Lean Silver Certification cheat sheet

The five core Lean principles in order: specify value from the customer's perspective, identify the value stream, make value flow, let the customer pull, and pursue perfection.

The three M's of waste: muda (wasteful activity), mura (unevenness or variation in demand or workload), and muri (overburden of people or equipment). Reducing mura and muri prevents muda from being generated.

Taiichi Ohno's seven wastes: overproduction, waiting, transport, over-processing, inventory, motion, and defects. Overproduction is conventionally ranked as the worst because it hides and creates the other six.

The three value-adding tests for any activity: the customer must be willing to pay for it, it must change the form, fit, or function of the product or information, and it must be done right the first time.

Value-stream time categories: value-added time, necessary non-value-added (business-value-added) time, and pure waste. Lead time = processing time + waiting time; value-added ratio = value-added time / lead time.

Takt time = available production time / customer demand rate. It sets the pace the process must match; cycle time is what the process actually achieves, and cycle time must be at or below takt to meet demand.

Push versus pull: a push system schedules work to forecast and relies on inventory buffers; a pull system authorizes production only when a downstream customer consumes, typically via kanban signals.

Jidoka (autonomation) means stopping the process automatically or by operator action when an abnormality occurs so defects are not passed downstream; it is one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System, with just-in-time.

A value stream map covers the full material and information flow for one product family, from supplier through the customer, including production control, scheduling, and information systems.

Standard current-state map data boxes per process: cycle time, changeover time, uptime or availability, batch size, number of operators, available working time, and scrap or first-pass yield.

Inventory between processes is recorded as a count and converted to days of inventory using the formula: inventory days = inventory quantity / daily customer demand.

Lead time is computed by summing inventory days across the stream and adding total processing time; the ladder (timeline) drawn at the bottom of the map shows value-added time above and waiting time below.

Select the product family for mapping using a product-quantity (PQ) analysis or a routing/process-similarity matrix, not by mapping every part number individually.

The future-state map is built by answering standard questions: takt time, finished-goods pull or supermarket, continuous flow where possible, supermarket pull where flow is not possible, the single scheduling point (pacemaker), and leveling (heikenka) of the mix.

The pacemaker process is the most downstream process in the flow that is scheduled; everything upstream is pulled. Scheduling anywhere else creates overproduction.

Value-stream mapping differs from process mapping: a process map details steps inside one operation, while a VSM shows the whole door-to-door flow and the information that controls it.

PDCA (plan-do-check-act) is the underlying cycle for all Lean improvement; the A3 report is a one-page structured artifact that documents a PDCA cycle for a single problem.

The A3 story line, left to right: background, current condition (with data), target condition, root-cause analysis, countermeasures, implementation plan with owners and dates, and follow-up results.

The five whys is a causal-chain technique: ask why repeatedly until the answer identifies a process or system cause that, if changed, prevents recurrence. Stopping at human error is a common failure.

A fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram organizes candidate causes into categories such as man, machine, material, method, measurement, and environment; it generates hypotheses that must be verified with data.

Pareto analysis applies the 80/20 rule: rank problems by frequency or cost and attack the vital few. A Pareto chart is a bar chart sorted descending with a cumulative-percentage line.

Kaizen is small, incremental, low-cost improvement made by the people doing the work; kaikaku is radical or transformational change. Both are legitimate but require different sponsorship.

Standard work is the current best documented method including takt time, work sequence, and standard in-process stock. It is the baseline that makes improvement measurable and is revised when a better method is proven.

Countermeasure versus solution: a countermeasure addresses a verified root cause and is tested for effect; if it does not move the metric, the root cause was wrong and the analysis is revisited.

Respect for people and continuous improvement are the two pillars of the Lean culture; respect means developing problem-solving capability in employees, not merely being courteous.

Go and see (genchi genbutsu) requires leaders to observe the actual process at the actual place with the actual data before making decisions.

