Accuracy

The definition of accuracy is essentially having results (data) that is centered on a target value. Statistically speaking, it is how correct the mean value is. It is often confused with “precise.” The layman’s definition of precision is “a measure of how little variation there is in your system”. Lean Read more…

Absences

Absences

Absences are, in a nutshell, times when a person is not present to do their normal work. Absences primarily fall into two categories from a production viewpoint—planned and unplanned. Your company’s HR team may categorize absences in a larger variety of ways, but from the operations standpoint, human resource definitions Read more…

Ambiguity

Ambiguity is the state of uncertainty in meaning. Ambiguity is harmful to Lean companies for several reasons. Ambiguity reduces consistency. If a process is vague, it is hard to follow the same way every time. Ambiguity slows processes down. Requesting clarification breaks the rhythm of a process. Ambiguity misaligns goals. Read more…

allocate money by amortization

Amortization

The concept of amortization is that the initial payment for an intangible asset does not always correspond to the useful life of that asset. For example, let’s assume that your company bought the rights to a brand, such as “Twinkies”. That would be a sizeable expense that has to be Read more…

Aha! Moments

“Aha!” moments are the instances when the ‘light bulb’ comes on. It is the point in time when someone makes the transition from not knowing something to full understanding. Fortunately, “Aha!” moments are often visible on the faces of people experiencing them. Many instructors, especially those mentoring Lean students, live Read more…

Administrative Processes

Administrative processes substantially contribute to a company’s costs. Obviously, it depends on the company, but estimates commonly attribute 60-80% of expenses to administrative processes. Administrative processes are the office tasks that are required to keep a company humming along. Administrative processes include human resources, marketing, and accounting. Basically, anything that Read more…

Assembly Lines

Henry Ford is generally considered to be the inventor of the assembly line. In reality, he should be credited with the transition of the assembly line into the modern version of it. Primitive versions had been around in England for about a century. Henry Ford’s primary improvement was focusing the Read more…

Analysis

Analysis is the deep dive into the details of a problem in order to better understand it. Analysis is a central part of most problem solving methods. In fact, the ‘A’ in DMAIC (from Six Sigma) is Analyze. In the analysis step, one doesn’t necessarily look for solutions, just a Read more…

Audits

The term “audit” generally brings up an image of an IRS accountant knocking on the door. Hopefully at your company, audits don’t bring about such negative feelings. Simply put, audits are checks on that people are supposed to be doing. In most cases, the term “audit” implies some structure to Read more…