The 5 Japanese Lean Terms You Must Know in Manufacturing and Quality

For Manufacturing: the Japanese Lean terms are must-know vocabulary in manufacturing or quality as these have no direct equivalent and are used as-is in an industrial context.

There are a variety of Japanese manufacturing lean terms, but we list here a shortlist of Japanese terms to know in Lean Sigma, and more generally in any plant, product, or process improvement. Not for a show-off attitude, but because these are usually more concise and dedicated than their translation equivalent; and simply because there ARE commonly used lean terms in western industries by now.

Japanese Lean Terms

كايزن

A key vocabulary to start the Lean terms list is Kaizen meaning literally

Kaizen “Change for the good” = improvement

or “change for the better”. All Lean activities are aimed at this continuous Kaizen. It emphasizes continuous improvement في all areas من business. Kaizen هو based on فإن idea أن small, incremental changes يمكن lead إلى big results over time. The goal of kaizen is to eliminate waste and improve efficiency in all aspects of the manufacturing process.

Kaizen is a team-based approach that relies on the collective input of workers to identify and implement improvements. This bottom-up approach to problem-solving ensures that everyone in the organization has a vested interest in the success of the company and that improvements are based on the real needs of those who are doing the work. This approach helps to ensure that waste is constantly being removed from the manufacturing process. The Lean manufacturing production methodology focuses on minimizing waste in all forms, including overproduction, defects, inventory, motion, and waiting time as seen in Mudas hereafter.

Kaizen is a key component of Lean manufacturing, as it provides a mechanism for continual improvement that can be quickly implemented and adapted as new problems and opportunities arise as seen below with the other lean terms.

كانبان

Kanban, with its Japanese word meaning “sign“ أو “billboard”, هو a tool أن helps إلى visualize the process, its current state, and its targets, و more generally to schedule and optimize فإن flow من العمل in a lean و just–في–time (JIT) manufacturing.

A kanban usually takes the form of very visual boards where the work في process هو represented بواسطة cards أن هي moved along فإن line كما the work progresses, such as:

• • Kanban boards إلى track العمل في progress و visualize فإن flow من العمل. هذا يمكن help identify bottlenecks و areas for improvement when cards get stuck and/or empty slots appear
  • Kanban sheets to manage inventory levels. هذا يمكن help ensure أن المواد هي available when needed, in a pull organization, و help reduce النفايات.
  • Kanban إلى schedule production to help ensure أن العمل هو flowing smoothly و أن deadlines هي met
  • Kanban boards to track quality by identifying issues early و ensuring أن products meet customer expectations

نصيحة: as with project scorecards, or sprint or scrum boards, be very visual: use a mix of simple shapes (square, circles, triangle) and easy color coding to convey the message.

نصيحة: it must be located close to the worker (in the Gemba, see below) and have sufficient free space nearby to permit very quick daily team meetings in front of it

Anyone just passing by, even unfamiliar with the process, must see the state and the ongoing challenge in the blink of an eye

Gemba

Gemba هو a Japanese Lean term أن means “فإن real place.” In lean التصنيع, Gemba هو the place where the value is added to the product. هذا could أن تكون فإن factory floor, فإن office for a service, أو any other place where useful work for the customer is performed.

إن goal من lean هو إلى eliminate النفايات في all forms, و Gemba هو where النفايات هو most likely إلى occur. By identifying و eliminating النفايات في فإن source, lean التصنيع strives إلى create a المزيد efficient و effective workplace.

مودا

From 無駄 = “Useless”, by extension النفايات أو unnecessary العمل. In Lean التصنيع, muda هو مستعمل إلى refer إلى النفايات أن occurs when workers are performing

any tasks أن do لا add value إلى فإن المنتج أو service

هذا يمكن include things like waiting for المواد, waiting for approvals, أو performing tasks أن could أن تكون automated. Eliminating muda(s) will help إلى improve efficiency و reduce costs في التصنيع و other types من businesses. The Lean methodology has identified 7 family types of Mudas, the 7 wastes of Lean:

• • Transport
  • Inventory
  • Motion
  • Waiting
  • Over-Processing
  • الإفراط في الإنتاج
  • العيوب

which can easily be remembered by “TIMWOOD” (first letter of each waste)

Bonus: it is sometimes mentioned an 8th Muda: waste of talent: the fact of not utilizing available HR talent efficiently

بوكا يوكي

Poka–yoke هو a Japanese الجودة control term derived from the Japanese words “poka” which means avoid, and “yokeru” which means a mistake. إنه هو a physical technique for preventing mistakes or errors في a process, by making them either literally impossible or at least highly improbable

• a tool with a keyed pattern that can not enter into another hole
• a shelf that can only hold a specific dedicated part or only one part

Poka–yoke devices أو methods هي مستعمل إلى make a process easier إلى understand و follow إلى prevent errors without any later effort by becoming idiot-proof.

بوكا يوكي can be used in various manufacturing processes to improve quality control.

Examples of Poka-Yoke:

1. 1. a door أن opens في فإن direction أن a شخص هو facing. هذا ensures أن فإن شخص هو لا trying إلى enter فإن room فإن wrongway, making the walk...