product defined by the customer.

GREEN BELT – quality-improver trained by BLACK BELTS in basic Six Sigma tools and techniques.

 

---

-H-

[H]-Terms: Hanedashi, Hard Savings, Hawthorn Effect, Heijunka, Histogram, Horizontalization, Hoshin Kanri, House of Quality, Hypothesis Testing.

HANEDASHI – device for automatic unloading. Example: slide plus container to save time waiting for an operator to unload.

HARD SAVINGS – doing the same with fewer resources (cost savings) or doing more with the same resources (cost avoidance). Hard savings are the result of successful Lean Six Sigma projects.

HAWTHORN EFFECT – workers perform better when being observed and measured.

HEIJUNKA – load leveling, spreading the production volume as evenly as possible, producing to Takt. Heijunka requires a stable supply of quality parts.

HISTOGRAM – distribution diagram where the bar-length is proportional to the frequency – how often a value is observed.

HORIZONTALIZATION – turning traditionally structured companies into process/value-driven.

HOSHIN KANRI – annual strategic planning and policy deployment process: Ho=method + Shin=compass. It assesses the strategic objectives against daily management tasks and ensures that all employees understand the strategy and works towards a common goal. Complements the daily planning process Nichijo Kanri.

HOUSE OF QUALITY – four element assessment tool to rank and correlate existing capabilities against competitors’ and actual customer-needs. See also Quality Function Deployment (QFD) process.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING – statistical analysis process to determine if the difference between two samples is due to chance (random) chance (Ho = null hypothesis) or due to true differences (Ha = alternate hypothesis). Finding statistical evidence that the null hypothesis is false allows rejecting the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis:
Ho assumes that there is no difference in mean, spread and variance between populations
Ha states that the observed difference between populations is real, not by chance.

 

---

-I-

[I]-Terms: IDOV, Identify-Design-Optimize-Validate, Includes Excludes, Incoming  Quality Control, In Control, Indirect Cost, Input-Process-Output,  Interaction, Interactional Data, Internal Setup, Interrelationship  Diagram, Intra Quartile Range, Inventory, IPO, IQC, IQR, Ishikawa  Diagram, ISO/QS9000.

IDOV – Identify-Design- Optimize-Validate – process used in Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) to optimize product/process-design:
1. Identify  – customer needs, specifications and expectations (VOC).
2. Design – translate VOC into CTC-design and define details.
3. Optimize – reduce variability, design to DFM and Six Sigma quality level.
4. Validate – measure, assess performance repeatability and reproducible.

INCLUDES/EXCLUDES – tool to define project-boundaries within scope of work.

IQC – Incoming Quality Control – validation if quality-level of incoming materials complies with the standard.

IN CONTROL – process free of special causes variation, the signal beyond random variation (noise).

INDIRECT COST – cannot be directly assigned to a single product, unit or activity.

INTERACTION – response from one factor is influenced by another factor – lines on the interaction-plot are not parallel indicating that there is an interaction.

INTERACTIONAL DATA – recorded decision, version of a procedure, test data, time stamp.

INTERNAL SETUP – preparing a machine while the machine is stopped – this time should be moved to external set-up whenever possible to minimize loss in capacity from downtime.

INTERRELATIONSHIP DIAGRAM – tool to identify cause & effect relationship in complex/multivariable settings.

INVENTORY – stock for raw materials (R/M), work-in-process (WIP) and finished goods (F/G) waiting to be sold. Traditional batch mentality with MRP-driven planning systems are the main cause for overproduction that ends-up in inventories.

IPO – Input-Process-Output – tool to visually (3 boxes) map the process as basis for improvement.

IQR – Intra Quartile Range – distance/difference between 25-75. Percentile (25%-group and 75% group).

ISHIKAWA DIAGRAM – tool for problem solving developed by the Japanese quality expert Ichiro Ishikawa – also called Fishbone or Cause & Effect Diagram.

ISO/QS-9000 – body of standards developed in Europe to define minimum requirements for basic business practice and judge adequacy of a business’ quality control system. Revised in the year 2000: “ISO 9000:2000” to improve effectiveness of the QMS (Quality Management System) by focusing more on satisfying customer-needs.

 

---

-J-

[J]-Terms: Jack in the Box, Jidoka, JIT, Just in Time.

JACK IN THE BOX – variable (X) appearing at random intervals due to non-apparent external factors. Example: manipulation to distort a survey.

JIDOKA – autonomation or automation with human intelligance – intelligent machines detect errors and automatically stops reproducing them. Jidoka is one of the pillars of the Toyota Production System (TPS).

JIT – Just In Time – making and delivering exactly WHAT is needed, WHEN needed at the exact amount.

---

-K-

[K]-Terms: Kaikaku, Kaizen, Kaizen Blitz, Kaizen Process, Kaban, Kano Analysis, Kappa, Key Performance Indicator, Key Process Input Variable, Key Process Output Variable, KISS, KPI, KPIV, KPOV, Kurtosis.

KAIKAKU – radical improvement – process of breaking the system down into core elements and recreating a new one. Goal is step-improvement. Kaikaku is used when continuous improvement (Kaizen) reached a limit “flat-lining”.

KAIZEN – incremental improvement – evolutionary process by continuously improving the existing process. Kaizen literally means change (Kai-) to the better (-Zen).

KAIZEN BLITZ – highly focused 1-5 day event led by a small team to attack waste in a process, design, machine or work-center with the goal to improve productivity and quality.

KAIZEN PROCESS – structured method to create and implement “soft” improvements:
1. Get all stakeholder on one table (owners, managers, operators, support-people).
2. Define existing process (value-stream-mapping, flow-charting, SIPOC-maps).
3. Design future process (brainstorm ideas > organize/expand best ideas > funnel, conclude).
4. Implement (develop the detailed process/procedure, get buy-in and transfer ownership).

