Word of the Month Archives

Word of the Month

Understanding Lean one word at a time…

Monthly micro-learning lessons focused on the Lean lexicon. Have fun as we guide you through the nomenclature;
bringing you insights into the nuances of this proven discipline.

STANDARDIZATION

To bring into conformity with a standard (a level of quality or attainment, OR an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations), especially in order to assure consistency and regularity.

VALUE

A product or service that has been perceived or appraised to fulfill a need or desire—as defined by the customer—is said to have value. An activity has value if it is transformative, is done right the first time, and is something the customer is willing to pay for.

GEMBA

In business operations, Gemba refers to any place where work is happening, where value is being created. For example, in manufacturing, gemba is the factory floor; in the office, it’s where support services are provided; in the hospital, it’s the operating/exam rooms.

FAILURE DEMAND

Failure Demand is a systemic problem. Organizations can be off the charts busy but be drowning in non-value-added rework. Find out more about what failure demand means in a Lean environment.

WASTE

... also known as Muda. Muda is a Japanese word meaning futility, uselessness, or wastefulness. A focus of the Toyota Production System (TPS) and later Lean process improvement, it refers to one of the three types of deviation from optimal allocation of resources: “Muda, Mura, Muri” (Waste, Unevenness, Overburden). Waste is any process that doesn’t add value to the end user.