Japanese Quality Management Terms – Flash Cards

Click on the card to see the definition.

• Gemba
  Japanese word meaning 'real place'. It is one of the components of the 'Three Reals' meaning go to the real place (gemba) to see the real thing (gembutsu) and collect the real facts (genjitsu).
• Takt Time
  Tthe time which should be taken to produce a component or one vehicle.
• Mura
  Inconsistency or excess variation in either processes or demand.
• Mizusumashi
  A water spider or 'mizusumashi' in Japanese is a person who has a prescribed set of tasks to keep materials in stock at the point of use in production areas.
• Genchi Genbutsu
  Means go and see for yourself. Go see the problem.
• Pokayoke
  Mistake proofing or error proofing.
• Muda
  Non-value added, usually translated as waste.
• Muri
  It means unreasonableness or overexertion.
• Kaizen
  Series of activities whereby instances of wastes are eliminated one by one at minimal cost, by workers.
• Hoshi Kanri
  Goals (with targets) and means for achieving it to address business priorities and to move the organization to a new level of performance.
• Kaikaku
  Revolutionary change. Where kaizen is generally evolutionary in nature, kaikaku requires radical shifts in thinking.
• Gembutsu
  Japanese word meaning 'real thing'. It is one of the components of the 'Three Reals' meaning go to the real place (gemba) to see the real thing (gembutsu) and collect the real facts (genjitsu).
• Hanedashi
  A hanedashi device is an automatic part ejector.
• Hansei
  Hansei is a Japanese term that loosely translates to self-reflection.
• Andon
  A type of visual control that displays the current state of work (i.e., abnormal conditions, work instructions, and job progress information).
• Genjitsu
  Japanese word meaning 'real facts'. It is one of the components of the 'Three Reals' meaning go to the real place (gemba) to see the real thing (gembutsu) and collect the real facts (genjitsu).
• Jidoka
  Autonomation. The ability of production lines to be stopped in the event of problems.
• Heijunka
  Production leveling, means transforming the typical peaks and valleys of customer demand into something flatter.