Five Minute Lean Glossary
5S
A method of organising a workplace to improve safety and efficiency. The 5S steps are: Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain.
5 Whys
A method of getting to the root cause of a problem, where we keep asking “why” until the real issue is revealed.
8 Wastes
Also “Muda” in Japanese, the eight wastes note the most common forms of waste in company processes that increase costs and inefficiencies. Our aim in Lean is to eliminate them all. They are: Defects, Over Production, Waiting, Non-use of Time and Talent, Transport, Inventory, Motion, and Excessive Processing. Two additional inefficiencies are Overburden (Muri) and Unevenness (Mura) in a process.
A3
An A3 is a single page that shows the details of a Lean implementation at a glance. It will include a clearly defined problem, then items from the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” cycle with analysis such as root cause diagrams, process maps, action registers and metrics for determining if the implementation is having the desired effect.
A/B Testing or Split Testing
Split testing is the method of testing different versions of the same product, message or process at the same time and gathering the results to determine which works better.
Agile
Agile is a method of implementing a project or change based on short, quick iterations in order to gather feedback as quickly as possible. This allows us to determine if our project is on the right track so we can either continue or adjust.
Andon
A Japanese term for “light” and a part of Visual Management, an Andon is where the status of a process or operation is shown at a glance, using a light, such as with green (for go) or red (for stop) signals.
Autonomation (Jidoka)
Where machines and/or team-mates have the ability to detect when something is wrong and immediately stop work, so the root cause can be found quickly and solved.
Batch Processing
The enemy of Lean and smooth flowing processes, this is a mass production approach where product is created regardless of whether it is required, and often results in overproduction and waste.
Capabilities, the Four
As defined by Steven Spear in “The High Velocity Edge”, the Four Capabilities were found to be in high performing leaders and are as follows: designing their work to reveal problems & opportunities, swarming those problems to solve them and build new knowledge, sharing that knowledge throughout the organisation, and developing the first three skills in everyone else.
Chunking
Chunking is the process of taking a large problem or project and breaking it into chunks to make it easier to solve or implement.
Customer
A “customer” in Lean terms is defined as any process downstream from the current one. The end customer, of course, is the one who ultimately buys a product or service.
Cycle time
The total time it takes to complete a process step within our value stream.
FIFO Lane
First-In-First-Out lane, where items that come in first ultimately go out first.
Fishbone Diagram
Also known as an Ishikawa diagram, this is a method of getting to the root cause of a problem where you note the effect or problem at the “head” of the fish, then the causes you can think of under the “bones” of People, Information, Process or Systems. Similar causes are grouped and whichever group has the most causes is typically looked at first.
Flow
The Flow of a process is how well it moves continuously from upstream to downstream processes. Improving Flow involves reducing wasteful steps or interruptions and improving efficiency from the time a customer places an order to the time a product or service is completed and delivered.
Jidoka
See Autonomation
Gemba
The Gemba is the Japanese term for “Actual Place” and is often used as a single word to describe the front lines where the work is done. In English it can also be spelled Genba. “Walking the Gemba” is a large part of Lean which means we must go to where the work is done to get the real answers and not rely on reports or second hand information.
Just in Time
Just in Time is a system of production that makes and delivers only what is needed, when it is needed. It combines five Lean elements for success: Takt time or customer demand, Continuous Flow, a Pull System, Line Balancing, and removing Waste.
Kaizen and Kaizen Events
Kaizen is the Japanese term for “Improvement” and is most often referred to in English as continuous improvement. A Kaizen meeting or event, therefore, is an improvement meeting where we go through the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” process or the five steps outlined in this book.
Kanban
Literally “sign” or “sign-board” in Japanese, Kanban in its many forms is most used as a trigger for upstream suppliers to produce more product.
Kanban Board
Used in Agile, a Kanban Board is a visual way to manage work and consists of cards with small pieces of work on them assigned to a team-member and moved along columns such as “To Do”, In Progress”, and “Done”. Columns can also be named depending on your own work phases or departments.
Kano Analysis
Kano analysis divides customer feedback (the Voice of the Customer) into Dissatisfiers, Satisfiers and Delighters where the aim is to increase Delighters and remove Dissatisfiers.
Kata
Brought to the world’s attention in “Toyota Kata” by Mike Rother, Kata involves three main steps:
- Grasping the current situation,
- Defining the desired situation, then;
- Moving toward that goal in iterations so as to uncover feedback or obstacles.
LCA Board
A Layered Check Act board is a method of visual management. Usually a board will be at least one to two meters in diameter, and it shows the metrics of a current process measured against the proposed targets. If the metrics are not meeting these targets, then countermeasures are added (often after a Lean initiative) to assist in bringing them into line.
Lead Time
The total time it takes to create your product or service from the moment the customer orders to the time it is delivered, including both Value-Add and Non-Value-Add time.
Line Balancing
Line Balancing is based on the premise that a process is only as fast as its slowest step. Based on this, in many cases we can combine faster processes together, provided they are still faster than Takt time or customer demand. This means we can also split longer steps up to ensure they are under Takt time.
Net Promoter Score
The Net Promoter Score is from the book “The Ultimate Question 2.0”, where we ask our customer “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our product / service to a friend?” The results are often used in conjunction with Kano Analysis.
Overburden (Muri)
Overburden or Muri is where team-mates or equipment are required to work harder, faster or more than is necessary, often because of wasteful steps or processes.