KANBAN – visual signal, such as a card, billboard, empty container etc. A device that triggers replenishment. A Kanban is used to achieve Pull in a JIT-system.

KANO ANALYSIS – tool to prioritize specification-parameters based on their impact onto customer satisfaction:
1. “Must-have” – absolute needs that the product must have to be sold.
2. “Should-have” – items that the customer important to the customer.
3. “Nice to have” – items that surprises and delights the customer “ooohaaah-effect”.
4. “Must not have” – items that dissatisfies the customer and cause rejection.

KAPPA – measures correctness of judgment (level of agreement to a known standard) by comparing the number of agreement to number of correct items:
0.0 = no agreement.
0.7 = minimum requirement for the rating-process to be acceptable.
0.9 = good system, 9 out of 10 people will judge the same way.
1.0 = total agreement.

KISS – Keep It Simple Specific – applied common sense and simple language to avoid misunderstanding (waste) and improve effectiveness of processes and procedures.

KPI – Key Performance Indicator or Key Process Indicator – metric to evaluate and track outcomes/result-data – example: profit, units shipped, rework%, delay-days, defect%, quality-level, yield, fulfillment-rate, customer-complaints etc.

KPIV – Key Process Input Variable.

KPOV – Key Process Output Variable.

KURTOSIS – measures “flatness” of a distribution relative to the normal distribution: (+) elevated, (-) flattened.

---

-L-

[L]-Terms: Last in first out, LCL, Lead Time, Lean6, Lean Checklist, Lean Level of  Buffering, Lean  Manufacturing, Lean Purpose, Lean Process, Lean  Transformation, Leveled  Production, Levels, LIFO,  Likert Scale,  Linearity, Little’s Law, LLB, Lot, Lot Tolerance Percent Defective, Lower Control Limit, Lower Specification Limit, LSL, LTPD, Lurking Variable.

LCL – Lower Control Limit – 3 sigma below the mean or average – see also UCL.

LEAD TIME – time between order and shipment to replenish an item (defined by the supplier).

LEAN6 – collection of Six Sigma tools offered by LEANMAP to systematically reduce variability and defect rate in manufacturing and service processes. The package includes over 20 templates and worksheets to cover the entire Six Sigma improvement-process (DMAIC):
+ Project-charter.
+ Statistical tools.
+ Measurement system evaluation (GRR).
+ Control charts (p/XbarR).
+ Design of experiment (DOE).

LEAN MANUFACTURING – system to produce at maximum efficiency by eliminating waste and applying FTPL-principles:
+ FLOW – material and information flow through the system without interruption.
+ TAKT – the entire system is balanced to the rhythm of customer demand (Takt-time).
+ PULL – material and information is pulled to demand and controlled by a JIT-system.
+ LEVELING – balancing the load to avoid stress and inefficiencies from slack and idling.

LEAN PURPOSE – the primary purpose of any organization and first step in any lean thought process is to correctly specify the value that the customer seeks in order to cost effectively solve the customer’s problems so the organization can prosper.

LEAN PROCESS CHECKLIST:
+ Valuable: customer is willing to pay for the step as it creates value and would object if the step was deleted.
+ Capable: Producing a good result every time.
+ Available: Being able to operate whenever needed.
+ Adequate: Having the capacity to keep production in continuous flow.
+ Flexible: Permitting a range of products within a product family to move through a process without batching and delays

LEAN TRANSFORMATION – 5-step process by Womack and Jones to guide managers through a lean transformation:
1. Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family. Identify all the steps in the value stream for each product family, eliminating whenever possible those steps that do not create value.
2. Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer.
3. As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.
4. As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed, and flow and pull are introduced, repeat this process again and continue it until a state of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste.
5. Lean Thinking can be structured around Purpose, Process, People.

LEVELED PRODUCTION – production schedule in balance with demand, producing at the rate of customer-demand (Takt).

LEVELS – different settings a factor can be set to – example: high/low, cold/hot, small/medium/high etc.

LIFO – Last In First Out – method of inventory-management where the newest unit is consumed first.

LIKERT SCALE – rating tool to measure the strength of agreement. Example:
5 = strongly agree.
4 = somewhat agree.
3 = indifferent.
2 = somewhat disagree.
1 = strongly disagree.

LINEARITY – variation between measurements and a known standard.

LITTLE’S LAW – equation to assess lead-time relative to inventory and process:
Lead Time [days] = WIP-or-WAIT[quantity] / AverageCompletionRate [units/day].
Example: 100 units in queue, machine works at 200/day >>> LeadTime = ½ Day.

LLB – Lean Level of Buffering – smallest buffer size to ensure that capacity meets demand – CycleTime = TaktTime.

LOT – batch or group of units from one common source with common characteristics.

LSL – Lower Specification Limit – value specifying the minimal level of performance to be acceptable. See also USL.

LTPD – Lot Tolerance Percent Defective – unacceptable level of incoming “quality” – appropriate to reject the lot – also called Reject Quality Level (RQL) opposed to Acceptance Quality Level (AQL).

LURKING VARIABLE – unknown or uncontrolled variable that influences the result of an experiment.

---

-M-

[M]-Terms: Machine Cycle Time, Machine Capability Index, Macro  Process,  Main Effect, Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award, Master  Black  Belt, Material and Information Flow Analysis, Mega Process,  Mentor,  Metric, Micro Process, MIFA, Muda, Mura, Muri.

MACHINE AUTOMATIC TIME – machine-time to produce one unit without load and unload.

