[B]Hello friends,
1. The 5S’s are:
- Seiri (整理): Sorting. Refers to the practice of going through all the tools, materials, etc., in the work area and keeping only essential items. Everything else is stored or discarded. This leads to fewer hazards and less clutter to interfere with productive work.
- Seiton (整頓): Simplifying. Focuses on the need for an orderly workplace. "Orderly" in this sense means arranging the tools and equipment in an order that promotes work flow. Tools and equipment should be kept where they will be used, and the process should be ordered in a manner that eliminates extra motion.
- Seisō (清掃): Sweeping, Systematic Cleaning, or Shining. Indicates the need to keep the workplace clean as well as neat. Cleaning in Japanese companies is a daily activity. At the end of each shift, the work area is cleaned up and everything is restored to its place, making it easy to know what goes where and to know when everything is where it should be are essential here. The key point is that maintaining cleanliness should be part of the daily work - not an occasional activity initiated when things get too messy.
- Seiketsu (清潔): Standardizing. This refers to standardized work practices. It refers to more than standardized cleanliness (otherwise this would mean essentially the same as "systemized cleanliness"). This means operating in a consistent and standardized fashion. Everyone knows exactly what his or her responsibilities are. In part this follows from Seiton where the order of a workplace should reflect the process of work, these imply standardized work practice and workstation layout.
- Shitsuke (躾): Sustaining. Refers to maintaining and reviewing standards. Once the previous 4S’s have been established they become the new way to operate. Maintain the focus on this new way of operating, and do not allow a gradual decline back to the old ways of operating. However, when an issue arises such as a suggested improvement or a new way of working, or a new tool, or a new output requirement then a review of the first 4S’s is appropriate.
2. Andon is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem. The centerpiece is a signboard incorporating signal lights to indicate which workstation has the problem. The alert can be activated manually by a worker using a pullcord or button, or may be activated automatically by the production equipment itself. The system will include a means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Modern alert systems will incorporate audio alarms and text or other displays.
An Andon system is one of the principal elements of the Jidoka quality-control method pioneered by Toyota and now part of the Lean methodology. It gives the worker the ability to stop production when a defect is found, and immediately call for assistance. Common reasons for manual activation of the Andon are part shortage, defect created or found, tool malfunction, or the existence of a safety problem. Work is stopped until a solution has been found. The alerts may be logged to a database so that they can be studied as part of a continuous-improvement program.
3. Autonomation describes a feature of machine design to effect the principle of jidoka used in the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Lean manufacturing. It may be described as "intelligent automation" or "automation with a human touch." This type of automation implements some supervisory functions rather than production functions. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops and the worker will stop the production line. Autonomation prevents the production of defective products, eliminates overproduction and focuses attention on understanding the problem and ensuring that it never recurs. It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles:
- Detect the abnormality.
- Stop.
- Fix or correct the immediate condition.
- Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.
4. Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) is the meta process for most management systems (Business Process Management, Quality Management, Project Management). It has its origin in Kaizen (the translation of kai (“change”) zen (“good”) is ”improvement”). This method became famous by the book of Masaaki Imai “Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success.”
- The core principle of CIP is the (self) reflection of processes.
- The purpose of CIP is the identification, reduction and elimination of suboptimal processes.
- The emphasis of CIP is on incremental, continuous steps, avoiding quantum leaps.
5. Gemba is a Japanese term meaning "the place where the truth can be found." Others may call it "the value proposition."
6. Gembutsu is a Japanese word meaning “real thing” and it is a component of the Three Reals as related to lean manufacturing (or Toyota Production System).
This is the Japanese mindset teaching that when there is a problem somewhere (on the shop floor of a factory for example), one should get as close to the problem as possible before proposing a solution. By observing the actual process or problem at the actual place where it is occurring, the problem solver is able to obtain actual data or facts, which will improve the chances for a better solution. This is in contrast to the Western thinking in which managers make decisions in a remote location (like behind a desk), armed only with second-hand information from others.
7. Genchi Genbutsu means "go and see for yourself" and it is an integral part of the Toyota Production System. It refers to the fact that any information about a process will be simplified and abstracted from its context when reported. This has often been one of the key reasons why solutions designed away from the process seem inappropriate.
8. Go-nin Gumi is a group consisting of five people with the aim to improve a product or develop a new product.
This practice in Japan is also known as a quality circle or creativity circle.
The Gonin Gumi was also a street gang that was active until about 2003 in the Edogawa, Harajuku, and Setagaya areas of Tokyo. Name was taken from the term above, but the products and methods in this case were street fighting, petty thievery, covert methods of killing, drug smuggling, etc. While the Gonin Gumi disappeared, their name is still quite well known in underworld circles as an extremely brutal and ruthless street gang.
