“C” Lean Terminology
Lean Terminology from The Continuous Improvement Companion
Lean Terms
Current State Value Stream Map
The current state value stream map provides a 30,000-foot snapshot of how an organization operates. One of the unique aspects of this tool compared to others is that it shows the flow of both materials and information. This tool is extremely useful for a few reasons: It provides eye-opening insight Read more…
Lean Terms
Cooperation
Cooperation is the act of tailoring your activities to work with someone else’s in order to achieve a specific result. Cooperative relationships are generally informal. They tend to be successful because there is overlap in what both parties want to achieve-the intersection of both of their goals. While all parties Read more…
Lean Terms
Change Resistance
Overcoming Resistance to Change in a Lean Company The term “resistance to change” is commonly used in discussions about Lean. It simply means that people are set in their ways, and often don’t want to modify their routines. Surprisingly, this change resistance doesn’t just occur when people who like their Read more…
Lean Terms
Cause and Effect / Fishbone Diagram / Ishikawa Diagram
A cause and effect diagram is a structured, graphical representation of the possible causes to a given effect. The purpose of the CE diagram is to provide clarity about the nature of problems. Complicated problems tend to have many contributing factors. The relationships of these potential causes jump out when Read more…
Lean Terms
Cellular Manufacturing System
In general, batch manufacturing (the opposite of a cellular manufacturing system) is oriented around a process. You might have a cutting group, a welding group, a grinding group, etc. Each workgroup is structured based on what they do. These clusters of machines produce long runs of a product according to Read more…
Lean Terms
Consistency
The definition of consistency (for Lean) is the ability to repeat a process over and over and get the same results every time. Although it is not exclusively a Lean term, consistency is a critical component of Standard Work. Why is it important to continuous improvement? Consistency in processes is Read more…
Lean Terms
Cross-Training
Cross-training employees is exactly what it sounds like—multiple people trained on each job, and each person trained on multiple jobs. Cross-training employees provides flexibility. It allows leaders to shift people around to cover for breaks, vacations, and illnesses. It also allows leaders to adjust staffing when there are shifts in Read more…
Lean Terms
Computers
Not that many years ago, people could choose not to use computers. In fact, many people did not have access to a computer at home or at work. But things have changed. According to Statista, as of 2019, 89.3% of US households have a computer. And many of the last Read more…
Lean Terms
Complexity
Complexity is the state of having many interconnected parts. It is anything that has a lot of intricacy to it. The word has a negative connotation to it in Lean. So, what is excessive complexity from a Lean perspective? It is adding more to a process than is needed. It Read more…