Lean management is a Japanese management philosophy with many useful tools that developed at Toyota in response to resource shortages in the 20th century. Lean does not refer to slimness, but rather to the optimal use of available resources.
Six Sigma was developed at Motorola in the 20th century. As a management tool, it is used for process improvement and quality management. The name derives from the “standard” for the quality of manufactured products: Six Sigma (6σ) is the reference to the standard deviation of the normal distribution; a Six Sigma-capable process has tolerance limits at least six sigma away from the mean. This leads to near-zero-defect production, i.e., tolerance limits are almost never exceeded (<3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO)). The core tool of Six Sigma is the DMAIC cycle.
TPM is a management tool for continuous improvement within a company. Just like lean management, it focuses on reducing waste and achieving zero-defect production. However, TPM focuses specifically on manufacturing with machines and technical equipment.
Industry 4.0 refers to the intelligent networking of machines and processes in industry with the aid of information and communication technology. The objective is to exploit the gains in efficiency, transparency, and information that can be achieved through this networking.
5S is a principle and method for designing workplaces and processes. The objective is to create a safe, clean, and well-organized workplace and working environment. Order and cleanliness are fundamental elements of this, and the 5S come from Japanese: Seiri – Sort, Seiton – Set in order, Seiso – Shine, Seiketsu – Standardize, Shitsuke – Sustain.
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Poka Yoke (from Japanese, meaning “preventing unfortunate mistakes”) refers to a principle that is intended to lead to the immediate detection and prevention of errors in the application, development, and design of products, processes, and technical precautions.
Muda is Japanese for a pointless activity. According to Wallace J. Hopp, it is defined as “… any human activity that consumes resources but does not create value.” Read more about the 7 types of waste in our knowledge article.
Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) serves as a key performance indicator for the ratio of production time to plant availability. Utilization, performance, and quality levels are factored into the calculation, thus providing a holistic picture. Today, it is the standard for visualizing capacity utilization and effectiveness for manufacturing companies.
The Andon method allows the status of a system to be communicated and reported intuitively. In particular, faults can be detected from a distance using Andon lights and reported using Andon cords.
Value stream mapping is used to reveal the flow of information, materials, and products through production. The aim of the analysis is to identify non-value-adding processes and then improve the manufacturing process through value stream design. Find out more in our knowledge article.