MACHINE CAPABILITY INDEX (Cmk) – capability index to measure uninterrupted machine-run.

MACHINE CYCLE TIME – the machine time to produce one unit including load and unload.

MACRO PROCESS – group of several micro processes such as ECO-approval, product assembly etc.

MAIN EFFECT – average output change when a factor (X) is varied from high to low level.

MALCOM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD – by National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and administered by the American Society for Quality (ASQ):
1. Strategic Planning
2. Leadership
3. Market/Customer Focus
4. Data Analysis
5. Human Resources
6. Process Management
7. Business Results

MASTER BLACK BELT – Six Sigma Quality expert responsible for strategic planning, leading implementations, and coaching Black Belts and Green Belts.

MATERIAL AND INFORMATION FLOW ANALYSIS – see Value Stream Mapping (VSM).

MEGA PROCESS – top level process covering an entire function, such as engineering, production etc.

MENTOR – highly skilled professional who coaches people with lower skills.

METRIC – information about a specific parameter used for performance management: throughput, yield, lead time. See also KPI.

MICRO PROCESS – part of a macro process, several steps performed by the same operator.

MIFA – Material and Information Flow Analysis – see Value Stream Mapping (VSM).

MUDA – WASTE – any activity or feature that the customer is not willing to pay for, adding cost without increasing value to the customer.

MURA – VARIABILITY – inconsistent quantity, quality, cost or delivery.  Heijunka and Six Sigma techniques are applied to reduce Mura.

MURI – STRAIN/STRESS – difficulties when demand exceeds capacity or capability.

 

---

-N-

[N]-Terms: Nagara System, Nichijo Kanri, Normal Tolerance, Noise,   Nominal, Nominal Data, Nominal Group Technique, Non Conformance, Non   Conformity, Non-Parametric Test, Non-Value Add, Normal Distribution,  Normal Probability, Null Hypothesis.

NAGARA SYSTEM – doing two or more tasks at the same time in one sweep or motion. Requires ergonomic design.

NICHIJO KANRI – short-term, daily planning and management: Nichijo=daily + Kanri=Management. Complementing the annual planning process Hoshin Kanri.

NORMAL TOLERANCE – natural control limits +/- 3 standard deviations from process average.

NOISE – random or common cause variation from a non-controllable process-variable.

NOMINAL – target values (Y) for CTQ-parameters (translated from customer needs CTC).

NOMINAL DATA – categorical data (labeled), such as nationality, gender, religion, education-level etc.

NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE – tool to resolve conflicts between teams to get consensus on priorities, approaches, solutions, and next steps by individual ranking of importance to get to overall priorities.

NON CONFORMANCE – defect caused by deviation from the established standard or requirement.

NON-CONFORMITY – failing to meet specified and expected design requirements.

NON-PARAMETRIC TEST –used instead parametric test when normality of the sample population is questionable.

NON-VALUE ADD – any feature or activity that adds cost but no value = waste + incidental work.

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION – ideal spread of information, bell-shaped “Gaussian” curve, perfectly mirror symmetric, peak in the middle. In an ideal case, the peak is identical to mean, median, mode of the data.

NORMAL PROBABILITY – determine if observations follow a normal distribution – normal if p >0.05.

NULL HYPOTHESIS (Ho) – stated assumption that there is no difference between populations based on sample mean, spread, and variance. According to Ho, any observed difference is due to chance or sampling error.

---

-O-

[O]-Terms: O’Brien Effect, OBL, OCT, OEE, OEM, Objective Evidence,  Occupational Safety and Health Administration, One Piece Flow, OPE,  Operations Cost, Operations Process, Operator Cycle Time, Opportunity,  Optimal  Buffer Level, Optimization, Original Equipment Manufacturer,  OSHA, Overall Equipment  Efficiency, Overall Performance Efficiency,  Ownership.

O’BRIEN EFFECT – making suggestions to a customer without truly  knowing what the customer needs, creating waste, motivated by primal  urges to talk, resulting in Speaking Without Thinking of the  Consequences (SWTC) = “Speaking Bollocks”.

OBL – Optimal Buffer Level = Capacity / (CycleTime * DownTime)

OCT – Operator Cycle Time – time it takes for a worker to complete a set of tasks including loading and unloading before the works repeats. OCT is measured without time spent for waiting.

OEE – Overall Equipment Effectiveness – metric to assess effectiveness by multiplying three percentages:
1. AVAILABILITY = [time actually available for work] : [time scheduled to be available].
2. SPEED = [actual rate of production] : [capacity of machine].
3. QUALITY = YIELD = [good parts] : [total number of parts processed].

OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer.

OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE – compelling proof. Example physical evidence that a new setup is effective by delivering expected results, that a procedure was followed, an audit was performed, or that criteria for a design-review were upheld.

ONE-PIECE FLOW – achieving FLOW by reducing batch sizes to single units without inventory/batches in between. Key benefit: defects are detected immediately thus, reproducing defects in large batches is being avoided.

OPE – Overall Performance Efficiency – metric to determine the overall performance of a machine, work-center or plant by the cumulative impact of five factors – calculated in [wasted time] : [total cycle-time].
1. Scheduling waste.
2. Waste of motion.
3. Waste of wait.
4. Other waste specific to the operation (example: setup).
5. Performance-loss between average and top performer.

OPERATIONS COST – running cost, the maximum expenditure on material, labor, overhead, utilities, services etc.

OPERATIONS PROCESS – leveraging on the economies of scale by creating a repetitive product or service in a controlled, mass-production environment.

OPPORTUNITY – related to measuring defect rate in Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO) in value-generating operations-steps:
+ Motorola: Opportunity = [number of parts] + [number of connections].
+ Allied Signal: Opportunity = [number BOM parts] x 3.

