Heijunka is the Japanese term for level-loading or production leveling. It is intended to smooth out the peaks and valleys of customer demand into something flatter to create conditions that make standardization easier. It also stabilizes the product mix to support Standard Work. Heijunka, pronounced High-June-Kuh, is a workaround for Read more…
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…
An andon light is one of the most common forms of visual management that is used in Lean. It is a staple in the bag of Lean tools because it is highly effective at keeping operations running smoothly. In Lean, the term “andon” most often refers to a signaling system Read more…
Literally translated, “gemba” means “the real place”. To experienced practitioners of Lean, this means the place where work is actually being done or value is being created. NOTE: You may also hear the term as genba, with an “N”. Those who focus more on the traditional manufacturing roots of Lean Read more…
The 7 wastes is one of the most important continuous improvement terms you will hear. Most of the Lean tools, at their core, focus on reducing waste to improve flow. The seven wastes provide a systematic way to categorize problems and identify improvement priorities. When assessing a process, looking for Read more…
Lean Six Sigma is the combination of Lean and Six Sigma into a single business philosophy. Lean is commonly thought of as a way to improve process speed. Six Sigma is primarily considered a quality tool. In truth, though, the two both share a lot of the same tools, and Read more…
A good definition of poka yoke is simply “mistake proofing”. Of note, the term is of Japanese origin and is one of the handful of the more commonly used Japanese terms that have become mainstream in Lean circles. Poka yokes keep processes from producing errors. Preventing errors obviously improves quality, Read more…
Overproduction is one of the seven wastes of Lean. It is the act of making a product or performing a service before the downstream customer asks for it. Overproduction is one of the leading causes of excess inventory. Overproduction is prevalent in push systems where upstream processes build according to Read more…
In Lean, Standard Work is the cornerstone of any continuous improvement effort. It locks in gains and provides a foundation for future advances. It helps companies reach their improvement targets, but also provides a stable, reasonable working environment for frontline employees. Learning how to standardize a process using this tool Read more…
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, comes from observations made by a 19th century Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto. It simply says that just a small number of causes (the critical few), determines the majority of the effects. For example, several difficult clients might take up most Read more…
One of the basic tenets of continuous improvement is respect for people. A way to do this is to look for and eliminate the tasks that are dirty, dumb, or dangerous. Unfortunately, people have become used to doing tasks that have some or all of these components. Think of the Read more…
In nearly all continuous improvement projects, it is important to know how long work takes to accomplish, known as the cycle time of the process. So, what is cycle time? Lean defines cycle time as the time it takes to do a process. It includes the time from when an Read more…