LeanSpeak The Productivity Business Improvement Dictionary

This dictionary, specific to lean business processes, contains over 500 terms used in lean management and manufacturing.

Easy to access, accurate, and comprehensive, LeanSpeak will become the desktop tool of choice for lean manufacturing practitioners, from the shop floor to the corner office.

Here are some examples of entries in LeanSpeak:

gemba: Japanese word of which the literal translation is "the real place." In the manufacturing field, gemba means the shop floor, where the actual product is being made, as contrasted to the office, where support services are provided.

lean: shorthand to refer to a lean manufacturing system, of which the Toyota Production System is the foremost example, that has relatively little non-value-adding waste and maximum flow. The term has been used pejoratively to refer to anti-labor practices intending to reduce the number of workers within a company and to strong-arm tactics with suppliers.

takt time: the rate at which product must be turned out to satisfy market demand. It is determined by dividing the available production time by the rate of customer demand. For example, if customers demand 240 widgets per day and the factory operates 480 minutes per day, takt time is two minutes. If customers want two new products designed per month, takt time is two weeks. It is a calculated number, not a reflection of your capability. It sets the pace of production to match the rate of customer demand.

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