Nemawashi is the consensus-building process of informal, pre-meeting discussion with affected parties so that a decision is socialized before the formal decision is made.

Hansei is structured reflection on a completed effort, focused on what the process revealed and what the leader will change, not on assigning blame.

Leader standard work makes leader routines (tiered meetings, gemba walks, audits, coaching cycles) visible and repeatable so management behavior, not just operator behavior, is standardized.

Tiered daily management escalates abnormalities through short, structured meetings (typically team, value stream, and site levels) with defined escalation triggers and response times.

A culture of blame suppresses problem surfacing; psychological safety and a no-blame response to honest error reporting are preconditions for jidoka andon use to work.

Leaders act as coaches using questioning rather than answers: asking what the target condition is, what is actually happening, what obstacles exist, and what the next experiment will be.

Deployment sequence rule: start with a value-stream analysis to choose the product family and scope, run a pilot in one value stream, then extend along the value stream rather than across departments.

A kaizen event (kaizen blitz) is a focused, time-boxed improvement workshop, typically three to five days, with a defined scope, a cross-functional team, and implemented changes by the end.

5S is the workplace organization sequence: sort (seiri), set in order (seiton), shine (seiso), standardize (seiketsu), and sustain (shitsuke). It is a foundation, not the goal of a Lean program.

Total Productive Maintenance targets overall equipment effectiveness: OEE = availability x performance x quality, where each factor is a ratio of actual to ideal.

SMED (single-minute exchange of die) separates internal setup (machine stopped) from external setup (machine running), converts internal to external where possible, and streamlines the remainder.

A kanban system requires a calculated card count: cards = (demand during replenishment lead time x safety factor) / container quantity, rounded up; the count is recalculated when demand or lead time changes.

Visual management makes the normal condition and any deviation apparent at a glance so that abnormality is detected without asking; it supports flow and pull rather than replacing them.

Sustainment risk factors: improvement driven by staff specialists without operator ownership, no standard work after the event, metrics that reward local efficiency, and leadership turnover without leader standard work in place.

The five core Lean principles in order: specify value from the customer's perspective, identify the value stream, make value flow, let the customer pull, and pursue perfection.

The three M's of waste: muda (wasteful activity), mura (unevenness or variation in demand or workload), and muri (overburden of people or equipment). Reducing mura and muri prevents muda from being generated.

Taiichi Ohno's seven wastes: overproduction, waiting, transport, over-processing, inventory, motion, and defects. Overproduction is conventionally ranked as the worst because it hides and creates the other six.

The three value-adding tests for any activity: the customer must be willing to pay for it, it must change the form, fit, or function of the product or information, and it must be done right the first time.

Value-stream time categories: value-added time, necessary non-value-added (business-value-added) time, and pure waste. Lead time = processing time + waiting time; value-added ratio = value-added time / lead time.

Takt time = available production time / customer demand rate. It sets the pace the process must match; cycle time is what the process actually achieves, and cycle time must be at or below takt to meet demand.

Push versus pull: a push system schedules work to forecast and relies on inventory buffers; a pull system authorizes production only when a downstream customer consumes, typically via kanban signals.

Jidoka (autonomation) means stopping the process automatically or by operator action when an abnormality occurs so defects are not passed downstream; it is one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System, with just-in-time.

A value stream map covers the full material and information flow for one product family, from supplier through the customer, including production control, scheduling, and information systems.

Standard current-state map data boxes per process: cycle time, changeover time, uptime or availability, batch size, number of operators, available working time, and scrap or first-pass yield.

Inventory between processes is recorded as a count and converted to days of inventory using the formula: inventory days = inventory quantity / daily customer demand.

Lead time is computed by summing inventory days across the stream and adding total processing time; the ladder (timeline) drawn at the bottom of the map shows value-added time above and waiting time below.

Select the product family for mapping using a product-quantity (PQ) analysis or a routing/process-similarity matrix, not by mapping every part number individually.

