Glossary
Whether you’re new to the quality and continuous improvement arena or a seasoned expert seeking detailed information on a specific quality topic, you should find what you need in our Glossary of Terms.
Explore the concepts, tools, applications and technical terms that make up the world of continuous improvement.
5 S
A Japanese methodology used to create and maintain an organized, clean, safe and high performance workplace. The Japanese 5 S system has been translated to English as follows: Sort (Seiri) to remove unneeded items from the workplace, Set-in-Order (Seiton) to create a place for everything, Shine (Seiso) to clean the work area, Standardise (Seiketsu) to put procedures in place, and Sustain (Shitsuke) to ensure the 5S system is sustained.
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5 Whys
The practice of repeatedly asking why the outcome has occurred in order to get to the root cause/causes of the problem. There is nothing sacred about the number 5, stop whenever you have reached a potential root cause that the team can act on.
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6 Ms
The traditional 6Ms are: Machines, Methods, Materials, Measurement, Mother Nature or Environment, Manpower or People
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8 Wastes
An easy way to remember the wastes, they spell TIM WOODS: T for Transport such as the moving of products, parts or information; I for Inventory such as the storing of parts ahead of requirements; M for Motion such as bending, turning, reaching or lifting; W for Waiting such as requiring parts, instructions or equipment; O for Overproduction such as making more than is required; O for Overprocessing such as creating tighter tolerances than necessary; D for Defects such as Scrap, rework or documentation errors; S for Skills such as underutilised capabilities, inadequate training.