Breakthrough planning. A Japanese strategic planning process in which a company develops up to four vision statements that indicate where the company should be in the next five years. Company goals and work plans are developed based on the vision statements. Periodic submitted audits are then conducted to monitor progress.

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis is a method for identifying and analyzing internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats that shape current and future operations and help develop strategic goals

The Lean Implementation Progress Summary is a tool to help sites and divisions quickly assess their Lean progress and “forecast” where they plan to be in the foreseeable future.  The Lean Implementation Progress Summary consists of individual site scorecards and a division scorecard

A Japanese term that means gradual unending improvement by doing little things better and setting and achieving increasingly higher standards. Masaaki Imai made the term famous in his book, Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success.

designed to objectively evaluate a value stream (product line, or product family or business process) or a complete plant from the standpoint of Lean implementation. The Lean Assessment can help any level of management to objectively: (1) appraise the opportunities for waste elimination within a product/process value stream or a plant, (2) monitor results and trends of improvement efforts, and (3) compare different business process streams or plants. 

A process where you list all the SKUs in a column and all the equipment/process in a row;  then for each SKUs select the equipments need to go through. With this you define your Families in order to draw your VSM. 

An arrangement of people, machines, materials and equipment in which the processing steps are placed next to each other in sequential order and through which parts are processed in a continuous flow. The most common cell layout is a U shape.

An alternative to scheduling individual processes, in which the customer process withdraws the items it needs from a supermarket  and the supplying process produces to replenish what was withdrawn; used to avoid push. 

A four-step process for quality improvement. In the first step (plan), a way to effect improvement is developed. In the second step (do), the plan is carried out, preferably on a small scale. In the third step (check), the effects of the plan are observed. In the last step (act), the results are studied to determine what was learned and what can be predicted. The plan-do-check-act cycle is sometimes referred to as the Shewhart cycle, because Walter A. Shewhart discussed the concept in his book Statistical Method From the Viewpoint of Quality Control, and as the Deming cycle, because W. Edwards Deming introduced the concept in Japan. The Japanese subsequently called it the Deming cycle. Also called the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle.

The ability to change tooling and fixtures rapidly (usually within minutes) so multiple products can be run on the same machine.

Is the process of organizing a warehouse to maximize space and efficiency. Slotting can also improve the inventory management processes and reduce overall warehousing costs. Slotting is often organized by SKU number, product type, or any other type of product characteristic.

Arrange your warehouse so that the convenience of storage positions matches the velocity of the products.Location of shipping and receiving and layout/orientation of storage determines which pallet positions are convenient and which are not.

Shows linkages from breakthrough objectives to tactical improvements Shows process steps to do Single Document, Easy Communication

is an acronym derived from the four key responsibilities most typically used: responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. It is used for clarifying and defining roles and responsibilities in cross-functional or departmental projects and processes

A pencil and paper tool used in two stages. First, follow a product’s production path from beginning to end and draw a visual representation of every process in the material and information flows. Second, draw a future state map of how value should flow. The most important map is the future state map.

Gemba Walk is derived from the Japanese word “Gemba” or “Gembutsu” which means “the real place”, so it is often literally defined as the act of seeing where the actual work happens

The act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution.

Five Japanese terms beginning with “s” used to create a workplace suited for visual control and lean production. Seiri (sort) means to separate needed tools, parts and instructions from unneeded materials and to remove the unneeded ones. Seiton (Set in Order) means to neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease of use. Seiso (Shine) means to conduct a cleanup campaign. Seiketsu (standardize) means to conduct seiri, seiton and seiso daily to maintain a workplace in perfect condition. Shitsuke (Sustain) means to form the habit of always following the first four S’s.

places events and actions in "lanes" to delineate a person/group responsible, or a specific subprocess. A swim lane map has three elements: time, people (or job functions), and tasks/processes

A method of leveling production, usually at the final assembly line, that makes just-in-time production possible. It involves averaging both the volume and sequence of different model types on a mixed model production line. Using this method avoids excessive batching of different types of product and volume fluctuations in the same product. Also see “production smoothing.”

Japanese term that means mistake proofing. A poka-yoke device is one that prevents incorrect parts from being made or assembled or easily identifies a flaw or error.

A precise description of each work activity, specifying cycle time, takt time, the work sequence of specific tasks and the minimum inventory of parts on hand needed to conduct the activity. All jobs are organized around human motion to create an efficient sequence without waste. Work organized in such a way is called standard(ized) work. The three elements that make up standard work are takt time, working sequence and standard in-process stock (see individual listings).

A series of methods to ensure that every piece of equipment in a production process is always able to perform its required tasks so that production is never interrupted. The method involves both manufacturing and maintenance working together.