Taiichi Ohno (aka the Father of the TPS), 1912–1990, was the key architect of the Toyota production system. The main concepts of the system were to remove or reduce all (seven) wastes and small batch sizes and to flow the product through the complete manufacturing process by:

1. Right sizing machines for the actual volume needed.

2. Introducing self-monitoring machines to ensure quality.

3. Lining the machines up in process sequence.

4. Quick set-ups enabling each machine to make small volumes of a variety of products (SMED - single minute exchange of dies) performed by operators.

5. Having each process step notify the previous step of its current needs for materials (Kanban - card system for part delivery).

Ohno also introduced radical c.ell concepts, whereby:

1. Teams were created with a designated team leader.

2. Each team had a set of production tasks.

3. Teams were given responsibility for housekeeping (5S), minor repairs (autonomous maintenance) and quality checks.

4. Time was set aside for collective continuous improvement (Kaizen).

(See Toyota Production System (TPS) - Shegio Shingo)

One Point Lesson is a simple process to clearly communicate an instruction or activity on one A4 page, it involves:

1. A less than 15-minute lesson.

2. Simple instructions.

3. Using senses to describe condition.

4. Visual Control.

(See Setting Standards - Visual Factory - Visual Controls - Andon)

Operational Excellence is how well people (employees, team members, associates) do the work to maintain or enhance business performance.

Optimisation is the act of making a process, activity, equipment, as effective and efficient as possible. 

(See Kaizen)

A business organisation can be defined as a systemic approach to utilise a collection of resources (people, money, machines, material, methods, functions, departments, measurements) that are aligned to achieve a common purpose and deliver products and services to meet the customers’ requirements.

(See Organisational Alignment - Organisational Excellence - Organisational Types - Excellence)

Organisational Alignment is the process (concept) of creating unity from board room to shop floor (general manager or site director to associates or team members), where everyone in the organisation shares a common vision, values and aims (purpose) for the organisation. All work collaboratively and co-operatively to accomplish the aims and achieve the vision. 

(See Organisation - Strategy Deployment - Purpose - Vision - Values - Aims - Goals)

Organisational Excellence can be defined as how well all departments or functions are aligned and how their employees are engaged in improvement to consistently fulfil the organisation’s purpose, achieve superior and sustainable performance, and deliver the customer requirements - either through products or service. 

(See Organisation - Excellence - Organisational Alignment)

The origins of the Organisational Chart are said to have been introduced by George Whistler. An Organisational Chart is used to illustrate (visualise) the structure and hierarchy of the organisation, detailing the functions and/or departments, roles and responsibilities, and the direct and indirect reporting or relationship structures. They often include names, job titles and numbers of employees. 

(See Whistler (George) - Ford (Henry))

There are basically six different types or categories of organisation, each is owned, operated, managed and governed differently. They are:

1. Public limited company (PLC).

2. Limited company (LTD).

3. Partnerships.

4. Sole traders.

5. Public sector organisations.

6. Third sector organisations.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a ‘best practice’ way to monitor and improve the efficiency of your manufacturing processes. It takes the most common and important sources of manufacturing loss and places them into three categories: availability, performance and quality. 

(See Availability - Performance - Quality)

The PDCA cycle (also known as the Deming cycle) is a problem-solving approach/tool to drive continuous improvement (CI). 

The four steps are:

Plan - determine current state, identify root cause, use seven basic quality tools, develop potential solutions and plan to resolve issue and address root cause. 

Do - implement plans and record all data and measurements. 

Check - analyse data and measure to ensure the plan achieved results. Act - if analysis (check) proves the plan as successful, implement standards and systemic changes to underpin improvement and prevent recurrence. If results are unsuccessful, re-do the PDCA cycle.

(See CI - Deming - DMAIC - Problem Solving - SMED)

PESTLE is a business analysis framework used to identify key factors that may impact, influence or add risk to the business. It is a mnemonic that denotes: political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental. When used in the context of the organisation, this analysis tool allows us to take in the bigger picture to guide strategic decision making. 

(See SWOT Analysis)

Paired Comparison Analysis is a simple decision-making technique that allows you to choose between several different options by comparing their relative importance.

Stephen Covey defines paradigms as a pattern, model or representation of the way we see things or the mental image you have in your mind of the way things are. This is our reality and is based or formed from our backgrounds, beliefs and experiences. 

(See Covey (Stephen) - Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Covey’s See - Do - Get Model)

Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, realised that the wealth in Italy was unevenly distributed and mathematically proved his concept. He identified that 80% of the wealth in Italy was held by 20% of the people. The purpose of a Pareto chart is to illustrate that 80% of our problems reside in 20% of our activities and forces us to focus on the ‘vital few as opposed to the trivial many’. 

The concept is commonly known as the 80-20 rule. (See 80-20 Rule - 7 Quality Tools)