OPTIMIZATION – adjusting a process, skill or system to create the maximal response at minimal variability.

OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the regulatory body specifying health standards in the US.

OUTLIER – data point located outside from the specified and expected range of data.

OUTPUT – outcome, result of a process (Y).

OWNERSHIP – having the right and responsibility to act and make decisions – and being accountable for those actions.

---

-P-

[P]-Terms: P-Value, Probability, Pacemaker, Paired T-Test, Pareto,    PDCA, Plan Do Check Act, PFMEA, Policy Deployment, Poka Yoke, Point    Kaizen, Poisson Distribution, Population, Preventive Action, Process   Capacity Table, Processing Sequence, Production Smoothing, Pull, Pull   System, Push System.

P VALUE – probability of a statistical hypothesis test to be lower, equal, or higher than observed by chance.

PACEMAKER – element that synchronizes work to the pace of demand. See also Takt-Time.

PAIRED T-TEST – two-sample t-test is used to determine if two population means are equal:
+ Paired t-test: the same item is measured before and after the change.
+ Unpaired t-test: items and sample-sizes may be different.

PARETO – 80% results (Y) are caused by 20% inputs (X) or 80% of problems are caused by 20% causes.

PDCA – Pan-Do-Check-Act (or PDSA – Plan-Do-Study-Act) – Deming Cycle, Deming Wheel, Deming Spiral – used as quality improvement process, originated in the 1920s as the SHEWARD-CYCLE from the statistician Walter A. Shewart (Plan-Do-See) and further improved by statistician Edward W. Deming to PDSA/PDCA:
1. Plan for change –analyze and predict results.
2. Do – execute the plan in small steps under controlled condition.
3. Study/Check – study and validate results. Is it the right direction?
4. Act – take action, correct and standardize the process.

PFMEA – Process Failure Modes Effects Analysis – see FMEA with focus on processes.

POLICY DEPLOYMENT – process in three steps:
1. Adjusting goals to available resources.
2. Communicating goals to all levels of the organization.
3. Getting all elements in sync to deliver to those goals.

POKA YOKE – error proofing (Japanese: poka=error + yokeru=avoid) achieved through fail save, checklists, key/lock systems to lower or eliminate the probability of defects.

POINT KAIZEN – improvement technique focused directly on a single workstation, involving workers from in-station and up/down processes.

POISSON DISTRIBUTION – discrete distribution (X = 0, 1, 2, 3…) used for counts (number of events).

POPULATION – entire group from which the sample is taken (example: Catholics in Europe).

PREVENTIVE ACTION – prevent the occurrence of a potential nonconformance.

PROCESS CAPACITY TABLE – chart to specify machine load to available capacity.

PROCESSING SEQUENCE – order in which an item (part or transaction) is processed.

PRODUCTION SMOOTHING – scheduling-method to reduce demand-fluctuations by producing “every part every day” (EPED).

PULL – replenish material based on actual demand.

PULL SYSTEM – replenishment is triggered by consumption, a part is only produced when taken away by a customer to fill the empty slot again.

PUSH SYSTEM – production is managed according forecast and schedule – regardless of actual demand. Push creates massive problems through overproduction and inventory.

---

-Q-

[Q]-Terms: QA, QC, QFD, QI, Quality Assurance, Qualitative Data, Quality Attribute, Quality Chain Reaction, Quality Control by Juran, Quality Control Tools,  Quality Function Deployment, Quality Improvement,  Quality Improvement Process by Crosby, Quality Management, Quality  Planning by Juran, QS9000, Quality Target, Quantifiers, Quantitative  Data, Quantitative Variable, Quick Response, Queue Time.

QA – Quality Assurance – managerial process and system to fulfill customers’ specifications and expectations in three steps:
1. Identifying non-conformance.
2. Assessing sources and causes of variation.
3. Defining actions to eliminate root-causes.

QC – Quality Control – managerial process based on statistical data to evaluate performance against requirements and take action on any deviations. See also QA.

QUALITY CONTROL by Juran:
1. Choose control parameters, what to control.
2. Define unit of measure.
3. Establish standards of performance.
4. Create methods of measurement.
5. Measure performance.
6. Interpret the results: actual vs. standard.
7. Take action on the difference.

QFD – Quality Function Deployment – structured tool and methodology to identify and quantify customers-needs (Voice of the Customer VOC) and translate them into design-specifications.
+ QFD-Output: specification, processes and strategies satisfying customers as well as creating a competitive edge.
+ QFD-Input: the house of “House of Quality”-matrix consists of four elements:
1. Conduct thorough market-research to understand and rank customer-needs (VOC).
2. Determine how well existing providers deliver to those needs.
3. Define design parameters, conditions, alternatives.
4. Define and weigh relationship between needs and existing capability and performance.

QI – QUALITY IMPROVEMENT – organized, systematic and never-ending activity to improve product, process, system with the ultimate goal of achieving perfection. See also Continuous Improvement CI.

QUALITATIVE DATA – see discrete data.

QUALITY – definitions:
+ Quality is whatever the customer accepts – by meeting requirements specifications and expectations.
+ Quality is value created for society – by focusing on real needs (pull) versus perceived needs (push).
+ Quality means creating maximum value, consistently at maximum efficiency – by reducing waste and variability.

QUALITY ATTRIBUTE – property of a product, process, or system to be important to the end-customer. See also Critical To Customer (CTC) and Critical To Quality (CTQ).

QUALITY CHAIN REACTION by Deming:
1. Improve quality.
2. Improve productivity.
3. Decrease cost.
4. Decrease price.
5. Increase market.
6. Stay in business.
7. Provide more jobs.

