Lean tools

Lean Glossary
The following are key concepts associated with lean manufacturing. Click on a link to jump directly to the related definition.
5S
Andon
Bottleneck Analysis
Continuous Flow
Gemba (The Real Place)
Heijunka (Level Scheduling)
Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment)
Jidoka (Autonomation)
Just-In-Time (JIT)
Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)
Kanban (Pull System)
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
Muda (Waste)
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)
Poka-Yoke (Error Proofing)
Root Cause Analysis
Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)
Six Big Losses
SMART Goals
Standardized Work
Takt Time
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Toyota Production System (TPS)
Value Stream Mapping
Visual Factory
5S
Organize the work area:
Sort (eliminate that which is not needed)
Set In Order (organize remaining items)
Shine (clean and inspect work area)
Standardize (write standards for above)
Sustain (regularly apply the standards)
Andon
Visual feedback system for the plant floor that indicates production status, alerts when assistance is needed, and empowers operators to stop the production process.
Bottleneck Analysis
Identify which part of the manufacturing process limits the overall throughput and improve the performance of that part of the process.
Continuous Flow
Manufacturing where work-in-process smoothly flows through production with minimal (or no) buffers between steps of the manufacturing process.
Gemba (The Real Place)
A philosophy that reminds us to get out of our offices and spend time on the plant floor – the place where real action occurs.
Heijunka (Level Scheduling)
A form of production scheduling that purposely manufactures in much smaller batches by sequencing (mixing) product variants within the same process.
Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment)
Align the goals of the company (Strategy), with the plans of middle management (Tactics) and the work performed on the plant floor (Action).
Jidoka (Autonomation)