Quality Management, Six Sigma, and Lean Foundations

Vocabulary flashcards covering core quality concepts, quality pioneers, Six Sigma foundations and roles, Lean manufacturing and 8 wastes, 5S, production tools, flow, the 7 basic quality tools, statistical process control, control charts, process capability, and quality management frameworks.

W. Edwards Deming

Father of TQM; known for his 14 Points for Management and emphasizing that management is responsible for the system.

Joseph Juran

Defined quality as "fitness for use"; created the Juran Trilogy (Quality Planning, Quality Control, Quality Improvement).

Philip Crosby

Coined the phrase "Quality is Free" and established the concept of "Zero Defects."

Kaoru Ishikawa

Developed the Cause-and-Effect (Fishbone) diagram and pioneered Quality Circles.

Genichi Taguchi

Created the Taguchi Loss Function, which states that any deviation from the target value results in a loss to society.

Armand Feigenbaum

Originated the concept of Total Quality Control (TQC), which later evolved into Total Quality Management.

Walter Shewhart

The "Father of Statistical Quality Control"; created the Control Chart and the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle.

Frederick Taylor

The "Father of Scientific Management"; focused on dividing work into specialized, repeatable tasks.

Henry Ford

Pioneered the assembly line and early mass production; focused on standardization and flow.

Taiichi Ohno

The primary architect of the Toyota Production System (TPS), which became the foundation of Lean manufacturing.

Quality

The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills customer requirements.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

A management approach centered on quality, based on the participation of all members to ensure long-term customer satisfaction.

Quality of Design

How well the intended product specifications align with what the customer actually wants.

Quality of Conformance

The degree to which the actual manufactured product aligns with its design specifications.

Prevention Costs

Costs incurred to keep defects from happening in the first place (e.g., training, process planning).

Appraisal Costs

Costs incurred to assess or inspect quality levels (e.g., testing, auditing, inspection).

Internal Failure Costs

Costs of defects found before the product reaches the customer (e.g., scrap, rework, machine downtime).

External Failure Costs

Costs of defects found after the customer receives the product (e.g., warranty claims, returns, lost reputation).

Cost of Good Quality (CoGQ)

The sum of Prevention and Appraisal costs.

Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ)

The sum of Internal and External Failure costs.

Six Sigma

A data-driven methodology aimed at reducing variation and eliminating defects (aiming for $3.4$ defects per million opportunities).

DMAIC

The core Six Sigma improvement cycle: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.

Define (DMAIC)

The phase where the problem, project goals, and customer requirements are clearly established.

Measure (DMAIC)

The phase where current process performance is quantified and baseline data is collected.

Analyze (DMAIC)

The phase where data is evaluated to identify the root causes of defects or variation.

Improve (DMAIC)

The phase where solutions are developed, tested, and implemented to eliminate root causes.

Control (DMAIC)

The phase where the improved process is standardized and monitored to sustain the gains.

DMADV

A Six Sigma framework used for designing new processes or products: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify.

DPMO

Defects Per Million Opportunities; a metric used to measure process performance.

3.4 DPMO

The statistical definition of "Six Sigma level" quality, allowing for a $1.5\,\sigma$ shift over time.

Champion

An executive leader who sponsors the Six Sigma project, clears roadblocks, and aligns it with business goals.

Master Black Belt

A highly experienced, full-time Six Sigma expert who trains and mentors Black Belts and Green Belts.

Black Belt

A full-time Six Sigma project leader who handles complex statistical analyses and leads cross-functional teams.

Green Belt

A part-time Six Sigma practitioner who leads smaller projects while maintaining their regular job duties.

Yellow Belt

A team member who has basic Six Sigma training and assists Green or Black Belts on projects.

White Belt

Someone with introductory, foundational knowledge of Six Sigma principles.

Process Owner

The person directly responsible for managing and maintaining the targeted process after the project ends.

Stakeholder

Anyone impacted by the process or the outcome of the Six Sigma project.

Voice of the Customer (VOC)

The expressed needs, wants, and expectations of the customer.

Critical to Quality (CTQ)

Measurable characteristics of a product or process that must be met to satisfy the Voice of the Customer.

Lean Manufacturing

A methodology focused on maximizing customer value while minimizing waste.

Value

Anything the customer is willing to pay for; any action that transforms the product toward what the customer wants.

Value Stream

The entire sequence of activities (both value-adding and non-value-adding) required to bring a product from concept to customer.

Flow

The uninterrupted movement of a product or service through the system to the customer.

Pull System

A system where work is only initiated when there is a direct demand from downstream (the customer).

Perfection (Lean)

The continuous pursuit of removing waste so that every step adds value.

Muda

The Japanese term for Waste (any activity that consumes resources but creates no value).

Mura

The Japanese term for Unevenness or variation in the process (often caused by poor scheduling).

Muri

The Japanese term for Overburdening workers or equipment beyond their reasonable capacity.

Kaizen

Japanese for "Continuous Improvement"; involves small, incremental changes made by everyone, every day.

