A spaghetti diagram is a tool used to track the amount of movement or distance traveled by a worker or materials.  You can then use a spaghetti diagram to analyze what you tracked and improve the flow.  As a tool that is used in the analysis of process flows, a spaghetti diagram reveals redundancy in processes and helps users to identify various forms of waste.  The name comes from the reference of laying spaghetti noodles out to show the flow of materials or workers.

Managing inventory would be impossible without a means to track how much inventory is on hand and if it is an appropriate amount of inventory.  With that being said, the days of supply metric is a useful metric that can show an organization how many days their existing inventory will last before it reaches zero or drops into their safety stocks.

  Total productive maintenance is a maintenance strategy which focuses on achieving improved performance, reduced breakdowns and better quality through the preventative maintenance and effort of employees. 

  A process is a sequence of interdependent and linked procedures designed to transform inputs into the desired outputs.  Each stage of a process consumes some type of resource (e.g. time, energy).  Some parts of a process are intended to create value while other parts of a process are intended to support the creation of value. 

  Inventory waste is any unnecessary storage of materials, products or information.

  One of the most important components of standard work is understanding what the cycle time of a process is.  Cycle time is sometimes referred to as standard cycle time.  Cycle time is the amount of time it takes to complete an individual operation or task from start to finish.  In other words, the amount of time required to process one part.  This includes processing time on a machine, any manual work that may be required, waiting, inspection, walking and any other activities involved in processing the one part. 

  We’ve all heard that Lean and the Just in Time System are the Same.  And, while there are some similarities, the two systems are in fact, different.  Generally speaking, the Just In Time System makes up one pillar of a Lean Organization and although the principles and techniques can be applied to service environments, the Just In Time philosophy is mainly used in manufacturing.  The philosophy helps an organization achieve three main focuses:

• Produce only what your customers want.
• Produce when your customers want.
• Produce only the amount your customers want.

  Standard work is a detailed definition of the current agreed-upon steps needed for a person to complete one work cycle in the absolute best and most reliable method possible.