The future-state map is built by answering standard questions: takt time, finished-goods pull or supermarket, continuous flow where possible, supermarket pull where flow is not possible, the single scheduling point (pacemaker), and leveling (heikenka) of the mix.

The pacemaker process is the most downstream process in the flow that is scheduled; everything upstream is pulled. Scheduling anywhere else creates overproduction.

Value-stream mapping differs from process mapping: a process map details steps inside one operation, while a VSM shows the whole door-to-door flow and the information that controls it.

PDCA (plan-do-check-act) is the underlying cycle for all Lean improvement; the A3 report is a one-page structured artifact that documents a PDCA cycle for a single problem.

The A3 story line, left to right: background, current condition (with data), target condition, root-cause analysis, countermeasures, implementation plan with owners and dates, and follow-up results.

The five whys is a causal-chain technique: ask why repeatedly until the answer identifies a process or system cause that, if changed, prevents recurrence. Stopping at human error is a common failure.

A fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram organizes candidate causes into categories such as man, machine, material, method, measurement, and environment; it generates hypotheses that must be verified with data.

Pareto analysis applies the 80/20 rule: rank problems by frequency or cost and attack the vital few. A Pareto chart is a bar chart sorted descending with a cumulative-percentage line.

Kaizen is small, incremental, low-cost improvement made by the people doing the work; kaikaku is radical or transformational change. Both are legitimate but require different sponsorship.

Standard work is the current best documented method including takt time, work sequence, and standard in-process stock. It is the baseline that makes improvement measurable and is revised when a better method is proven.

Countermeasure versus solution: a countermeasure addresses a verified root cause and is tested for effect; if it does not move the metric, the root cause was wrong and the analysis is revisited.

Respect for people and continuous improvement are the two pillars of the Lean culture; respect means developing problem-solving capability in employees, not merely being courteous.

Go and see (genchi genbutsu) requires leaders to observe the actual process at the actual place with the actual data before making decisions.

Nemawashi is the consensus-building process of informal, pre-meeting discussion with affected parties so that a decision is socialized before the formal decision is made.

Hansei is structured reflection on a completed effort, focused on what the process revealed and what the leader will change, not on assigning blame.

Leader standard work makes leader routines (tiered meetings, gemba walks, audits, coaching cycles) visible and repeatable so management behavior, not just operator behavior, is standardized.

Tiered daily management escalates abnormalities through short, structured meetings (typically team, value stream, and site levels) with defined escalation triggers and response times.

A culture of blame suppresses problem surfacing; psychological safety and a no-blame response to honest error reporting are preconditions for jidoka andon use to work.

Leaders act as coaches using questioning rather than answers: asking what the target condition is, what is actually happening, what obstacles exist, and what the next experiment will be.

Deployment sequence rule: start with a value-stream analysis to choose the product family and scope, run a pilot in one value stream, then extend along the value stream rather than across departments.

A kaizen event (kaizen blitz) is a focused, time-boxed improvement workshop, typically three to five days, with a defined scope, a cross-functional team, and implemented changes by the end.

5S is the workplace organization sequence: sort (seiri), set in order (seiton), shine (seiso), standardize (seiketsu), and sustain (shitsuke). It is a foundation, not the goal of a Lean program.

Total Productive Maintenance targets overall equipment effectiveness: OEE = availability x performance x quality, where each factor is a ratio of actual to ideal.

SMED (single-minute exchange of die) separates internal setup (machine stopped) from external setup (machine running), converts internal to external where possible, and streamlines the remainder.

A kanban system requires a calculated card count: cards = (demand during replenishment lead time x safety factor) / container quantity, rounded up; the count is recalculated when demand or lead time changes.

Visual management makes the normal condition and any deviation apparent at a glance so that abnormality is detected without asking; it supports flow and pull rather than replacing them.

Sustainment risk factors: improvement driven by staff specialists without operator ownership, no standard work after the event, metrics that reward local efficiency, and leadership turnover without leader standard work in place.