9. Gōdō kaisha abbreviated GK, is a type of business organization in Japan modeled after the American limited liability company (LLC). It is a corporation with full limited liability for all investors but has a simplified internal structure like that of a partnership.
10. Heijunka is a Japanese term that refers to a system of production smoothing designed to achieve a more even and consistent flow of work. Heijunka as a concept is closely related to lean production and just-in-time manufacturing.
Heijunka means two different, but related, things. One is the leveling of production by volume. The other is leveling production by product type or mix.
11. Heijunka box is a visual scheduling tool used in heijunka, a Japanese concept for achieving a smoother production flow. While heijunka refers to the concept of achieving production smoothing, the heijunka box is the name of a specific tool used in achieving the aims of heijunka.
The heijunka box is generally a wall schedule that is divided into a grid of boxes or a set of 'pigeon-holes'/rectangular receptacles. Each column of boxes represents a specific period of time, lines are drawn down the schedule/grid to visually break the schedule into columns of individual shifts or days or weeks. Colored cards representing individual jobs (referred to as kanban cards) are placed on the heijunka box to provide a visual representation of the upcoming production runs.
The heijunka box makes it easy to see what type of jobs are queued for production and for when they are scheduled. Workers on the process remove the kanban cards for the current period from the box to know what to do. These cards will be passed to another section when they process the related job.
12. An intermediary corporation is a type of corporation existing under Japanese law.
There are two types of intermediary corporations. Limited liability intermediary corporations are designed to resemble yūgen kaisha (limited companies) in formation and function, while unlimited liability intermediary corporations are closer to gomei kaisha (general partnership corporations).
13. The Japanese yen is the currency of Japan. It is the third most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro, and the pound sterling. The ISO 4217 codes for the yen are JPY and 392. The romanized symbol is ¥ while in Japanese it is also written with the kanji 円. While not a usage specific to currency, large quantities of yen are often counted in multiples of 10,000 (man, 万) in the same way as values in the United States are often quoted or rounded off to hundreds or thousands.
14. Kabushiki kaisha or kabushiki gaisha (lit. "stock companies") are a type of business corporation (kaisha?) defined under Japanese law.
15. Kaizen (Japanese for "change for the better" or "improvement"; the common English usage is "continual improvement"). In the context of this article, kaizen refers to a workplace 'quality' strategy and is often associated with the Toyota Production System and related to various quality-control systems, including methods of W. Edwards Deming.
Kaizen aims to eliminate waste (as defined by Joshua Isaac Walters "activities that add
1. The 5S’s are:
- Seiri (整理): Sorting. Refers to the practice of going through all the tools, materials, etc., in the work area and keeping only essential items. Everything else is stored or discarded. This leads to fewer hazards and less clutter to interfere with productive work.
- Seiton (整頓): Simplifying. Focuses on the need for an orderly workplace. "Orderly" in this sense means arranging the tools and equipment in an order that promotes work flow. Tools and equipment should be kept where they will be used, and the process should be ordered in a manner that eliminates extra motion.
- Seisō (清掃): Sweeping, Systematic Cleaning, or Shining. Indicates the need to keep the workplace clean as well as neat. Cleaning in Japanese companies is a daily activity. At the end of each shift, the work area is cleaned up and everything is restored to its place, making it easy to know what goes where and to know when everything is where it should be are essential here. The key point is that maintaining cleanliness should be part of the daily work - not an occasional activity initiated when things get too messy.
- Seiketsu (清潔): Standardizing. This refers to standardized work practices. It refers to more than standardized cleanliness (otherwise this would mean essentially the same as "systemized cleanliness"). This means operating in a consistent and standardized fashion. Everyone knows exactly what his or her responsibilities are. In part this follows from Seiton where the order of a workplace should reflect the process of work, these imply standardized work practice and workstation layout.
- Shitsuke (躾): Sustaining. Refers to maintaining and reviewing standards. Once the previous 4S’s have been established they become the new way to operate. Maintain the focus on this new way of operating, and do not allow a gradual decline back to the old ways of operating. However, when an issue arises such as a suggested improvement or a new way of working, or a new tool, or a new output requirement then a review of the first 4S’s is appropriate.
2. Andon is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem. The centerpiece is a signboard incorporating signal lights to indicate which workstation has the problem. The alert can be activated manually by a worker using a pullcord or button, or may be activated automatically by the production equipment itself. The system will include a means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Modern alert systems will incorporate audio alarms and text or other displays.
An Andon system is one of the principal elements of the Jidoka quality-control method pioneered by Toyota and now part of the Lean methodology. It gives the worker the ability to stop production when a defect is found, and immediately call for assistance. Common reasons for manual activation of the Andon are part shortage, defect created or found, tool malfunction, or the existence of a safety problem. Work is stopped until a solution has been found. The alerts may be logged to a database so that they can be studied as part of a continuous-improvement program.