QUALITY CONTROL TOOLS – simple statistical tools:
1. Pareto charts – for prioritization, parameters sorted by impact (80/20-rule).
2. Run charts – parameter over time (temp, yield, output etc).
3. Scatter plots – shows relationship between two parameters (yield versus temperature).
4. Frequency distributions – shows how often each value appears.
5. Statistical process control charts – shows capability of a process.
6. Cause and effects diagrams/histograms – used to analyze a problem on top-level.

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT – see QFD.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT – see QI.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROCESS (QIP) by Crosby:
1. Management commitment – make this crystal clear in deed and words.
2. Quality improvement team – setup QIT with people from each department.
3. Quality measurement – determine status of non-conformance everywhere.
4. Cost of quality – estimate cost of non/conformance COC/CONC.
5. Quality awareness – provide means of raising personal concern for quality.
6. Corrective action – develop systematic means of resolving issues forever.
7. Right first time – plan for company-wide first-time quality (Zero Defects).
8. Quality education & training – train everyone in QIP.
9. Launch right first time – as the company performance standard.
10. Goal setting – encourage self-setting of Quality Improvement (QI) goals.
11. Error cause removal (ECR) – report stoppers to error-free/timely response.
12. Recognition – show appreciation of those participating.
13. Quality council participation – form a liaison body.
14. Do it all over again – it is a never-ending process.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT – set of activities to achieve minimal waste and variability = QA + QC + QI.

QUALITY PLANNING by Juran:
1. Identify the customers at each stage of the process.
2. Determine customer needs and expectations.
3. Develop to meet customer’s needs, specifications and expectations.
4. Set quality-goals to meet customer + supplier-needs at min combined cost.
5. Develop resources to provide the needed product/service features.
6. Ensure resources are meeting quality goals under operating conditions.

QS-9000 – US-automotive equivalent of the European ISO-9000 – now being replaced by ISO/TS 16949.

QUALITY TARGET – each activity impacting final Quality is assigned a target limit, specifying maximum defect-rate (non-conformance measured in DPMO).

QUANTIFIERS – means to measure and track performance:
+ Result-Quantifier: rolled throughput yield (RTY), profits before taxes (EBIT).
+ Process-Quantifiers: yield by work cell, effectiveness (OEE and OPE).

QUANTITATIVE DATA – all values possible. See Continuous Data.

QUANTITATIVE VARIABLE – characteristic that can be counted (numerical measurement).

QUICK RESPONSE – the ability to respond quickly to change in volume, mix and customer-taste while maintaining world-class standards (without compromising on quality for additional volume).

QUEUE TIME – the time an item is waiting to processed.

---

-R-

[R]-Terms: R-Factor, R-Square, Radian, Radical Redesign, Random Sample,  Random   Variation, Randomization, Range, Rational Subgroup, RBI, RBM,    RCI, Re-engineering, Regression, Reject Quality Level, Reliability, Repetition,  Repeatability,   Replication, Reproducibility, Residual, Resolution,  Response,  Responsibility, Rework, Return on Net Assets, Risk-Based   Inspection,  Risk-Based Maintenance, Risk Priority Number, Robust, Rolled Throughput Yield,  RONA, Root Cause, Root Cause Analysis, RTY, RQL, RPN, Run Chart.

R – correlation-coefficient “r” measures the strength of linear relationship between two parameters.

R-SQUARE – mathematical term to describe the degree of variation (dY) cause by an input (X). See also Regression.

RADIAN – unit of angular measurement “rad” = 2 pi rad in the circumference of a circle, pi = 3.14159x.

RADICAL REDESIGN – innovation process (offered by Leanmap) to achieve step-change in performance. See also Kaikaku.

RANDOM SAMPLE – data taken at random from the population.

RANDOM VARIATION –tendency of an estimate based on a sample average to be off the true population value. The larger the sample size, the lower random variation and the higher the precision of the estimated value.

RANDOMIZATION – activities in random order to reduce the effect of uncontrolled factors.

RANGE – interval between the smallest/lowest and largest/highest value.

RATIONAL SUBGROUP –subgroup of data to identify and separate special cause variation (non-random variation) in between subgroups.

RBI – Risk Based Inspection – inspection depth and interval according to calculated risk-level RPN.

RBM – Risk Based Maintenance – maintenance depth and interval according to calculated risk-level RPN.

RCI – see Root Cause Analysis.

REENGINEERING – Business Process Management (BPM) – defining macro (strategic) and micro (operational) processes, assigning ownership, targets and control-limits. Method to improve efficiency by defining processes and consolidating tasks but disregarding human behavior (personalities, politics etc) – therefore often not sustainable. Lean Transformation considers human factors and is therefore a sustainable approach.

REGRESSION – statistical analysis tool to quantify the relationship between variables (Y) and (X) by fitting a line/plane through all points (scatter plot).

RELIABILITY – probability of a product or process to perform adequately its specified purpose under specified conditions for a specific period of time (life-cycle).

REPETITION – repeating an experiment to reduce variation between measurements of the same item under the same conditions to improve REPEATABILITY.

REPEATABILITY – variation in average measurements when measuring the same item several times under the same conditions.

REPLICATION – repeating an experiment to increase REPRODUCIBILITY – common are three to five replications.

REPRODUCIBILITY – variation in average measurements when a part is measured by different operators or on different equipment under the same conditions/technique.

RESIDUAL – error, difference between the actual and predicted output value (Y) by the regression equation.

RESOLUTION - the “accuracy” or degree of which a factor can be discriminated/identified denoted with Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV…):
1. GR&R – Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility > number of distinct categories.
2. DOE – Design of Experiment > confounding among effects.

