A problem is an unwelcome situation that has a potentially adverse effect. Another way of looking at this is that a problem is a gap between what you think things should be and the reality of what they are. But problems, unfortunately, can mask themselves. Some are simply not obvious. Read more…
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…
Although this is not specifically a Lean term, “issue” is a starting point for many forms of Lean problem solving. An issue is much like a “problem”. It looks like a problem. It smells like a problem. It feels like a problem. Only, it’s not a problem. It’s an issue. Read more…
It takes a lot of discipline to make sure you do a root cause analysis on problems rather than leaping to conclusions about what is going on. The definition of a root cause analysis is simply the act of going through a systematic process to identify the source of a Read more…
Data (the plural form of datum) is essentially information that is not yet in context, or without any applied meaning. For example, if you were told that a particular elephant in a zoo weighed 5,800 pounds, you could comprehend how heavy that is, but it would be hard to act Read more…
Costs are simply our outlays or expenses for which we get something in return. It is most often money, but it can be anything—time, money, or even something that you trade in barter. That expectation of getting something in return, given the assumption of a rational market, always implies a Read more…
Correlation is a statistical term that describes the relationship between two different, measurable factors. The relationship may be positive (same direction—one goes up, the other goes up, like temperature and the number of people on the beach), or negative (like temperature and the number of people wearing coats). The relationship Read more…
Checklists are in rather common use and the general concept of their use is understood by most. But they are commonly misused and there are multiple potential pitfalls with this type of standardization tool. Some checklists require the steps to be completed in a precise sequence; others, like a checklist Read more…
Capital expenses are the costs for fixed assets—the things that are typically carried on the books (reported on financial statements), last longer than a year, and provide recurring value. Buildings, vehicles, and equipment are typically capital expenses. Capital expenses hit the income statement in the form of depreciation. Your company Read more…
Batches are groups of products that go through a process together. Batches work against the Lean principle of flow, because the first parts that are produced have to wait until the rest of the parts are completed before they can all move to the downstream process. Batches tend to drive Read more…
Bar charts are generally used to differentiate between the values of a parameter for buckets of data. The length of the bar shows the relative value of that data point. That just means that the bars represent a group, such as types of fruit in these examples, and the longer Read more…
One of the fundamental tools in any Lean toolkit is 5S. In a nutshell, it entails creating an organized, effective workspace that supports the processes being performed in the area. You Probably Already Use 5S at Home The original 5S terms come from Japanese words: Seiri (Sort): This step entails Read more…