Terms are listed most recent first. Check back often to see when we post new Lean content.
A Green Belt is a certification that indicates a person is qualified to lead a Six Sigma project or, less frequently, a kaizen team in Lean. The Belt System Ranks Yellow Belt: Team Participant Green Belt: Team Leader Black Belt: Trainer Master Black Belt: Trains black belts; leads improvement effort Read more…
A “Yellow Belt” designates that a person has been trained to participate in a Six Sigma project. In some rare instances, you may also see the yellow belt used in the Lean community. About the Lean/Six Sigma Belt System Note that there is not a formal governing body that manages Read more…
The mode is the number which appears most frequently in a set of numbers. For a finite data set, as in a sample of measurements, the mode would be the number that appears the greatest number of times. In a distribution curve, the mode is the number that corresponds to Read more…
The median is the point at which there are the same number of values above it as there are below it. This can apply to a sample, a full population, or distribution curve. When the data consists of a finite set (rather than a distribution curve), if there is an Read more…
Special cause variation is one of the two main categories of variation. Common cause, the other type, is the consistent, recurring fluctuation within a system, sometimes referred to as “noise”. Special cause variation, in layman’s terms, are the spikes that are caused by problems outside of those that regularly affect Read more…
“SMART” is a commonly used mnemonic device that helps you set effective goals. SMART stands for… Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely Detailed Explanation of SMART Goals Specific: Goals should be well-defined and unambiguous. The person or group the goal is assigned to should also be specified. Measurable: There has to Read more…
Soft savings are the intangible benefits of continuous improvement. Contrast this with hard savings which are those that can be directly pointed to as a line item on some sort of financial record such as a receipt or an invoice. Soft savings include things like reduced frustration, improved job satisfaction, Read more…
Hard savings are those that are directly linked to reducing to an actual expense. There should be no confusion about how much was actually saved, as there is an invoice, payroll stub, bill, receipt, or the like associated with the expense. Even though there is a specific, quantifiable expense, there Read more…
SWOT analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is a structured approach for assessing a project, new business venture, ongoing concern, or similar situation. By itself, SWOT analysis has limited utility. It has much more value when used with a purpose, such as a product launch, an annual Read more…
Tribal knowledge is the unwritten collective wisdom of an organization. It refers to the tradition of tribes handing information down from generation to generation in the time before the written word was developed. In the same fashion, when information is not document properly, it must be passed from employee to Read more…
A histogram is a specialized form of bar chart that shows the distribution of the data it is representing. Each bar represents a uniform range of data values, with the height of the bar showing the number of occurrences that fall into that range. Because a histogram shows a distribution, Read more…
Capability simply means that a person or machine has the ability to perform a required task. It is a binary measure. That simply means that it is physically possible in the current state to do something, or it is not. Capability should not be confused with yield or effectiveness (how Read more…