CLC flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Takt time
- Available production time divided by customer demand. It sets the pace the value stream must meet and is the reference for balancing work and sizing kanban loops.
- Cycle time
- The time between one unit leaving a process and the next unit leaving it. Comparing cycle time to takt time reveals the constraint and imbalance in the stream.
- Lead time
- Total elapsed time a unit spends in the value stream, including queue and waiting. By Little's Law, lead time equals work in process divided by throughput.
- Value-added activity
- A step that changes form, fit, or function of the product in a way the customer would pay for, done right the first time. Everything else is waste or necessary waste.
- Eight wastes
- Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects, and Skills underutilized. Overproduction is widely considered the worst because it creates the others.
- Flow efficiency
- Value-added time divided by total lead time, expressed as a percentage. Batch-and-queue value streams typically score below five percent, showing most time is waiting.
- Type 1 muda
- Necessary non-value-added activity, such as regulatory inspection or transport that cannot yet be eliminated. It is tolerated short term and attacked after pure waste.
- Current-state map
- A drawing of the existing value stream showing customer demand, process boxes with cycle and changeover times, uptime, and inventory triangles between processes.
- Future-state map
- A target drawing built to takt time, using continuous flow where possible, pull systems where flow is impossible, and a single pacemaker process for scheduling.
- Inventory days
- Inventory quantity divided by daily customer requirement. Converting each inventory triangle to days puts all queues on one comparable scale.
- Pacemaker process
- The most downstream continuous-flow process in the value stream. It is the only point scheduled; every upstream process is pulled from it, not pushed.
- Kaizen burst
- A callout on a value stream map marking an improvement opportunity. Each should carry an owner, a target condition, and a due date to be actionable.
- Spaghetti diagram
- A drawing that traces the physical path of operators or material through the work area. It exposes transport and motion waste hidden inside process boxes.
- Little's Law
- Lead time equals work in process divided by throughput. It lets a team predict how cutting WIP will shorten lead time without changing process speed.
- Continuous flow
- Moving one unit at a time between co-located processes at takt time, with no queue between them. It is preferred over pull wherever processes can be linked.
- Kanban card
- A signal authorizing upstream replenishment when downstream consumes material. Cards cap work in process and make consumption, not forecast, the trigger for production.
- Two-bin system
- A replenishment method where material is drawn from the first bin until empty, which triggers reorder while the second bin supplies demand during lead time.
- Supermarket pull system
- A controlled inventory buffer where downstream withdraws what it needs and upstream replenishes only what was withdrawn. It decouples a fast pacemaker from a slower supplier.
- FIFO lane
- A capped, sequenced queue between two processes with matched but unequal cycles. It limits inventory and preserves order without a full supermarket.
- Heijunka
- Leveling of product mix and volume over a fixed interval so upstream processes see steady demand. It reduces batch size and smooths the pull signal.
- Pitch
- Pack-out quantity multiplied by takt time. It is the interval at which the pacemaker withdraws and is scheduled, tying production rhythm to customer demand.
- PDCA cycle
- Plan a target and current condition, Do a trial, Check results against the target, Act to standardize or re-plan. It is the underlying loop of all kaizen.
- A3 problem solving
- A one-page story covering background, current condition, target condition, root cause, countermeasures, plan, and follow-up. It forces concise thinking and shared understanding.
- Five Whys
- Asking why repeatedly to move from a symptom to a systemic root cause. A sound chain ends at a cause the team can act on, not at operator error.
- Fishbone diagram
- A cause-and-effect diagram sorting possible causes into Man, Machine, Material, Method, Measurement, and environment. It broadens the search before data narrows it.
- Standard work
- The documented current best method defined by takt time, work sequence, and standard in-process stock. It is the baseline against which every improvement is measured.
- SMED
- Single-minute exchange of dies: separating internal from external setup tasks and converting internal work to external. The target is changeover under ten minutes.
- OEE
- Overall equipment effectiveness equals availability times performance times quality. World-class is often cited near 85 percent, combining 90, 95, and 99 percent factors.
- Rolled throughput yield
- The product of each process step's first pass yield. It shows the true probability a unit passes the whole stream without rework or scrap.
- Gemba walk
- A leader's visit to the actual place where work happens to observe the process and ask questions. It develops people rather than auditing or blaming them.
- Value-stream manager
- The owner of end-to-end flow and lead time across functional boundaries. The role crosses departments that a traditional functional manager does not control.
- Hoshin kanri
- Policy deployment that cascades breakthrough objectives into annual plans and daily management. Catchball is the two-way negotiation of targets between levels.