RESPONSE – reaction/output (Y) to a specific stimulus/input (X).

RESPONSIBILITY – capacity to be conditionally liability before, assuming adequate expertise and capability.

REWORK – additional work to rectify defects (waste).

ROBUST - insensitivity to input-variations (dX) – does not affect output (Y).

ROBUST PROCESS – resistant to defects, operating at a high sigma-level.

RTY – Rolled Throughput Yield – probability for a single unit to pass through the entire process without defect. RTY considers rework, FPY does not. Formula: [Qty-in – QtyScrap – QtyRework] / [QtyIn]. Examples:
+ Process-A = [90in – 5scrap – 2rework] / [90in] = [85out] at 92% yield >>> (without rework: 85/90 = 95% yield).
+ Process-B = [85in] – 1scrap – 3rework)] / [85in] = [84out] at 95% yield >>> (without rework: 84/85 = 99% yield) RTY-Total = 0.92 x 0.95 = 87% (considering scrap and rework). Compare to First Pass Yield = FPY-Total = 0.95 x 0.99 = 94% (only considering input, output, scrap).

RONA – Return on Net Assets – calculating financial effectiveness of a business by relating resources to return: RONA = NetIncome / (FixedAssets + NetWorkingCapital).

ROOT CAUSE – origin of an event, the identified reason for non-conformance (defect or delay).

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS RCA – systematic study of the reason of non-conformance – eliminating the root-cause will eliminate the non-conformance permanently (corrective action to a problem).

RPN - Risk Priority Number – quantified risk in a Failure Mode And Effect Analysis (FMEA).

RQL – Reject Quality Level – trigger level to reject a lot. See also AQL.

RUN CHART – performance monitored over time to identify trends and/or pattern.

---

-S-

[S]-Terms: Sample, Sample Size Calculator, Sampling, Saturated         Design, SCAMPER, Scatter Plot, SCM, Scope, Screening, Scorecard,         Screening, Segmentation, Sensei, Sensitivity, Setup Reduction,  Short        Interval Leadership, Sigma, Sigma Level, Single Minute  Exchange of    Dies,   SIPOC, Six Sigma, Six Sigma 3S  Process,  Skewness, SLA, SMED,    SOP,  Span, SPC, Standard Operating Procedure,  Statistical Process    Control,  Stop Line Authority, Supply Chain  Management, Special Cause    Variation,  Stability, Stable Process,  Stability, Stakeholder, Standard    Deviation, Standard Operations,  Standard Work, Standard Work  Instruction, Strategic Planning,  Stratification, Sub-Optimization,  Supermarket, SWI, SWOT, Systems  Engineering, Systems Thinking.

SAMPLE – portion/subset of units taken from the population used for analysis to estimate the properties of the population.

SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATOR – tool to calculate the optimal sample size, see LEAN6.

SAMPLING –practice of gathering a subset of all data available.

SATURATED DESIGN – Design Of Experiment (DOE) at Resolution III are “saturated”. To analyze interactions between factors, unsaturated designs are more suitable – Resolution V+.

SCAMPER – idea generation and synthesis technique by Michael Michalko:
S – Substitute.
C – Combine.
A – Adapt, adopt.
M – Modify, magnify, minify.
P – Put to other uses.
E – Eliminate.
R – Reverse, rearrange.

SCATTER PLOT – scatter diagram is a graphical tool that to illustrates the relationship between two variables (X0 and (Y).

SCM – Supply Chain Management – planning and controlling the (a) sourcing of goods and (b) material-movement from raw to finished good – with focus on reducing operating cost, lead-times and inventory levels.

SCOPE – extent to which a process or procedure applies.

SCORECARD – see Balanced Scorecard (BSC).

SCREENING – inspection to discriminate between pass and fail.

SEGMENTATION - dividing into small, logical categories to simplify analysis.

SENSEI – Jap. master or teacher, “one who has done it before”.

SENSITIVITY – change of output (dY) relative to changing input (dX).

SETUP REDUCTION – reducing of the time it takes to prepare a work-center between last part-A and first part-B.

SHORT-INTERVAL-LEADERSHIP – group leader (GL) visits each work group member (GM) several times a day to check on performance/issues and provide feedback (correction and encouragement).

SIGMA – Greek letter sigma represents standard deviation of a population. Sigma translates specification-limits into Z-value.

SIGMA LEVEL – measure of quality based on number of defects in a process:
1 Sigma = 690,000 defects per million = 68% values within 1 standard deviation around the mean.
2 Sigma = 308,000 defects per million = 95% values within 2 standard deviations around the mean.
3 Sigma = 66,800 defects per million = 99.7% values within 3 standard deviations around the mean.
4 Sigma = 6,210 defects per million.
5 Sigma = 230 defects per million.
6 Sigma = 3.4 per million units.

SIPOC – suppliers, inputs, process, output, and customers.

SIX SIGMA – methodology to achieve high level of quality by reducing variability with the means of statistical control.

SIX SIGMA ELEMENTS
+ DPMO – 3.4 Defects Per Million Opportunities, considering +/-1.5 Sigma drift over the long-term.
+ DMAC – Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control = never-ending improvement process.
+ DFSS – Design For Six Sigma = systematically design to reliability and repeatability (low variability).

SIX SIGMA 3S PROCESS
1. Shift – adjust if the center of the process is outside the specification-limits.
2. Shrink –reduce the spread, shrink the process within specification-limits.
3. Stabilize – add elements to control the process – standards, limits, audits.

SMED – SINGLE-MINUTE EXCHANGE OF DIES – method to reduce setup-time by (1) moving internal to external setup and (2) reduce setup-waste. SMED was originated from a Japanese contest to change dies of a large press for automotive presses below one minute. The preparation of a machine in less than 10 minutes (single digit minutes) is considered “Rapid Changeover”, in less than one minute it is true SMED.

