The terms associated with lean manufacturing

Terms associated with lean manufacturing

The following is a brief glossary of other terms and concepts that are associated with lean manufacturing:

Cellular manufacturing: Grouping processes, equipment and people to manufacture a specific family of parts.

Computer-integrated manufacturing: The increased integration of business and manufacturing functions through information technology.

Flexible manufacturing system: A process designed so that the production line may be re-balanced often, rapidly matching output to changes in demand.

Knowledge-based system: Software that uses artificial intelligence and a base of information about a specialized activity to control systems or operations.

Manufacturing resources planning: A computerized method for planning the use of a company's resources, such as scheduling raw materials, vendors, production equipment and processes.

Rapid prototyping: A variety of processes that allow prototypes to be produced within hours or days, rather than weeks, by eliminating tooling time.

Statistical quality control: A procedure that applies the laws of probability and statistical techniques to the observed characteristics of a product or process.

Supply-chain management: The use of information technology to endow automated intelligence to a network of cash registers, delivery vehicles, distribution centers, factories and raw-material suppliers.

Total quality management: An approach to quality control that stresses the building of manufacturing processes that force their users to confront quality problems, rather than pass them on (Crain's Detroit Business, 2001, p. 11).