Pareto Chart
A Pareto chart is based on the idea that 80% of results come from approximately 20% of the effort. It shows item measurements in a bar chart, and the cumulative percentage in a line graph overlaying the chart. In this way, we can see which items will have the greatest impact when fixed, and focus on these first.
Poka Yoke
“Error-Proofing” in Japanese, this means putting steps in place to make it impossible to make a mistake. A USB cable and port, or an electric plug is a good example of this.
Problem Charter
Problem charters are often created at the beginning of a larger project. They often include: The stated problem, the current situation, the impact it has, the stakeholders or problem owners and any team members assigned to the problem.
Pull
A Pull System is one where downstream departments signal their needs to upstream activities (often using a Kanban), allowing them to pull work in accordance with demand.
Push
The opposite of Pull, where upstream departments create product regardless of demand, and push it through to their downstream customers. This can result in waste such as over-production, over-burden and over-processing.
Silo
A silo in a company is when a management system, process or department is cut off from the rest of the business or unable to communicate with other sources of company information. This can result in misinformation, miscommunication, slower processes and lower morale.
SIPOC
A SIPOC chart shows the Suppliers, process Inputs, Process steps, process Outputs, and Customers. We can also add Customer Requirements, and Measures of a process as well. It gives a “high level” view of the process steps, and is a good foundation for other tools on larger projects, especially when we need to know the stakeholders involved.
SMED / Quick Changeover Techniques
Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is a process of changing over equipment (or people, stations, or anything else you might think of) from one to another in as little time as possible. It is based on Internal changeover operations that can only be done when the process is stopped, and External operations that can be done while the process is still going. The aim then becomes to convert all Internal changeover operations to External changeover operations to simplify and speed up the changeover process.
SOP
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is a standard, repeatable way of carrying out a process. Often in writing and better still in the form of a checklist, using a SOP ensures staff operate the same way. It makes it easier to train, easier to quality check and helps reduce single points of failure if staff are sick or on holidays.
Spaghetti Diagram
A Spaghetti Diagram is a diagram of a production floor with lines following the product as it travels through the steps or workstations. Often initially a diagram will look like cooked spaghetti as the product goes back and forth and around a workspace. Simplifying this movement can significantly reduce waste.
Supermarket
A Supermarket in Lean terms is a predetermined standard inventory kept to supply a downstream process. Keeping no more than is needed, when a supermarket is empty a Kanban is often sent to the supplier to replenish the standard inventory.
Supplier
Any workstation, department, person or company that is upstream from the current process.
Swim Lane Chart
A flow chart of process steps where departments or stations are noted vertically, and the steps are noted horizontally. In this way, we can clearly see movement between departments and potential wastes.
Takt Time
The product demand time as determined by the Customer. For example if a Customer buys 80 items in an 8 hour work day, our Takt Time is 10 items an hour.
TPM
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a set of techniques to improve usability and longevity of machines. It involves cleaning and repairing, performing error proofing, developing a maintenance database and a standard process for continuing maintenance in the future.
Unevenness (Mura)
Unevenness or “Mura” in an operation is when a process has excessive wait time followed by excessively busy periods. In other words, team-mates are forced to “hurry and then wait”. Not only does Unevenness in a process reduce morale, it is often a wasteful use of team-mates’ time and resources. Unevenness can be reduced by using Line Balancing, working towards One Piece Flow, and reducing Rework in a process.
Value
Value is always defined by the Customer, and in its purest form it is something within a process that a Customer is willing to pay for. For example making a product’s process simpler may not directly add value to a customer, however the cost reduction, speed of delivery, and increase in quality or savings to a customer will.
Value Stream
A Value Stream is the process of creating our product or service – it is the “stream” of process steps that create our product to bring value to the customer.
Value Stream Map
Also known as a VSM, this is the standard method of mapping out a process, often including the Suppliers and Customer, Systems, Process Steps, Process Timings, Rework and any other useful information.
A “Future State VSM” is created when you have analysed a current process and want to show the new process with added value and without the waste.
VOC
The Voice of the Customer (VOC) refers to data captured around customer metrics or feedback.
Work in Process
Also known as Standard Inventory, it is the minimum number of items or parts (including parts in machines or queues) needed to keep a workstation or department flowing smoothly. A Supermarket is a good example of this.
Selected chapters from the story within Five minute Lean:
Check out these selected chapters from the teachings within Five Minute Lean:
This is an excerpt from the book "Five Minute Lean", by David McLachlan - a wonderful book that blends teaching of the tools, culture and philosophy of traditional Lean with a modern-day Lean parable. 
The Philippines is a beautiful place, with beautiful, friendly people. It has clear waters that are just made for sailing, peppered with idyllic islands to visit. Perfect for a holiday? You bet.
Many companies, when first embarking on their Lean journey, will employ a handful of Lean tools around the business in an effort to make it look as though they are doing something.
The methods of Lean have been used to significantly reduce process times in a vast array of businesses, while at the same time increasing quality and reducing costs. A continuing theme when a company wants to implement a Lean transformation, however, is that they only use a few of the tools (or even just one – “5S for everybody!”) so they can feel satisfied straight away and report back to their shareholders saying, “We’ve done it!”
Design for Ease of Use, or DFEU is a term in Lean that is used to create the simplest and most easy-to-use product or process possible.
The seven deadly