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.

Effectiveness

Effectiveness is the capability of producing an effect and the word is used in a quantitative manner, such as Very Effective or Not Very Effective to describe conditions or events. The word however does not inform on the direction of change and whether that change is positive or negative nor does it provide a comparison to a standard of the given effect.

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Effects Analysis

Is a methodology for analysing potential reliability problems early on in the development cycle where it is easier to take actions to overcome these issues, thereby enhancing reliability through design. Effects Analysis is used to identify potential failure modes, determine their effect on the product, and identify actions to eliminate or at least reduce the possibilities of failures. While anticipating every failure mode is not possible, a Lean Six Sigma Project team would use the principle to brainstorm an extensive a list of potential failure modes as possible.

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Efficiency

The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the output to an input of power, energy or units per time. The Efficiency concept is one that is definable and measurable.

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Error Proofing

Also called Mistake Proofing or Poka-Yoke, a series of techniques that help operators avoid mistakes in their work by reducing the opportunity for errors to occur.

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Exponential Distribution

A probability distribution mathematically described by an exponential function. The exponential distribution is used to model Poisson Processes which can be situations in which an object initially in State A changes to State B with constant probability per unit time (mui). In other words, they are often used to model the time between events that happen at a constant average rate.

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