A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U-V W Y
| 5 Whys (5 Ys) | A simple but effective method of analysing and solving problems by asking “why?” five times (or as many times as needed to find the root cause). |
| 5S | The principle of waste elimination through workplace organisation. Derived from the Japanese words seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. In English the 5S are Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise and Sustain. |
| 7 Wastes | There are 7 types of waste that describe all wasteful activity in a production environment. Elimination of the 7 wastes leads to improved profits. The 7 wastes are 1) Overproduction 2) Transportation 3) Motion 4) Waiting 5) Processing 6) Inventory and 7) Defects. |
| A3 Report | This “A3″ sized (420mm x 297mm) form is used at Toyota as a one-sheet problem evaluation, root cause analysis, and corrective action planning tool. |
| Abnormality Management | Being able to see and quickly take action to correct abnormalities (any straying from Standard Work). This is the goal of standardisation and visual management. |
| Activity Based Costing (ABC) | A management accounting system that assigns cost to products based on the resources used to perform a process. |
| Agile Manufacturing | Agile manufacturers must recognise the volatility of change, and put mechanisms in place to deal with it. |
| Andon | A tool of visual management, originating from the Japanese word for lamp. Most commonly, andons are lights placed on machines or on production lines to indicate operation status. |
| Assembly Buffer | The time buffer placed before an assembly operation on non-drum parts where drum components are assembled with non-drum components. |
| Automatic Time | The time when a machine is running on auto cycle and a person does not needed to be there to operate the machine. |
| Autonomation | Stopping a line automatically when a defective part is detected. |