| JAPANESE WORD | NEAREST ENGLISH WORD/PHRASE | EXPLANATION |
| KAN-BAN | 'Card-pull' or 'JIT' / Just In Time | System of supplying materials and components for production by means of a 'pull' rather than 'push' system. Cards are sent from the production station to release materials/components from the supplier or previous production process |
| KAIZEN | Continuous improvement | Continuous incremental improvement to create more value with less 'MUDA' |
| MUDA | Waste | Any activity that consumes resources but creates no value |
| SEVEN MUDA | Most commonly found wastes of resources | Overproduction ahead of demand. Waiting for the next production step. Unnecessary transport. Over-processing due to poor tooling and product design. Inventories more than the absolute minimum. Unnecessary movement by employees during the course of their work. Production of defective parts. |
| DANTOTSU | Benchmarking | Searching in order to be the best of the best |
| CHAKU-CHAKU | Load-load | A method of production flow for a single piece in which the operator proceed from machine to machine taking the part from the previous operation and loading it into the next machine whilst taking the part just removed from that machine and loading it into the following one, etc, etc. |
| BEIJUNKA | Level schedule | Sequencing orders in a repetitive pattern that smoothes day-to-day variations in total orders in line with longer term demand. |
| HOSHIN KANRI | - | A strategic decision making tool for the executive team that focuses resources on the critical initiatives necessary to accomplish the business objectives. It uses visual matrix diagrams to select objectives which are then turned into specific projects for deployment and implementation. The system unifies and aligns resources as well as establishing measurable targets. |
| KAIKAKU | - | Radical improvement of an activity to eliminate MUDA. Also called 'Breakthrough KAIZEN', 'Flow KAIZEN' or 'System KAIZEN' |
| KEIRETSU | Grouping of companies | A grouping of Japanese companies through historic associations and equity interlocks such that each company maintains its operational independence but has permanent supply relationships with the others. |
| POKA-YOKE | Mistake-proofing | A device or procedure to prevent a defect during order-taking or manufacture. Also called 'BAKA-YOKE' |
| SENSEI | - | A personal tutor with a mastery of body language and techniques. |
| SHUSA | A level of supervisor | A strong team leader in the Toyota product development system. |
| TAKT time | - | The available production time divided by the rate of customer demand. This sets the pace of production to match demand. |
| ANDON board | - | Visual control device in a production area, typically a lighted overhead display giving the current status of the production system. |
| JIDOKA | Autonomation | Transferring human intelligence to automated machinery so that it can detect the production of a defective part and immediately stop itself and ask for help. |
| Five S's | - | Five things needed to create a workplace suited to visual control and lean production: 'SEIRI' means to separate needed tools, parts & instructions from unneeded materials and remove the latter. 'SEITON' means to neatly arrange and identify parts & tools for ease of use. 'SEISO' means to conduct a 'clean-up' campaign. 'SEIKETSU' means to conduct the first three at frequent intervals (daily) to maintain the workplace in a perfect condition. 'SHITSUKE' means to form the habit of following the first four. |
| Five WHYS | - | The practice of asking 'WHY' five times in order to identify the root cause of a problem so that truly effective counter-measures can be developed and implemented. |
