Author: Compiled by the Lean Enterprise Institute; Edited by Chet Marchwinski and John Shook
Help is here in LEI’s Lean Lexicon, an illustrated glossary of key lean terms and concepts ranging from A3 Report to Yamazumi Board. The Lexicon provides definitions, examples, and lots of illustrations to clarify the special language lean thinkers use and sometimes confuse. Unlike most other business glossaries in print or online, the Lexicon is focused exclusively on lean thinking and lean production. It also makes abundant use of illustrations and examples, and was compiled with input from managers and engineers implementing lean. To make the book as useful as possible, LEI’s research included surveying the Lean Community about what concepts and terms were most confusing. Time-related terms were among those that topped the list of responses, so the Lexicon devotes several pages and illustrations to terms such as cycle time, takt time, and value-creating time. Other major entries include: Demand Amplification; Efficiency; Fixed-Position Stop System; Heijunka; Information Flow; Inventory Turns; Jidoka; Kanban; Material Handling; Muda, Mura, Muri; Policy Deployment; Pull Production; Standardized Work; Toyota Production System. Some terms that may be unfamiliar to new members of the Lean Community include: A3 Report; A-B Control; Lean Logistics; Level Selling; Plan for Every Part; Plan for Every Person; Takt Image; Value Stream Manager. The 106-page Lexicon contains more than 145 definitions and 55 graphics, plus four appendices with additional terms, illustrations, and references.
