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.

​  An inventory policy outlines the organization's vision, objectives and goals with regards to inventory.  It will also define how the company intends to manage its inventory at all levels of the organization.

  ABC classification or ABC analysis is a technique used in materials management.  The ABC represents the different categories of inventory in your system and indicates the level of control each category requires.  The Apics Dictionary defines the categories of the ABC system as:

1. A = The A group usually represents 10 percent to 20 percent by the number of items and 50 percent to 70 percent by projected dollar volume.
2. B = The B grouping usually represents about 20 percent of the items and about 20 percent of the dollar volume.
3. C = The C grouping usually contains 60 percent to 70 percent of the items and represents about 10 percent to 30 percent of the dollar volume.  

  It is important to note that there is no fixed numbers for each category.  Each organization should customize their classification system based on a pareto analysis.  

Discussion:

1. What benefits can you see in applying tighter or looser controls to inventory management items?

  

  The Sales and Operations or S&OP processes mission is to balance supply and demand at an aggregate level, to align operational planning with financial planning, and to link strategic planning with tactical/operational planning.  It does this through a series of meetings which are designed to guide a group of individuals towards consensus of "ONE" plan.  

  Continuous improvement is the act of making incremental and regular improvements, which is often referred to as kaizen.  These improvements are not the same as breakthrough innovations (kaikaku) or radical changes.  When we look at the definition of continuous we learn that the act is performed without "interruption".  The term improvement means that something is made better than it was previously.  Therefore continuous improvement is the act of making things "better" without any interruption.

  A gemba walk is the term used to describe a walk where employees go to observe work at the gemba, which is where the work is done.  The idea is to go and see for yourself at the actual or "real place" of work.  During a gemba walk participants should:

1. Go and See (observe for themselves the place of work).
2. Engage, with the purpose of understanding more about where value is being created and issues or opportunities that might be present.
3. Muda, Muri and Mura - Discover forms of waste.  The gemba walk however is not the time to solve or make drastic changes.  
4. Be respectful of the people at the gemba.  Look for opportunities to hear their thoughts and reflect on ideas with them.
5. Analyze, Assess and Action!

  The vision of an organization is a compelling image or inspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish. It is a forward looking and inspirational idea of where you would like to be.  The vision guides the decisions of the current and future activities of the organization.  

 What does a vision do?

• A vision should drive the development of specific behaviors, actions and tactics that support the goals and or objectives of the vision.
• It should unify people towards a common goal.
• It should describe what you ultimately are trying to achieve.
• The vision should help customers (internal and external) understand how value is created and their connection to that creation.

  Hoshin Kanri is a method used for strategic planning.  The term refers to "policy deployment" or "directional deployment."  The process of hoshin kanri aligns an organization vertically as well as horizontally .  In general there are 7 steps to the hoshin or directional planning process.  

1. Establish Vision.
2. Assess current state.
3. Set annual objectives.
4. Build a plan for implementation.
5. Execute your plan.
6. Review, evaluate and adjust as necessary (Monthly).
7. Repeat (annually).

  The deployment of Hoshin Kanri will often start as a top - down process but as the organization reaches the second and third phase of hoshin planning it should become a top - down and bottom - up process that involves management, project teams and other resources to align resources and gain consensus of the direction.  This process is often referred to as catchball, nemawashi or our own personal ©Vision methodology.  Hoshin Kanri strives to get every employee pulling in the same direction at the same time. It achieves this by aligning the strategic goals of the company with the tactical plans of middle management and the work performed by all employees.

  Strategic drivers are the forces or factors that are influential in an organizations strategy. 

  A constraint is any factor or element such as cost, schedule and scope that prevents a system from performing at the highest level possible in relation to its objective.  There are many types of constraints that prohibit performance.  Continuous Improvement strategies such as: Lean, Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints are effective ways to reduce or remove constraints.

Examples:

1. Cost/ Resources
2. Schedule/ Time
3. Scope/ Quality
4. Physical
5. Policy or Procedure