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There’s an old story about two lumberjacks who decided to have a contest to see who could chop the most wood. One was a young, energetic man who could chop relentlessly. He was convinced he would win easily against the older lumberjack who was on the back end of his Read more…
AP is an abbreviation for “accounts payable”. It is the money that companies owe in the short term and is recorded under current liabilities. In general, companies want to pay debts off as far in the future as they can (provided there is no financing charges) and get paid right Read more…
Analysis paralysis is the act of bogging down a problem-solving effort by continuing to crunch data despite diminishing returns. Analysis of data is critical to problem solving. Without it, you are just guessing. But there comes a point where the effort stops paying off, and all it ends up doing Read more…
A shadow board is typically pegboard, often painted white, with a colored outline for the tool below each hook. Consider a tools storage setup such as this one. While it looks organized, it would be hard to determine which tool was missing if there was a blank space. So, what Read more…
An autoejector is a tool used to streamline production. It is also known by the Japanese term, hanedashi. In a cell where a single operator is running several machines, he will often work with multiple parts. That’s not to say it is a random number. There should be a defined Read more…
Producer’s risk is the chance that a good product or batch will be rejected by an inspection. It is also known as Type I error, or alpha error. It is the probability that a batch with quality that exceeds your designated acceptable quality level will actually be rejected. In technical Read more…
Quality Circles are a continuous improvement tool that was popularized in the US in the 1980s and 90’s but have since faded from common use. Quality circles are basically project teams that meet on a regular basis to take on quality issues in their work area. They tend to be Read more…
Predictive maintenance is the practice of using data to try to anticipate and avoid machine failures. It differs from preventative maintenance in that it uses checks to identify abnormal conditions before the machine has a problem. Most failures in machines are not immediate, catastrophic failures. Electric motors might show changes Read more…
Preventive maintenance is the set of steps taken to avoid breakdowns in machines. These steps may include minor activities such as topping off fluids, inspection, lubrication, filter changes, and tightening as needed. It may also include more significant actions such as overhauls, rebuilds, and component replacement. In between those extremes Read more…
W. Edwards Deming is credited with popularizing the term “instant pudding” in continuous improvement. More accurately, he states that there is no instant pudding in CI, and that you should not expect immediate results. He lists this desire for quick and easy fixes as an obstacle to improvement in his Read more…
Breakthrough improvements are major changes in processes that yield business-altering results. Continuous improvement, on the other hand, is the relentless attack on waste that makes companies get better at a steady pace. A strong, improvement-oriented company will have both breakthrough improvements and a continuous improvement culture as part of its Read more…
Accounts payable (AP) is an accounting term. It is the listings on a company’s financial statement of the obligations to pay off short term debt. This is most often in the form of bills for materials and services received and short-term loans. It also includes things like accrued payroll expenses Read more…