What are lean systems?
Operations systems that maximize the value added by each of a firm’s activities by removing unnecessary activities and delays.
What is just-in-time?
A management philosophy which suggests that customer demand can be met while eliminating all forms of waste and non-value-added activities and continuously improving value-added activities.
What is the Toyota Production System (TPS)?
A manufacturing philosophy developed by Toyota to produce high-quality vehicles efficiently, by eliminating waste and continuously improving processes.
What is muda?
Waste.
What are the 8 kinds of muda?
-Overproduction
-Inappropriate Processing
-Long waiting
-Transportation
-Motion
-Inventory
-Defects
-Under-utilization of employees
What are the benefits of the JIT system?
-Shorter customer wait times
-Higher employee productivity
-Higher utilization rates
-Lower inventory costs
What are the two key characteristics of lean supply chains?
-Close supplier ties
-Small batch sizes
What are close supplier ties?
-Low inventory = frequent, small deliveries from suppliers.
-Less tolerance for poor quality or late deliveries.
-Requires trust.
-Local suppliers generally preferred, shorter lead times = less safety stock.
What are small batch sizes?
Reduce cycle inventory, which decreases holding costs and manufacturing costs.
What is the pull method?
A process method in which customer demand activates production of the item.
What is workforce flexibility?
Allows workers to be shifted between workstations to alleviate bottle neck.
What are some pros of job rotation?
Can alleviate boredom, support retention, and improve understanding of the process.
What are some examples of quality at the source in which employees are their own quality inspectors?
-Poka-yoke
-Jidoka
-Andon
What is Poke-Yoke
A technique used to prevent errors before they happen or make them easy to immediately detect and correct.
What is Jidoka?
The ability of machine or operators to detect problems automatically and stop the production process to prevent defects.
What is Andon?
A visual/auditory signal to communicate the need for help to resolve a problem. Quickly raise and respond to issues, improve communication and reduce downtime.
What is uniform loading?
Designing your system so daily load on individual workstations and daily demand for resources is basically consistent.
What is Take time?
Cycle time of the process needed to match the rate of production to the rate of sales or demand.
What is the formula for Takt time?
Available per shift/Demand per shift
What is Heijunka?
The levelling of production by both volume and product mix.
What is the mixed-model assembly?
A type of assembly that produces a mix of models in smaller batches.
What are the benefits of the mixed-model assembly?
-Responds faster to customer demand.
-Reduces lead time and finished goods inventory.
-Supports JIT and variety without big batches.
What is standardization?
Standardization of activities and components (through product part commonality/modularity) can all support efficiency gains.
What are the 5 S’s for maintaining a productive workstation?
Seiri - Sort
Seiton - Set in order
Seiso - Shine
Seiketsu - Standardize
Shitsuke - Sustain
