Glossary
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1. 5S
Five Ss: Five terms beginning with "S" utilized to create a workplace suited for visual control and lean production. Seiri means to separate needed tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials and to remove the latter. Seiton means to neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease of use. Seiso means to conduct a cleanup campaign. Seiketsu means to conduct seiri, seiton, and seiso at frequent, indeed daily, intervals to maintain a workplace in perfect condition. Shitsuke means to form the habit of always following the first four Ss.
2. 8D
Eight Disciplines (8-D): A term used to identify a formal eight step process for problem solving to define root cause and prevent re-occurrence (See DMAIC).
3. Acceptable quality level (AQL)
Acceptable quality level (AQL): In a continuing series of lots, a quality level that, for the purpose of sampling inspection, is the limit of satisfactory process average.
4. Acceptance sampling plan
Acceptance sampling plan: A specific plan that indicates the sampling sizes and associated acceptance or nonacceptance criteria to be used. In attributes sampling, for example, there are single, double, multiple, sequential, chain and skip-lot sampling plans. In variables sampling, there are single, double and sequential sampling plans. (For detailed descriptions of these plans, see the standard ANSI/ISO/ASQ A3534-2, Statistics—Vocabulary and Symbols—Statistical Quality Control.)
5. Accreditation
Accreditation: Certification by a duly recognized body of the facilities, capability, objectivity, competence and integrity of an agency, service, or operational group or individual to provide the specific service or operation needed.
6. Action plan
Action plan: A specific method or process to achieve the results called for by one or more objectives. May be a simpler version of a project plan.
7. Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)
Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP): Segment of QS-9000 process that uses tools to offer the opportunity to get ahead of problems and solve them before the problems affect the customer.
8. AOQL
AOQL: The maximum average outgoing quality over all possible levels of incoming quality for a given acceptance sampling plan and disposal specification.
9. AS9100
Aerospace version of ISO9001
10. ASQ
American Society for Quality
11. Attribute data: Go/no-go information
Attribute data: Go/no-go information. The control charts based on attribute data include percent chart, number of affected units chart, count chart, count per unit chart, quality score chart and demerit chart.
12. Audit
Audit: The inspection and examination of a process or quality system to ensure compliance to requirements. An audit can apply to an entire organization or may be specific to a function, process or production step.
13. Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG): The originator and sole source of the QS-9000 series of standards.
14. Benchmarking
Benchmarking: An improvement process in which a company measures its performance against that of best in class companies, determines how those companies achieved their performance levels and uses the information to improve its own performance. The subjects that can be benchmarked include strategies, operations, processes and procedures.
15. Best practice
Best practice: A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improved performance of an organization, usually recognized as "best" by other peer organizations.
16. Blemish
Blemish: An imperfection severe enough to be noticed but that should not cause any real impairment with respect to intended normal or reasonably foreseeable use (see also "defect," "imperfection" and "nonconformity").
17. BMS
Set of policies, practices, procedures, and processes used in developing and deploying strategies, their execution, and all associated management activity.
18. Bottom line
Bottom line: The essential or salient point; the primary or most important consideration. Also, the line at the bottom of a financial report that shows the net profit or loss.
19. Brainstorming
Brainstorming: A technique teams use to generate ideas on a particular subject. Each person in the team is asked to think creatively and write down as many ideas as possible. The ideas are not discussed or reviewed until after the brainstorming session.
20. Business Management System
BMS: Set of policies, practices, procedures, and processes used in developing and deploying strategies, their execution, and all associated management activity.
21. Calibration
Calibration: The comparison of a measurement instrument or system of unverified accuracy to a measurement instrument or system of known accuracy to detect any variation from the required performance specification.
22. CAPA
Acronym for Corrective and Preventive Action.
23. Cause
Cause: An identified reason for the presence of a defect or problem.
24. Cause and effect diagram
Cause and effect diagram: A tool for analyzing process dispersion. It is also referred to as the "Ishikawa diagram," because Kaoru Ishikawa developed it, and the "fishbone diagram," because the complete diagram resembles a fish skeleton. The diagram illustrates the main causes and subcauses leading to an effect (symptom). The cause and effect diagram is one of the "seven tools of quality." (See listing).
25. Champion
Champion: A business leader or senior manager who ensures that resources are available for training and projects, and who is involved in project tollgate reviews; also an executive who supports and addresses Six Sigma organizational issues.
