MSSC CPT key terms

Special clothing and equipment worn by a worker, such as safety glasses, gloves, hard hats, and respirators, to reduce exposure to hazards that cannot be removed from the workplace.

A documented procedure for shutting off, isolating, and locking energy sources such as electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or gravity before service work, so equipment cannot start or release stored energy unexpectedly.

An OSHA regulation requiring employers to inform workers about hazardous chemicals in the workplace through container labels, safety data sheets, and training on safe handling and emergency response.

A standardized document with sixteen sections that describes a chemical's hazards, safe handling, first-aid measures, firefighting steps, and disposal requirements, and must be accessible to workers who use the chemical.

Physical barriers, interlocks, or sensing devices that keep hands and bodies away from moving machine parts, pinch points, and other mechanical hazards during operation.

A step-by-step method of breaking a job into tasks, identifying the hazards of each step, and defining controls before the work begins.

An unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to do so; reporting near misses helps find and correct hazards before a real incident occurs.

A space large enough for a worker to enter, with limited entry or exit, and not designed for continuous occupancy; entry usually requires a permit, atmospheric testing, and a trained attendant outside.

How close a measured value is to the true or accepted value. A set of readings can be accurate even when individual readings vary, as long as their average lands on the target.

How closely repeated measurements of the same characteristic agree with one another. A precise instrument gives consistent readings, but those readings may still be far from the true value.

The total amount a dimension is allowed to vary from its nominal value, stated as upper and lower limits, such as 1.250 plus or minus 0.005 inches.

Comparing an instrument's readings against a traceable standard and adjusting the instrument so its readings fall within accepted limits, performed on a scheduled interval and recorded.

A precision measuring instrument with a calibrated screw and thimble used for outside dimensions, read to thousandths of an inch or hundredths of a millimeter; the spindle is closed with a friction or ratchet stop.

A fixed gauge with two features: the go end must fit the part and the no-go end must not. It quickly checks whether a dimension falls inside its tolerance limits without giving an actual reading.

Using statistics, especially control charts, to monitor a running process and detect changes that signal special-cause variation, so corrections are made before bad parts are produced.

A run chart of a quality characteristic with a center line and statistically calculated upper and lower control limits; points outside the limits or in nonrandom patterns show the process has changed.

A ratio comparing the spread and centering of a process's output with the tolerance it must meet; higher values mean the process produces fewer defects relative to the specification limits.

A bar chart that ranks problem causes from most to least frequent, often with a cumulative percentage line, based on the idea that a few causes account for most of the trouble.

A fishbone-shaped diagram a team uses to brainstorm and organize possible causes of a problem into categories such as people, methods, machines, materials, measurement, and environment.

Product that does not meet requirements; it is identified, tagged, and segregated so it cannot be used or shipped until it is reworked, repaired, scrapped, or accepted by authorized personnel.

A production philosophy focused on delivering value to the customer while eliminating waste, meaning anything that consumes resources without adding value, such as waiting, excess inventory, and unnecessary motion.

A workplace organization method with five steps: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. It keeps tools and materials in defined places so work is faster, safer, and easier to see.

Continuous improvement carried out through small, frequent changes made by the people who do the work, rather than through large one-time projects led from outside the process.

A visual signal, often a card or an empty container, that authorizes upstream production or replenishment of an item so material flow matches actual downstream use.

A production approach in which materials and parts arrive only as they are needed for the next step, minimizing inventory and exposing problems that inventory would otherwise hide.

The available production time divided by customer demand, giving the pace at which one unit must be completed to meet the customer's requirement.

The operation with the least capacity in a process. It limits the output of the whole line, so improving any other step does not raise total throughput.

A diagram of all the steps, material flows, and information flows needed to bring a product to the customer, used to separate value-adding steps from waste.

A mistake-proofing device or design that prevents an error from being made or makes it obvious immediately, such as a fixture that accepts a part only in the correct orientation.

A documented, agreed-upon method for doing a task, including sequence, key points, cycle time, and required tools, that serves as the baseline for training and improvement.

A measure of equipment effectiveness calculated as availability times performance times quality; it shows how much of the scheduled time a machine actually produces good parts at the ideal rate.

Scheduled, planned servicing such as cleaning, lubricating, adjusting, and replacing parts on a time or usage interval, intended to prevent failures before they occur.

Condition-based maintenance that uses measurements such as vibration, temperature, or oil analysis to detect early signs of wear and schedule repairs only when evidence shows they are needed.

A maintenance strategy in which operators and maintenance staff share responsibility for equipment care, aiming for zero breakdowns through autonomous operator maintenance and continuous improvement.

A written authorization that describes a maintenance task, the equipment, the priority, and the labor and parts needed, and records what was actually done and found.

The average operating time between failures of a repairable asset, calculated by dividing total running time by the number of failures; higher values indicate greater reliability.

The average time needed to restore an asset to working condition after a failure, including diagnosis, repair, and testing; lower values indicate better maintainability.

A predictive technique that measures the amplitude and frequency of machine vibration to detect imbalance, misalignment, looseness, and worn bearings before they cause a breakdown.

Applying the correct lubricant, in the correct amount, at the correct interval, to reduce friction and wear between moving surfaces and to carry away heat and contaminants.