SKEWNESS – measurement asymmetry, when mean and median are different = -3…3, positive/negative for right/left-skewed distributions.

SLA – STOP-LINE-AUTHORITY – workers are authorized to stop the line for any deviation from the standard – preventing defects from being reproduced. The halted line triggers immediate response: “the problem must be solved right there, right now”. See also Andon.

SMART – well specified target is SMART:
S – Specific, simple, significant.
M – Measurable, motivating.
A – Achievable, actionable, acceptable.
R – Relevant, realistic, rewarding.
T – Time-bound, tangible, truthful.

SME – Subject Matter Expert – individual who is the most expertise or skill in a specific area.

SOFT BENEFITS – non-tangible improvements which cannot be translated directly into monetary benefits – such as motivation, goodwill or image.

SOP – Standard Operating Procedure – procedure outlining all critical elements to perform an operation including man/machine-timing.

SPAN – range without outliers – typically used as P95-P5 = range between 5th and 95th percentile.

SPC – Statistical Process Control – methods and tools to assess process-performance by measuring how well a process meets requirements in accuracy (mean, median, mode) and dispersion (ranges and standard deviations). Purpose: to identify special cause variation (signal beyond noise) at +/- 3 Sigma around the mean (99.7%).

SPECIAL CAUSE VARIATION – shift in output caused by a non-random (special) event, assignable factor.

SPECIFICATION – customer-needs translated into parameters that can be tested and validated.

SPREAD – distance from the mean or center – measured in Standard Deviations. See also Sigma Level.

STABILITY – shift over time through aging.

STABLE PROCESS – process without special cause (assignable) variation – only containing common cause variation (noise), consistent over time.

STAKEHOLDER – people who affect or who are affected by a change or project.

STANDARD DEVIATION – measure of variability in a distribution, the spread of data relative to the mean.

STANDARD OPERATIONS – optimal setup of people and machines consuming minimal resources (labor, space, energy, inventory, equipment) to accomplish work.

STANDARD WORK – predefined steps to get the work done in the most effective way. Standard Work includes tasks, allotted time, expected yield, quality-controls/check-points, yield and control-limits, pace of demand (Takt) responsibilities, and steps on how to handle exceptions.

STATISTICS – process of systematic collecting, organizing, and interpreting numerical data through mathematics.

STRATEGIC PLANNING – making decisions that shape and guide an organization by defining: what must, should, can, and must not be done.

STRATIFICATION – technique to divide a population into homogeneous groups (strata).

SUB-OPTIMIZATION – keeping machines, cells and work-centers running at maximum load in an attempt to be efficient (recovering investment for large, expensive batch-machines. Local efficiency is typically driven by cost-accounting methods – reducing overall/global efficiency. See also Theory of Constraints (TOC).

SUPERMARKET – a store presenting specific items at controlled quantity to be taken away by the customer. Consumption triggers replenishment, nothing is refilled before taken away by a customer. In production, a supermarket is used to make demand visible to the celll or work-center – triggering production only when parts were consumed.

SWI – STANDARD WORK INSTRUCTION – document outlining the sequence of production steps, how the worker performs it, and the setup of the entire station.

SWIP – STANDARD WORK IN PROCESS – minimum inventory required in front of the workstation to be able to complete one cycle work without delay.

SWOT – strategic planning tool to analyze an individual, group, organization, or environment in four dimensions:
S – Strengths.
W – Weaknesses.
O – Opportunities.
T – Threats.

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING – cross-functional approach to determine the life cycle (life expectancy) of a product in which it is capable to satisfy customer needs.

SYSTEMS THINKING – estimating how local the environment affects a population in five phases:
1. Problem structuring.
2. Causal loop modeling.
3. Dynamic modeling.
4. Scenario planning.
5. Implementation and learning.

---

-T-

[T]-Terms: T-Statistic, T-Test, Taguchi Method, Takt Time, Team  Leader, Theory of Constraints, Throughput, Thulla,  Time-Based Strategy, Time Value Map, TL, TOC,  Tolerance Range,  Tollgate, Total Productive Maintenance, Total Quality Management, Toyota  Production Systems, TPS, TPM, TQM, Translean, Tree Diagram, Trend Charts, Tribal Knowledge, Type-I Error, Type-II Error.

T STATISTIC – to determine if two samples are statistically different based on their means, standard deviation and sample size. Comparing t value against alpha determines if hypothesis is true or false.

T TEST – test a statistical tool to determine if a significant difference exists between the means of two distributions or the mean of one distribution and a target value.

TAGUCHI METHOD – tool to design and execute experiments to analyze processes where the result-variable (Y) is affected by many input-variable (X) under minimal number of experiments. See DOE.

TAKT TIME – rate of customer-demand. Example brew and deliver one coffee every 30 seconds.

TEAM LEADER – see TL.

THROUPUT – rate of production, output over a specified period of time.

TIME-BASED STRATEGY – organizing business objectives around economy-of-time principles.

TIME VALUE MAP – tracking work through the process by recording time:
1. Value added.
2. Unavoidable waste.
3. Pure waste.

TL – Team Leader – supervisor of a work-cell or work-center responsible for maintaining target-level of quality and productivity.

TOC – Theory Of Constraints – “Constraints Management” – methodology to optimize the entire system (instead individual parts) towards maximum productivity. Focus on chain instead links. TOC is using five tools:
1. Current reality tree
2. Evaporation cloud.
3. Future reality tree.
4. Prerequisite tree.
5. Transition tree.

