The standard deviation is a statistic that tells you how tight or loose the range/spread of data is in relation to the mean or average of the data.  Typically when a data range is clustered tightly the "bell curve" will be tall/steep.  When the data is range is spread far apart the "bell" will appear flat or short and wide.  

  The mean absolute deviation or MAD as it is often abbreviated, of a dataset is the average or "mean" distance between each data point from the data set and the mean/average.  This will give you an idea of the amount of variability in a dataset.  MAD can be calculated from both observations and the arithmetic average (mean) of those observations.  Another option when calculating MAD is to calculate based on actual data minus forecasted data.  If forecasting or being used for future analysis you can apply different weights to your forecast or use exponential smoothing in an attempt to make your forecast more accurate.  In most cases however mean absolute deviation uses actual data.

  Visual management is a way to visually communicate and manage various standards, metrics, improvements, safety requirements and expectations. All forms of visual management should be clearly displayed and understood with no explanation other than visual analysis by everyone. 

  Manufacturing lead time is different than lead time.  Manufacturing or production lead time is the total amount of time it takes to "manufacture" or "produce" an item.

  Engineer to Order, also known as design to order refers to products or services whose customer specifications/requirements contain significant customization, unique designs or innovative and new purchased materials. 

  Standard work in process is the minimum necessary level of items or materials needed to maintain the proper flow in a production environment.

  Organizational design is the formation of an organization's structure.  

  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. 

  Red tags are a visual tool that is used during the sorting phase of a 5S initiative.  In the sorting phase of 5S, items are either gotten rid of, kept or placed in a red tag auction area. 

  A problem statement describes what, where, how big and when the problem occurs.  The statement is intended to be very clear and concise, focusing only on the issue or opportunity that was initially discovered.

  The degree or process by which a multinational organization standardizes, integrates or combines activities around the world so that they use the same methods, no matter where the activity or method is being performed.

  The Project charter is an informal contract between the organization and the team.  A project charter will define the focus of a project, the problem, the goal, the scope, team and metrics linking the team's objectives together.  The project charter often is revised multiple times throughout a project.

  Assets is an accounting term that is used for items and resources that a company already owns.  The term is used on a balance sheet to classify these items.  Assets on hand are not the same as liabilities.  The APICS Dictionary defines the term Assets as:

  "Batching" or batch production is a technique used in both office and manufacturing environments.  This type of production creates the object or activity over a series of workstations one stage at a time.  The objects are created in "groups" or "batches."  

  One piece flow is the concept behind the just-in-time system.  An environment that operates in a One-piece flow fashion is when items or services are processed in one piece at a time. 

  The ©STUDY activity was inspired by Mr. Taiichi Ohno's famous stand in the circle training method.  

  Continuous improvement is the act of making incremental and regular improvements, which is often referred to as kaizen.

  Jidoka is a term that describes one of the key pillars of the Toyota Production System.  Sakichi Toyoda first invented Jidoka or Autonomation back in the mid 1890's.  

  Takt time is a German phrase for the baton the conductor uses to set the tempo of an orchestra.  In Lean and Six Sigma applications Takt time refers to the rate at which products, information and/or services need to be completed in, to keep up with customer demand.  ​Much like the pulse of a heart rate, Takt time tells us whether we are beating at a healthy rate or we are falling behind.

  Six Sigma is a strategy that gives organizations a structured means to improve business processes and solve problems.  In other words, it is a methodology that uses different improvement tools in an effort to continuously improve business processes. The main focus or intention of Six Sigma is to decrease process variation and improve the quality of products and services.  The result of improved business processes leads to increased performance, reduced defects, reduced variation, improved use of capital and resources and more stable and consistent results/outputs.  

  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.