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Lean Terminology

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?
What can we improve?
Who needs help?

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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