A Customer is any party that receives or requests goods or services.  Customers are oftenties considered to be one of the most important participants in a supply chain.  They drive value.  They create demand and they express wants and needs that can be transformed.

  Critical Characteristics are the attributes or, "characteristics" of a product or piece of information that must function properly so that no failure of the product or needed information occurs.

  A checklist is a tool that can be used to ensure that you have everything required to set up and run your next operation.  It may also be used to ensure that important steps or actions have been taken that are important for an operation.  A checklist is different than a checksheet.  A checklist is used to show completion of a particular activity.

  A changeover is the work required to change a specific machine, resource, work center or line from making the last good piece of an item to making the first good piece of another item.  That means that if the first good piece after the changeover is not good the changeover is not complete.  

  The cause and effect diagram, fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram is a tool used to discover possible causes of an effect. 

  A certificate of compliance is a certification that is provided by a supplier which certifies that the supplies or the services supplied meet the required specifications.  In other words, a certificate of compliance certifies that an individual or company has met the required set of conditions for a product or service.

  The core values of an organization are the principles, fundamental beliefs and ethical guideposts that serve as guidelines for the organizations behaviors.

  The fishbone diagram is a structured analysis tool used to organize potential causes associated with a specific effect.  

Other names:

1. Cause and Effect Diagram
2. Ishikawa Diagram

Related Blogs:

• Listen to the Gemba - The fishbone diagram (7 basic quality tools).

Creator:

• Kaoru Ishikawa​

  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.