Leanspeak: The Productivity Business Improvement Dictionary
The one-stop, concise dictionary to business lingo.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Leanspeak: The Productivity Business Improvement Dictionary
S: Safety Stock Systems Thinking
safety stock
finished goods available within the value steam to meet takt time due to internal constraints or inefficiencies. Also called safety inventory. Contrast with buffer stock. The reduction of buffer and safety stock is always a target of continuous improvement.
scatter diagram
uses data points to plot a pattern that shows the relationship or correlation between pairs of variables or factors. This tool is extremely useful to detect the cause of a problem, the strength of a relationship, and how the change of one variable can affect another. See business process tools for links to other tools.
scheduling box
See heijunka box.
scientific method
the best way yet discovered to winnow the truth from delusion. Briefly, the process is: (1) Observe some aspect of the world. (2) Invent a hypothesis (a tentative description) consistent with what has been observed. (3) Use the hypothesis to make predictions. (4) Test those predictions with experiments or further observations and modify the hypothesis in the light of the results. (5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between theory and experiment and/or observation. When consistency is obtained the hypothesis becomes a theory a coherent set of propositions that explains a class of phenomena. The theory then becomes a framework with which to explain observations and make predictions. (Description of scientific method from Jose Wudka, University of California.) See DNA of Toyota for how these principles are applied to manufacturing.
second-look value engineering
the...
Copyright Productivity Press 2002 under license agreement with Books24x7
