heijunka -
A production scheduling/leveling tool, essentially to
distribute kanban cards in an efficient manner.
just-in-time -
a production scheduling
concept that calls for any item needed at a production operation - whether raw
material, finished item, or anything in between, to be produced and available
precisely when needed, neither a moment earlier nor a moment later.
kaizen -
the philosophy of
continual improvement, that every process can and should be continually
evaluated and improved in terms of time required, resources used, resultant
quality, and other aspects relevant to the process.
kanban -
a card or sheet used to authorize production or movement of
an item; when fully implemented, kanban (the plural is the same as the
singular) operates according to the following rules:
1.
All production and movement of parts and material take place only as
required by a downstream operation, i.e. all manufacturing and procurement
are ultimately driven by the requirements of final assembly or the
equivalent.
2.
The specific tool which authorizes production or movement is called a
kanban. The word literally means card or sign, but it can
legitimately refer to a container or other authorizing device. Kanban
have various formats and content as appropriate for their usage; for
example, a kanban for a vendor is different than a kanban for
an internal machining operation.
3.
The quantity authorized per individual kanban is minimal,
ideally one. The number of circulating or available kanban for an
item is determined by the demand rate for the item and the time required to
produce or acquire more. This number generally is established and remains
unchanged unless demand or other circumstances are altered dramatically; in
this way inventory is kept under control while production is forced to keep
pace with shipment volume. A routine exception to this rule is that managers
and workers are continually exhorted to improve their processes and thereby
reduce the number of kanban required.
