14 points of quality |
A 14 point approach to total quality management developed by W. Edwards Deming. |
business system |
A means of collecting and disseminating important data about the company. Business systems include financial reporting systems. |
catchball |
Also known as nemawashi. The back-and-forth exchange of ideas between management and employees. |
closed-loop system |
A method of controlling a variable by making adjustments based on feedback. |
constancy of purpose |
One of the 14 points of quality proposed by W. Edwards Deming. Constancy of purpose stresses the importance of maintaining the company vision over the long term. |
cost |
The amount of money used to produce a product or service. |
cost accounting |
A type of managerial accounting that stresses identifying, measuring, and controlling costs. |
DMAIC |
A six step system for process improvement. DMAIC stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. |
enterprise |
A unit that is organized around a single purpose. A lean enterprise is a company that expands lean practices to include the entire supply chain. |
feedback |
Information sent back into the control system that allows actual performance to be compared to planned performance. |
financial reporting system |
A type of business system for collecting and disseminating financial data about the company. |
flow |
The movement of a product, process, or information through the value stream. |
focus on results |
An employee's ability to understand the goal he/she is working toward, work to improve the process, and measure his/her progress toward achieving that goal. |
green |
An ideology that stresses minimizing negative impact on the environment through recycling, reduced consumption, and reduced waste. |
holistic thinking |
An approach that emphasizes the relationship between parts and the whole. |
hoshin planning |
A management process that aligns--both vertically and horizontally--an organization's functions and activities with its strategic objectives. Also known as policy deployment and strategy deployment. |
infrastructure |
The foundation or supporting elements of an entity. |
lean enterprise |
A company that expands lean practices to include the entire supply chain. |
local optimization |
The practice of taking responsibility only for a specific area within the organization and maximizing one's individual results at the expense of the whole. |
nemawashi |
Also known as catchball. The back-and-forth exchange of ideas between management and employees. |
part-whole relationship |
The idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. |
Plan-Do-Check-Act |
PDCA. A four-step process used in lean for continuous improvement. |
policy deployment |
A management process that aligns an organization's functions and activities with its strategic objectives. |
revenue |
The income received from sales before any expenses are paid. |
social responsibility |
The recognition that a company is part of a larger community and the activities of the company have an impact beyond its four walls. |
standardized work |
The act of defining a norm to be conformed to or regulating a process. The transition to lean requires standardization of all aspects of the production process. |
supply chain |
A complex series of exchanges between multiple companies involved in obtaining raw materials, transforming those materials into a product, and delivering the finished product to the customer. |
system |
A set of interdependent entities that combine to form an integrated whole. |
systemic thinking |
Considering the "big picture" and making decisions for the good of the whole organization rather than for the good of the individual. |
value added |
Any part of the production process that improves the product for the customer. For a process to be value-added, a customer must be willing to pay for it. |
value stream mapping |
The process of creating a visual layout of all the processes required to make a product. |
vision statement |
An expression of what the organization hopes to accomplish or become. |
visual management |
The placement in view of all tools, parts, production activities, and indicators of production system performance, so the status of the system can be understood at a glance by everyone involved. |
W. Edwards Deming |
A leader in the Japanese post-war industrial revival and total quality management in the U.S. |
waste |
Any thing or process that does not add value to a product. The goal of lean is to eliminate waste. |