AFSO21 Terms Defined Published April 20, 2007 100th ARW AFSO21 Office RAF MILDENHALL, England -- The following list is a compilation of commonly used Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century terms: A3 Report A Toyota-pioneered practice of getting the problem, the analysis, the corrective actions, and the action plan down on a single sheet paper, often with the use of graphics. (100 ARW template: https://rso.my.af.mil/afknprod/ASPs/DocMan/DOCDisplay.asp?Filter=OO-TR-FE-02&DocID=1303725) Actual Place (Japanese equivalent: Gemba) The shop floor or any place where value-creating work actually occurs. Andon A visual device, usually a specialized light that operators use to call attention to an abnormality. The use of this is to request immediate attention and action to the problem. Autonomation (Japanese equivalent: Jidoka) Providing machines and operators the ability to detect when an abnormal condition has occurred and immediately stop work. This enables operations to build in quality at each process and to separate men and machines for more efficient work. Jidoka is one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System along with just-in-time. It's related to the Japanese word for automation, but with the connotations of humanistic and creating value. Change Agent The leader of a lean conversion who has the willpower/drive to initiate/sustain fundamental change. Continuous Flow Producing and moving one item at a time (or a small and consistent batch of items) through a series of processing steps as continuously as possible, with each step making just what is requested by the next step. Continuous Improvement (Japanese equivalents: Kaizen and Kaikaku) Continuous improvement of an entire value stream or an individual process to create more value with less waste. The word is Japanese for gradual, continuous improvement. There are two levels of kaizen: 1. System or flow kaizen focusing on the overall value stream. This is kaizen for management. 2. Process kaizen focusing on individual processes. This is kaizen for work teams and team leaders. Core Team Process Managers for Group and Squadron Commanders who provide training, facilitation, and support to implementation teams for specific process improvement initiatives. Cycle Time How often a part or product is completed by a process, as timed by observation. This time includes operating time plus the time required to prepare, load, and unload. Also, the time it takes an operator to go through all work elements before repeating them. Efficiency Meeting exact customer requirements with the minimum amount of resources. Facilitators Lean and AFSO21 experienced individuals (with appropriate credentials) with primary responsibility for conducting training events and facilitating improvement events. https://wwwd.my.af.mil/afknprod/Database/Staging/2785065/Facilitator_Tracking.xls > Five Whys The practice of asking why repeatedly whenever a problem is encountered in order to get beyond the obvious symptoms to discover the root cause. Four Ms The variables that a production system manipulates to produce value for customers. 1. Material - No defects or shortages. 2. Machine - No breakdowns, defects, or unplanned stoppages. 3. Man - Good work habits, necessary skills, punctuality, and no unscheduled absenteeism. 4. Method - Standardized processes, maintenance, and management. Flow See continuous flow. Gemba (Japanese Word) See actual place. Heijunka (Japanese Word) See leveling. Implementation Team Team composed of subject matter experts, or SMEs, and skilled working level employees who have received basic AFSO21 instruction who are responsible for and a key part of any successful improvement event. Information Flow The movement of information on customer desires backward from the customer to the points where the information is needed to direct each operation. Inventory Materials (and information) present along a value stream between processing steps. Inventory Turns A measure of how quickly materials are moving through a facility or through an entire value stream, calculated by dividing some measure of cost of goods by the amount of inventory on hand. Jidoka (Japanese word) See autonomation. JIT (Just in Time) One of the three main principles of Lean, it's the philosophy of production characterized by three elements - each must be present to ensure JIT functions properly: (1) single piece flow, (2) producing according to Takt Time and (3) pulling of material from upstream processes. Kaikaku (Japanese Word) See continuous improvement. Kaizen (Japanese Word) See continuous improvement. Kanban (Japanese Word) See sign (signal). Kitting Grouping component parts used in a process or build for ease of assembly. Knowledge Management The capability to leverage intellectual assets as a means to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation while quickly disseminating knowledge throughout the entire Air Force. Lead Time The total time it takes the product to go from raw inventory to the finished product. Order to remittance lead time refers to the total time from when an order is placed until the finished product is shipped. Lean Logistics A pull system that involves small stocks and frequent replenishment based on the consumer demand. Concept is designed to keep only enough materials in stock to meet current demands in order to avoid overstocking, and wasting, production materials. Lean Production A business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, suppliers, and customer relations that requires less human effort, less space, less capital, less material, and less time to make products with fewer defects to precise customer desires compared with the previous system of mass production. Lean Thinking A five-step process to guide managers through a lean transformation. The five principals are: 1. Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family. 2. Identify all the steps in a value stream for each product family, eliminating whenever possible those steps that do not create value. 3. Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer. 4. As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity. 5. As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed, and flow and pull are introduced, begin the process again and continue it until a sate of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste. Leveling (Japanese equivalen: Heijunka) Leveling the type and quantity of production over a fixed period of time. This enables production to efficiently meet customer demands while avoiding batching and results in minimum inventories, capital costs, manpower, and production lead time through the whole value stream. Roughly, it means "levelization"; in Japanese. Milk Run A method to speed the flow of materials between facilities by routing vehicles to make multiple pick-ups and drop-offs at many facilities and thus reduce inventories and response times along a value stream. Muda, Mura, Muri (Japanese words) See waste. Operational Availability The fraction of time a machine functions properly when needed. Operating Rate Amount of time in a given period that a machine is used to make something. Overproduction Producing more, sooner or faster than is required by the next process and results in generating or hiding waste. Pacemaker Process Any process along the value stream that sets the pace for the entire stream, usually near the customer end of the value stream. Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) An improvement cycle based on the scientific method of proposing a change in a process, implementing the change, measuring the results, and taking appropriate action. Point-of-Use Storage Storing production parts and materials as close as possible to the operations that require them. Process Managers (PM) Managers of AFSO21 who report directly to the Commander at Wing, Group, and Squadron level. Production Analysis Board A display-often a large whiteboard-located beside a process to show actual performance compared with planned performance. Push Production Processing large batches of items at a maximum rate, based on forecasted demand, then moving them to the next downstream process or into storage, regardless of the actual place of work in the next process. Pull Production A method of production control in which downstream activities signal their needs to upstream activities. Pull production strives to eliminate overproduction and is one of the three major components of a complete just-in-time production system, along with takt time and continuous flow. Queue Time The time a part sits waiting to be worked on. Red Tagging Labeling unneeded items for removal from a production or office area during the Six S exercise. (100th ARW template: https://wwwd.my.af.mil/afknprod/Database/Staging/2785065/6S_Red_Tags__2_.ppt) Results Based Defined by measurable operational results. Sensei The Japanese term for "teacher"; Used by Lean Thinkers to denote a master of lean knowledge as a result of years of experience. Sign (signal) (Japanese equivalent: Kanban) A kanban is a signaling device that gives authorization and instructions for the production or withdrawal (conveyance) of items in a pull system. The term is Japanese for "sign"; or "signboard"; Kanban cards are the best-known and most common example of these signals. Single Piece Flow Production system in which only one part at at time is processed or assembled and the work is verified before being sent along the production line to follow-on processes. Six S Six related terms, beginning with an S sound, describing workplace practices conducive to visual control and lean production. The five terms in Japanese are: 1. Seiri: Separate needed from unneeded items-tools, parts, materials, paperwork-and discard the unneeded. 2. Seiton: Neatly arrange what is left-a place for everything and everything in its place. 3. Seiso: Clean and wash. 4. Seiketsu: Cleanliness resulting from regular performance of the first three Ss. 5. Shitsuke: Discipline, to perform the first four Ss. 6. Safety https://wwwd.my.af.mil/afknprod/Database/Staging/2785065/6S_Training_Slides.ppt > Spaghetti Chart A diagram of the path taken by a product as it travels through the steps along a value stream. Standard Inventory The amount of inventory needed before each step in a process to keep it moving smoothly. Standardized Work Establishing precise procedures for each operator's work in a production process, based on three elements: 1. Takt time, which is the rate at which products must be made in a process to meet customer demand. 