Defects (Waste)

Products or services that do not conform to specifications and require rework or scrapping.

Overproduction (Waste)

Producing more than is needed or producing it before it is needed (considered the worst waste).

Waiting (Waste)

Idle time when workers or machines wait for materials, information, or the previous step to finish.

Non-Utilized Talent (Waste)

Failing to use the skills, creativity, or knowledge of employees.

Transportation (Waste)

The unnecessary movement of materials, products, or information between locations.

Inventory (Waste)

Holding more raw materials, work-in-process (WIP), or finished goods than is strictly necessary.

Motion (Waste)

Unnecessary physical movement by workers (e.g., reaching, walking, bending) during their tasks.

Extra-Processing (Waste)

Doing more work or adding more features than the customer actually requires.

TIMWOOD

An older acronym for the $7$ traditional wastes (Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Over-processing, Defects).

DOWNTIME

The modern acronym for the $8$ wastes (Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-utilized talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Extra-processing).

5S

A workplace organization method that ensures spaces are clean, uncluttered, safe, and well-organized.

Sort (Seiri)

The first 'S'; distinguishing between necessary and unnecessary items and removing what is not needed.

Set in Order (Seiton)

The second 'S'; arranging necessary items so they are easy to find and use ("A place for everything, and everything in its place").

Shine (Seiso)

The third 'S'; cleaning the workspace and equipment regularly to maintain standards and spot defects.

Standardize (Seiketsu)

The fourth 'S'; creating consistent procedures and rules for the first three S's.

Sustain (Shitsuke)

The fifth 'S'; maintaining the discipline to follow the 5S rules continually.

Visual Factory / Visual Management

Using visual indicators, displays, and controls so anyone can immediately understand the status of a process.

Gemba

The Japanese term for "the real place"; the physical location where the actual value-creating work happens.

Gemba Walk

Management going to the Gemba to observe the process, show respect to workers, and ask questions.

Andon

A visual feedback system (often a light or board) that indicates process status and alerts operators to problems.

Kanban

A visual signaling tool (often a card) used to trigger production or the movement of materials in a Pull system.

Just-In-Time (JIT)

Producing and delivering exactly what is needed, exactly when it is needed, in the exact amount needed.

Poka-Yoke

"Mistake-proofing"; a mechanism or design that prevents a user from making an error (e.g., a USB plug).

Heijunka

Production leveling or smoothing; manufacturing a mix of products at a steady rate to reduce Mura (unevenness).

Jidoka

"Autonomation" or automation with a human touch; the ability for a machine to detect a defect and stop itself automatically.

SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die)

A system for drastically reducing the time it takes to complete an equipment changeover or setup.

Takt Time

The pace of production required to meet customer demand ($\frac{\text{Available Time}}{\text{Customer Demand}}$).

Cycle Time

The time it takes to actually complete one unit of a product from start to finish on the line.

Lead Time

The total time from when a customer places an order until the customer receives the finished product.

Cellular Manufacturing

Arranging workstations and equipment into a sequence (often U-shaped) that supports a smooth flow of materials.

Continuous Flow (Single Piece Flow)

Moving one item at a time through the process steps without batches or queues.

Batch and Queue

Traditional mass production where items are processed in large groups and sit waiting for the next step.

WIP (Work In Process)

Partially finished goods that are currently at various stages of the production process.

Bottleneck

The slowest step or resource in a process that dictates the maximum capacity of the entire system.

Theory of Constraints (TOC)

A management philosophy that focuses on identifying and improving the bottleneck to improve overall system flow.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

A visual tool used to document, analyze, and improve the flow of materials and information required to bring a product to a customer.

Current State Map

A VSM that shows how the process is operating right now, highlighting wastes and delays.

Future State Map

A VSM that shows how the process should operate after Lean improvements are implemented.

Spaghetti Diagram

A visual map showing the physical path of a product or worker to highlight wastes of motion and transportation.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

A metric that measures the percentage of manufacturing time that is truly productive ($\text{Availability} \times \text{Performance} \times \text{Quality}$).

Check Sheet

A simple, structured form used to collect and record data in real-time at the location where the data is generated.

Histogram

A bar graph that shows the frequency distribution of continuous data, revealing the shape, center, and spread.

Pareto Chart

A specialized bar chart arranged in descending order to highlight the most significant factors (based on the $80/20$ rule).

Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Fishbone)

A visual tool used to brainstorm and categorize the root causes of a specific problem.

Scatter Diagram

A graph of plotted points that shows the relationship (correlation) between two numerical variables.

Flowchart (Process Map)

A visual representation of the sequential steps, decisions, and handoffs in a process.

Control Chart

A line graph with statistical upper and lower limits used to monitor process performance over time.

80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle)

The concept that roughly $80\%$ of the effects (or problems) come from $20\%$ of the causes.

Run Chart

A simple line graph plotting data over time, used to identify trends or patterns before applying control limits.

Stratification

The technique of separating data gathered from a variety of sources so that patterns can be seen (often used in combination with other tools).