TOLERANCE RANGE – difference between upper and lower specification limit (USL – LSL).

TOLLGATE – control-element between milestones – nothing is being passed without meeting the minimum requirements (degree of completion). Also called Quality Gate (Mc Kinsey).

TPS – Toyota Production System – application of Lean principles as a system based on Just In Time (JIT) and Jidoka (in-station quality).

TPM – Total Productive Maintenance – tool to increase uptime by eliminating unscheduled downtimes.

TQM – Total Quality Management – concept of continuous improvement to achieve world-class quality through systematic management of all business processes.

TRANSLEAN™ – collection of Lean tools by LEANMAP to systematically reduce waste and cycle-time in manufacturing and service processes. The package includes over 20 templates and worksheets to cover the entire Lean-Transformation process:
+ Project-charter.
+ Waste-assessment.
+ Value stream mapping.
+ Load-leveling.
+ Kanban-designer.

TREE DIAGRAM – method of organizing stratified data.

TREND CHARTS – visual tool for process-control and management – displaying a value over time.

TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE – informal, unrecorded knowledge.

THULLA - wasted time due to low/lack of motivation – taking extra long, taking extra breaks etc.

TYPE I ERROR – producer’s risk – rejecting a good part. See also Alpha Risk.

TYPE II ERROR – consumer’s risk – accepting and shipping a bad unit. See also Beta Risk.

---

-U-

[U]-Terms: UCL, Unit, Univariate, Upper Control Limit, Upper Specification Limit, USL.

UCL – Upper Control Limit – 3 Sigma (standard-deviations) above the mean so that 99.7% falls between UCL and LCL. UCL is not the same as USL. See also LCL.

UNIT – item processed.

UNIVARIATE –random variable with a numerical value.

USL –Upper Specification Limit – highest acceptable value per specification. See also LSL.

---

-V-

[V]-Terms: Value Stream, Value Stream Mapping, Value Added, Variable Data, Variance, Variations, Variation Mode and Effect Analysis, Visual Controls, VMEA, VOB, VOC, VOE, VOP, Voice of the Business, Voice of the Customer, Voice of the Employee, Voice of the Process, VSM.

VALUE STREAM – all steps in a process that the customer is willing to pay for in order to bring a product or service.

VALUE STREAM MAPPING – see VSM.

VALUE-ADDED – any activity that changes the product or service in a way that the customer is willing to pay.
< 1% value-add is ‘normal’ in traditional administration.
3% value-add is “normal” in traditional manufacturing.
10% value-add is the threshold to consider a company ‘lean’.

VARIABLE DATA – quantitative data in three formats:
+ Attribute data – binary: pass/fail, yes/no, red/green.
+ Continuous – any value possible.
+ Discrete – count data 1, 2, 3,…

VARIANCE – deviation from the target associated with additional cost to bring back to the target.

VARIATION – measurement of natural fluctuation of process output (noise), quantified by spread, standard deviation. Variations are fluctuations of two types:
+ Common cause – random fluctuation caused by unknown steady factors (noise).
+ Special cause – exceptional, non-random fluctuation by assignable causes (signal).

VISUAL CONTROLS – signs, signals, layouts, bins, shelves, carts, traffic-lights to instantly see problems.

VMEA – Variation Mode and Effect Analysis – similar to FMEA analyzing sources of variation (instead failure-modes) and their effect on critical product/process-parameters.

VOB – Voice Of the Business – requirements of the business and its shareholders such as profitability.

VOC – Voice Of the Customer – defined and implied needs of customers (internal or external).

VOE – Voice Of the Employee – defined and implied needs of employees of your business.

VOP – Voice Of The Process – defined and implied needs of the process to be in control (+/- 3 Sigma around mean).

VSM – Value Stream Mapping – highly visual technique to analyze a process by defining how materials and information flow from input to customer, specifying:
1. Process – steps, time, operators, yield.
2. Flow – push, pull, vehicle, amount, frequency.
3. Trigger – signals, replenishment, controls.

---

-W-

[W]-Terms: Warning Limits, Waste, Whisker, White Noise, WIP, Work Cell, Work in Process, Work Sequence.

WARNING LIMITS – 2 Sigma Limits – levels in a control chart set +/- 2 Standard Deviations from process average.

WASTE – see 8 Wastes (8W).

WHISKER - displays minimum and maximum observations of a box-plot within 1.5 Inter Quartile Range (IQR) – range between 75th and 25th percentile.

WHITE NOISE – random fluctuation over the entire frequency spectrum.

WIP – Work In Process – all items waiting in queue to be processed.

WORK CELL – grouping of machines, tools, operators to maximize flow, quality and productivity.

WORK SEQUENCE – defined steps in correct order to achieve a desired result. See Standard Work Instruction (SWI).

---

-X-

[X]-Term: X.

X – independent variables (inputs) to a process that affect the output (Y) of a process.

 

---

-Y-

[Y]-Term: Yield.

YIELD – measure of process-quality as percentage of defect-free items produced in two types:
+ FPY – First Pass Yield – only considering the output
+ RTY – Rolled Throughput Yield – considering rework within cell.

 

---

-Z-

[Z]-Terms: Z, Z-Shift, Z Short Term, Z Long Term, ZLT, ZST, Zero Defects.

Z – universal measure of distance in standard deviations from the mean: Z = (X – Xbar) / Sigma.

Z SHIFT – difference between ZST and ZLT set to 1.5 Sigma.

ZLT – long-term process capability considering a +/- 1.5 Sigma drift for aging.

ZST – short term process capability right after adjustment.

ZERO DEFECTS – ultimate goal to improve a process to achieve perfect quality.

---

You are free to use this dictionary as long you keep the reference to www.leanmap.com.