2. The precise work sequence in which an operator performs tasks within takt time. 3. The standard inventory, including units in machines, required to keep the process operating smoothly. Strategic Communications A strategy that allows leadership to communicate the importance of AFSO21 and the important role that each Airman plays in relation to AFSO21. Supermarket Term used to describe the location where a predetermined standard inventory is kept to supply downstream processes. Each item has a specific location and as items are removed, a signal to make more is taken by the material handler to the supplying process. Takt time The available production time divided by customer demand. For example, if a widget factory operates 480 minutes per day and customers demand 240 widgets per day, takt time is two minutes. Takt is German for a precise interval of time. Target Cost The development and production cost that a product cannot exceed if the customer is to be satisfied with the value of the product while the manufacturer obtains an acceptable return on its investment. Team Lead Team leads coordinate team activities with event Facilitator before and during AFSO21 improvement events, and have primary responsibility for pre-event preparation and coordination among team participants prior to the project, advising Commanders if there are any barriers to being prepared for the event, assuring adequate support through the event, and managing post-event follow-up activities. Many events can fail from lack of preparation or support from team members. Team leads should keep commanders apprised of upcoming events and the people and resources needed to accomplish the events. Total Productive Maintenance A set of techniques, originally pioneered by Denso in the Toyota Group in Japan, to ensure that every machine in a production process always is able to perform its required tasks. Toyota Production System The production system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation to provide best quality, lowest cost, and shortest lead time through the elimination of waste. Value The inherent worth of a product as judged by the customer and reflected in its selling price and market demand. Value Stream All of the actions, both value-creating and nonvalue-creating, required to bring a product from concept to launch and from order to delivery. These include actions to process information from the customer and actions to transform the product on its way to the customer. Value Stream Mapping A simple diagram of every step involved in the material and information flows needed to bring a product from order to delivery. The first step is to draw a visual representation of every step in a process, including key data, such as the customer demand rate, quality, and machine reliability. Next, draw an improved future-state map showing how the product or service could flow if the steps that add no value were eliminated. Finally, create and implement a plan for achieving the future state. Visual Management Refers to the means by which anyone can tell at a glance if production activities are proceeding normally or not. A communication, discipline and pacing tool. Wastes (Japanese equivalents: Muda, Mura, Muri) The categorization of the eight major waste: 1. D - Defects: Creates inspection, rework, and scrap 2. O - Overproduction: Producing ahead of what's actually needed by the next process or customer. The worst form of waste because it contributes to the other six. 3. W - Waiting: Operators standing idle as machines cycle, equipment fails, needed parts fail to arrive, other people complete tasks, etc. 4. N - Non-standard and Overprocessing: Performing unnecessary or incorrect processing, typically from poor tool, form or product design--also, asking for more information than is required.. 5. T - Transportation: Moving parts and products unnecessarily, such as from a processing step to a warehouse to a subsequent processing step when the second step instead could be located immediately adjacent to the first step. 6. I - Injuries: Takes valuable personnel out of the process. 7. M - Motion: Operators making movements that are straining or unnecessary, such as looking for parts, tools, documents, etc 8. E - Excess Inventory: Having more than the minimum stocks necessary for to complete the mission. WIP (Work in Process) Inventory of materials that has already started processing. Work, Non-value added Anything that isn't directly changing the form, fit or function of a part or product. Rework, set-ups, inspection, repair processing, transportation, unnecessary work to complete a product or process. Work, Value-added Anything that the customer is willing to pay for or an operations that changes the form, fit or function or the part or product.