print send to friend

Glossary of Terms

This Glossary contains terms commonly referenced by Lean Practitioners, including Kaufman Global's proprietary best practice terminology. By no means complete, it is regularly evolving. Examples, comments, and expanded explanations have been included for many of the terms listed to enhance overall understanding.

Terms listed may have several variations and alternate meanings. We invite readers to suggest improved definitions. To submit a recommendation, click here. 

Terminology

20 Keys® | Kaufman Global's proprietary method for focusing an intact workgroup on the 20 most important elements of how it is operating versus world-class (or better) standards. The method provides an assessment of current status, management-determined future performance levels and a month to month plan for improvement. It also provides a vision for the future to align each workgroup, operation and function.  

5S |  A method for organizing a workplace, especially a shared workplace (like a shop floor or an office area), and keeping it organized. The 5Ss are used to eliminate waste and increase efficiency. Some companies add safety and call it 6S. The Ss are derived from the Japanese words:

1. seiri = sorting: Going through all tools, materials, etc.., in the work area and keeping only essential items. Everything else is stored or discarded. This leads to fewer hazards and less clutter to interfere with productive work.
   
2. seiton = simplifying, or straighten: Focuses on the need for an orderly workplace. "Orderly" in this sense means arranging the tools and equipment in an order that promotes work flow. Tools and equipment should be kept where they will be used, and the process should be ordered in a manner that eliminates extra motion.
3. seisō = sweeping, systematic cleaning, or shining: Indicates the need to keep the workplace clean as well as neat. Cleaning in Japanese companies is a daily activity. At the end of each shift, the work area is cleaned up and everything is restored to its place. Making it easy to know what goes where and to know when everything is where it should be are essential here. The key point is that maintaining cleanliness should be part of the daily work - not an occasional activity initiated when things get too messy.
4. seiketsu = standardizing: This refers to standardized work practices. It refers to more than standardized cleanliness (otherwise this would mean essentially the same as "systemized cleanliness"). This means operating in a consistent and standardized fashion. Everyone knows exactly what his or her responsibilities are. In part this follows from seiton where the order of a workplace should reflect the process of work, these imply standardized work practice and work station layout.
5. shitsuke = sustaining: Refers to maintaining and reviewing standards. Once the previous 4Ss have been established, they become the new way to operate. Maintain the focus on this new way of operating, and do not allow a gradual decline back to old ways. However, when an issue arises such as a suggested improvement, or a new way of working, or a new tool, or a new output requirement, then a review of the first 4Ss is appropriate.

Executive Steering Committee (ESC) |  The ESC typically consists of a site’s senior management team or a subset of it (five to nine people are best). The ESC directs and leads all change efforts with chartered change teams, from moving an office, to installing new computers, to introducing a new product or service. The ESC is not concerned with the day-to-day work of the organization; the existing management team handles this. Change teams brief the ESC once a week for about five minutes. ESC members also select and prioritize implementation initiatives, allocate resources, select team leaders and members (with the team leader), coach and guide the teams, and resolve issues off-line from the ESC meeting.

Lean (or Lean Manufacturing) |  A name given to the overall operational system that is characterized by extensive use of standardized methods to remove waste. The body of knowledge, leadership behaviors and the social / organizational reality that create an environment in which every employee at every level is provided with the focus, structure, discipline, and ownership required to generate continuous improvement, commitment, pride, and enthusiasm to help the organization excel. Processes require less human effort, capital investment, floor space, materials and time in all aspects of the operation. Simply, the fervent elimination of waste.

Lean Daily Management System® (LDMS) |  Kaufman Global's proprietary management system for small workgroups and the primary means of sustaining and expanding the results of implementation. There are seven key elements of LDMS. The first five are for the intact workgroup and the last two are for their supervisors / area leaders.

1. primary visual display: A large, permanent bulletin board that operates as a daily status and improvement planning display for a single intact workgroup. It displays key indicators of the group’s performance (e.g., productivity, defects, customer satisfaction, attendance, skill versatility and safety), posted and updated on a daily basis.
2. daily workgroup meeting: A tightly facilitated, loosely scripted, structured, daily, stand-up meeting held by members of an intact workgroup held in front of the group’s primary visual display and lasting no more than ten minutes. This meeting does several very critical things: (a) it brings the workgroup together as a team; (b) it provides every person in the workgroup with the same picture of what is going on; (c) it focuses each person on the metrics and key performance indicators that are critical to management; and (d) it generates a sense of ownership among the team about their area and processes. 
3. Kaizen action sheet system: A method for capturing small, low-tech improvement ideas within an intact workgroup that they can control and implement with little or no support
4. 20 Keys® long-term improvement plan: A method for focusing an intact workgroup on the 20 most important elements of how it is operating versus world-class (or better) standards. The method provides an assessment of current status, management-determined future performance levels and a month to month plan for improvement. It also provides a vision for the future to align each workgroup, operation and function.
5. weekly one-hour continuous improvement meeting: Each intact workgroup requires a weekly problem-solving, process improvement meeting. The group needs time to implement their improvements / 5S and solve problems.
6. short-interval leadership: The process whereby a workgroup’s leader visits each workgroup member several times a day to see how things are and collect critical metric data and / or provide encouragement.
7. midshift supervisor / area lead coordination meeting: Conduct meeting in front of a PVD for 15-30 minutes to assess the status of each area, manage by abnormality and determine corrective actions.

Lean Leader | A designated, full-time employee, trained and accredited, whose role is to identify waste elimination opportunities and lead team-based waste elimination initiatives in the workplace.

Office Kaizen | Office Kaizen is the term coined by Kaufman Global to refer to the application of Lean / kaizen techniques to non-manufacturing areas or entire organizations. Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning "small, ongoing good" (kai) and "good, for the better" (zen). Kaizen has been defined as "small improvements generated by hands-on works through the application of a variety of structured, low-technology methods." It is a philosophy, a leadership style and a set of tactical tools. Office Kaizen is not a direct translation of Lean production methods to office, or service environments. Rather, it is Kaufman Global's evolution of the best practices of Lean operations, kaizen methods and reengineering approaches into a systematic, repeatable methodology for achieving excellence in non-manufacturing areas.

Rapid Improvement Event | A four-to-five-day, highly structured and coached, intense attack on waste in a process or work area by a small cross-functional team of employees. They focus on designing solutions to meet the well-defined goals in their charter. Rapid Improvements Events can generate tremendous savings in labor, cycle time, and quality.

Six Sigma (6σ) | A statistically based problem-solving methodology for reducing variation within processes. Based on the premise that variations in measurement, fit and timing are common causes of defects, which, in turn, create waste. It uses martial arts terms to describe various levels of expertise of its practitioners, i.e., yellow belt, green belt, black belt, master black belt.

SLIM-IT® | Kaufman Global’s proprietary implementation methodology is a pronunciation of the acronym for structure, Lean Daily Management System®, mentoring, metrics, tools, teamwork, training and technology (or SLMMTTTT), or all the elements required for an organization to implement an initiative, sustain it and continuously improve upon the gains achieved through it.

WIn-Lean® | Kaufman Global's proprietary Wholistic Integrated Lean approach to implementing Lean Manufacturing. WIn-Lean is an integrated, structured implementation approach that dramatically reduces Lean manufacturing implementation time while increasing benefits.