Lean Lexicon: A Graphical Glossary for Lean Thinkers

Do people in your organization think poka-yoke is a dance to do at weddings?

When someone says heijunka, do you say, God bless you ?

Have you ever been asked, Which production system is better, JIT or kanban?

Do co-workers confuse takt time and cycle time?

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.

The 106-page Lexicon contains more than 145 definitions and 55 graphics, plus four appendices with additional terms, illustrations, and references. Co-editors Chet Marchwinski, LEI s director of communications, and John Shook, an LEI senior advisor and a former Toyota manager, recognize that there will be some differences of opinion on the definitions and on new terms to include.