Lean Terms from the Continuous Improvement Companion
Available-to-Promise, or ATP is a logistics function, usually of ERP (enterprise resource planning) or MRP (manufacturing resource planning) software, that allows a person or system taking an order to commit to a delivery date for a customer. The algorithms within the software will determine how those dates are calculated, and Read more…
AME is a non-profit organization based out of Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Created in 1985, it currently (2020) has 4,000 members. It offers training and other resources intended to create enterprise excellence, with Lean thinking specifically mentioned. https://www.ame.org/
AQQ is a non-profit based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It lists its mission as: ASQ empowers people, communities, and organizations of the world to achieve excellence through quality. ASQ claims members in 130+ countries. It is difficult to find current enrollment numbers, but it reportedly had 80,000 members in 2013. Read more…
“Average” is the layperson’s way of saying arithmetic mean. It is one of the measures of central tendency and is determined by taking the sum of all the data points in the set divided by the number of data points in the set. Average is a measure of central tendency Read more…
Asynchronous learning is the concept of teaching the same material to students at different times or places. It is also referred to as location independent learning. The format of this material can vary. It is commonly recorded video or audio programs but can be virtually any medium. Asynchronous learning does Read more…
The Analyze Phase of Six Sigma is the third phase of the DMAIC process. It is the phase where the relationship between the variables and outputs are established and quantified. This relationship is often called the ‘transfer function’ and is represented as Y=f(X). Y is the output and is determined 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…
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…
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…