3. Autonomation describes a feature of machine design to effect the principle of jidoka used in the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Lean manufacturing. It may be described as "intelligent automation" or "automation with a human touch." This type of automation implements some supervisory functions rather than production functions. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops and the worker will stop the production line. Autonomation prevents the production of defective products, eliminates overproduction and focuses attention on understanding the problem and ensuring that it never recurs. It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles:
- Detect the abnormality.
- Stop.
- Fix or correct the immediate condition.
- Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.
4. Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) is the meta process for most management systems (Business Process Management, Quality Management, Project Management). It has its origin in Kaizen (the translation of kai (“change”) zen (“good”) is ”improvement”). This method became famous by the book of Masaaki Imai “Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success.”
- The core principle of CIP is the (self) reflection of processes.
- The purpose of CIP is the identification, reduction and elimination of suboptimal processes.
- The emphasis of CIP is on incremental, continuous steps, avoiding quantum leaps.
5. Gemba is a Japanese term meaning "the place where the truth can be found." Others may call it "the value proposition."
6. Gembutsu is a Japanese word meaning “real thing” and it is a component of the Three Reals as related to lean manufacturing (or Toyota Production System).
This is the Japanese mindset teaching that when there is a problem somewhere (on the shop floor of a factory for example), one should get as close to the problem as possible before proposing a solution. By observing the actual process or problem at the actual place where it is occurring, the problem solver is able to obtain actual data or facts, which will improve the chances for a better solution. This is in contrast to the Western thinking in which managers make decisions in a remote location (like behind a desk), armed only with second-hand information from others.
7. Genchi Genbutsu means "go and see for yourself" and it is an integral part of the Toyota Production System. It refers to the fact that any information about a process will be simplified and abstracted from its context when reported. This has often been one of the key reasons why solutions designed away from the process seem inappropriate.
8. Go-nin Gumi is a group consisting of five people with the aim to improve a product or develop a new product.
This practice in Japan is also known as a quality circle or creativity circle.
The Gonin Gumi was also a street gang that was active until about 2003 in the Edogawa, Harajuku, and Setagaya areas of Tokyo. Name was taken from the term above, but the products and methods in this case were street fighting, petty thievery, covert methods of killing, drug smuggling, etc. While the Gonin Gumi disappeared, their name is still quite well known in underworld circles as an extremely brutal and ruthless street gang.
9. Gōdō kaisha abbreviated GK, is a type of business organization in Japan modeled after the American limited liability company (LLC). It is a corporation with full limited liability for all investors but has a simplified internal structure like that of a partnership.
10. Heijunka is a Japanese term that refers to a system of production smoothing designed to achieve a more even and consistent flow of work. Heijunka as a concept is closely related to lean production and just-in-time manufacturing.
Heijunka means two different, but related, things. One is the leveling of production by volume. The other is leveling production by product type or mix.
11. Heijunka box is a visual scheduling tool used in heijunka, a Japanese concept for achieving a smoother production flow. While heijunka refers to the concept of achieving production smoothing, the heijunka box is the name of a specific tool used in achieving the aims of heijunka.
The heijunka box is generally a wall schedule that is divided into a grid of boxes or a set of 'pigeon-holes'/rectangular receptacles. Each column of boxes represents a specific period of time, lines are drawn down the schedule/grid to visually break the schedule into columns of individual shifts or days or weeks. Colored cards representing individual jobs (referred to as kanban cards) are placed on the heijunka box to provide a visual representation of the upcoming production runs.
The heijunka box makes it easy to see what type of jobs are queued for production and for when they are scheduled. Workers on the process remove the kanban cards for the current period from the box to know what to do. These cards will be passed to another section when they process the related job.
12. An intermediary corporation is a type of corporation existing under Japanese law.
There are two types of intermediary corporations. Limited liability intermediary corporations are designed to resemble yūgen kaisha (limited companies) in formation and function, while unlimited liability intermediary corporations are closer to gomei kaisha (general partnership corporations).
13. The Japanese yen is the currency of Japan. It is the third most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro, and the pound sterling. The ISO 4217 codes for the yen are JPY and 392. The romanized symbol is ¥ while in Japanese it is also written with the kanji 円. While not a usage specific to currency, large quantities of yen are often counted in multiples of 10,000 (man, 万) in the same way as values in the United States are often quoted or rounded off to hundreds or thousands.
14. Kabushiki kaisha or kabushiki gaisha (lit. "stock companies") are a type of business corporation (kaisha?) defined under Japanese law.
15. Kaizen (Japanese for "change for the better" or "improvement"; the common English usage is "continual improvement"). In the context of this article, kaizen refers to a workplace 'quality' strategy and is often associated with the Toyota Production System and related to various quality-control systems, including methods of W. Edwards Deming.
Kaizen aims to eliminate waste (as defined by Joshua Isaac Walters "activities that add
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