The following terms are often incorporated when implementing Lean continuous improvement strategy.
5S | Five steps to workplace organization to achieve greater order, efficiency and discipline. Derived from the Japanese words: seiri (sort), seiton (set in order), seiso (shine), seiketsu (standardize) and shitake (sustain). |
5 Whys | A method of root-cause analysis used in problem solving where “why” is asked repeatedly until the root cause is understood. |
Gemba | Go to where the action occurs and see it to understand it. A gemba walk is a purposeful attempt to learn what is really going on. |
Hansei | Relentless reflection on past conduct and results to learn and take action. A hansei huddle is a short five-minute team meeting with a simple agenda and three questions:
What went well? |
Kaizen | The literal translation is “good change.” A kaizen event is a focused team effort enabling continuous improvement to increase the effectiveness of an activity and to produce more value with less waste. |
Kanban | A visual sign triggering an action. The approximate translation means “card you can see.” |
Muda | Waste or any activity that uses resources but creates no value to the customer. |
PDCA | Plan-do-check-act cycle or Deming circle/cycle/wheel refers to a four-part management method that is the framework for continuous improvement. The PDCA is made up of the following steps:Plan–choose a process and set objectives Do–implement the plan and begin collecting data on the results Check–analyze the results Act–decide what changes to make to achieve your set objectives. |
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