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Kaizen
The Japanese term for improvement; continuing
improvement involving everyone—managers and workers.
In manufacturing, kaizen relates to finding and
eliminating waste in machinery, labor, or production
methods.
Kaizen Blitz
A rapid improvement of a limited process area, for
example, a production cell. Part of the improvement
team consists of workers in that area. The
objectives are to use innovative thinking to
eliminate non-value-added work and to immediately
implement the changes within a week or less.
Ownership of the improvement by the area work team
and the development of the team’s problem-solving
skills are additional benefits.
Keiretsu
A form of cooperative relationship among companies
in Japan where the companies largely remain legally
and economically independent, even though they work
closely in various ways such as sole sourcing and
financial backing. A member of a keiretsu generally
owns a limited amount of stock in other member
companies. A keiretsu generally forms around a bank
and a trading company but “distribution” (supply
chain) keiretsus exist linking companies from raw
material suppliers to retailers
Kanban
Japanese word for "visible record", loosely
translated means card, billboard or sign.
Popularized by Toyota Corporation, it uses standard
containers or lot sizes to deliver needed parts to
assembly line "just in time" for use.
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