Copy of `Glossary of Manufacturing - Manufacturing terms`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Glossary of Manufacturing - Manufacturing terms Category: Agriculture and Industry Date & country: 27/04/2011, USA Words: 2096

Supplier, First Tier:
A first tier supplier is responsible for the actual physical delivery of material to a Just-in-Time customer. The 1st Tier supplier must ensure that deliveries are made on the specified dates and at the specified times of day to the nominated factory entry points, and that the goods delivered are physically arranged for use on the customer's produc...

Supplier, Second Tier:
See Supplier, First Tier.

Supplier:
See Vendor for a discussion of the terms vendor and supplier.

Supply Chain Simulator:
A tentative name for computer software capable of exploding a bill of materials extremely quickly (in seconds) to enable fast analyses to be obtained, such as load reports, RCCP etc, making the use of these techniques practical and easier than hitherto. The best known of the Simulators is webPLAN - visit webplan.com.

Supply Chain:
To give an example, one link in a chain may be the commercial procedures and agreement between a supplying company, Company C and a buying company, Company D, including the means provided for the exchange of goods and money. Now, first, suppose that another company, Company B, supplies goods to Company C. Next, suppose that Company D supplies goods...

Survival Rate:
Because of what they are and their operating environment, manufactured components are liable to fail after some time in actual use. (Failure might mean burning up, wearing away, cracking open ...) The survival rate is defined as the number of surviving units after a certain time, as a fraction of the original number. If the survival rate is R(t), ...

SVF:
Simple Vector Format.

SVGA:
Super Video Graphics Adaptor.

Swap Bodies:
Trailers on vehicles that can be demounted onto small wheels, enabling (say) the loaded trailer to be left at a customer's premises one week, while the driver returns to base with the now-empty trailer he left last week.

SWAT (team):
The acronym SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) originated in the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1960s, and is occasionally used in industry to mean a one-off problem solving group similar to a Six Sigma project team.

SWIFT:
Simulated Work Input and Flow Time.

Switch Trading:
A type of countertrading (qv) in which goods destined for one country are diverted on the high seas to another country, in order to balance trade.

Switching Rules (Sampling):
Important defined rules whereby incoming lots may be sampled either by a normal sampling plan or by a more stringent, or "tightened", sampling plan, depending on the experience of acceptances or rejections up to a given point. (That is, if there have been so-many lot rejections, the quality manager switches to a tightened plan.)

SWOT Analysis:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis.

Syllabus Order (SO):
an old term for a cost centre.

Symbology:
The pattern of black and white stripes which form the basis of a particular bar coding system.

Syndicated Research:
the conduct of market research surveys by a group of companies selling a particular type of consumer item (for example, shoes, light bulbs).

Synthetic Product:
synonymous with super item, qv.

Systems Thinking:
the big idea of management expert Russ Ackoff, who teaches that the company must be seen as a whole and as a system, in order to make changes to it and improve it. Divisional or departmental thinking may lead to a detriment in overall performance if it fails to take into account wider goals. Ackoff has promulgated a number of f-laws, in his book M...

Tableau:
(French: "table") A term used in the transportation algorithm for setting out the basic data relating to the transportation network.

TACT:
Total Average Cycle Time (net available time/weekly requirements, when established under Heijunka). Also see Takt Time.

Tactic (in Negotiation):
In a negotiation, one party is clearly acquainted fully only with the facts about his own position - eagerness to buy, admiration of the product, shortage of money, and has no real underlying knowledge of the facts relating to his opponent's position. A tactic is a ruse or subterfuge practised by one party in these circumstances either to deceive ...

Taguchi, Genichi:
A Japanese engineer and statistician noted especially for describing the relationship between manufacturing quality and product design. In product design, given upper and lower limits of target performance, it is recognised that actual manufacture of many units will in fact show that there are differences in product performance from one unit to th...

Take-Back:
See WEEE (End of Life Legislation).

Takt Time:
the total time specifically spent in manufacture in producing one object. Takt time as defined by Toyota, however, is the planned time allowable between the completion of each vehicle model .Also see TACT. The word Takt is German for metronome, this being strictly an instrument used in music for marking the time by means of a graduated, inverted p...

TAPE:
Task, Assess, Plan, Execute.

TAQ:
Total Acquisition Cost. The sum of all costs incurred by a company in ordering and holding stock from a supplier - ie Order Costs + Stock Holding Costs. The "economic order quantity" (EOQ - qv) is that quantity of stock to order which will minimises the TAQ.

Tare:
the weight of the wrapping, receptacle or conveyance containing goods which is deducted from the gross in order to ascertain the net weight (OED). Thus if the package including goods weighs 100 lbs (ie gross = 100 lbs) and the tare is 20 lbs, the goods themselves weigh 80 lbs (100 lbs - 20 lbs). The accuracy with which a tare weight is determined ...

Target Setting:
The putting up of a measure of performance by management as a desirable mark of customer satisfaction, in the hope that actual performance achieved will reach or exceed the target set. (See Bonus Schemes). Three erroneous suppositions are made by management in setting a target: (1) that the achievement of a target is independent of the system givin...

TAT:
Turn Around Time. The total time to repair an item of equipment while at the location of the repair facility (ie excluding transit time to reach the site of the repair or the time to collect tools).

Taylorism:
application of "scientific management" to the study of work and job performance, as advocated by F.W.Taylor (1856 - 1915). According to Taylor, the scientific management of work comprises two steps: (1) the planning and organisation of work, including the analysis of job content and the setting of performance standards, and (2) the carryi...

Tb
: Terabyte (1000 gigabytes).

TBPM:
Time Based Process Mapping - a means of illustrating and examining the durations of time involved in the steps of manufacture from supply to delivery, with a view to eliminating unnecessary delays.

TCM:
Time Critical Manufacturing.

TCP/IP:
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.

TCR:
Temperature Coefficient of Resistance.

TDC:
Total Delivered Cost.

TDM:
Time Division Multiplexing.

TDMA:
Time Division Multiple Access.

Teaspoons (disappearance of):
A phenomenon that we are all familiar with, especially restaurateurs, is the strange and unavoidable disappearance of teaspoons. According to the results of an Australian experiment reported in the British Medical Journal involving 70 numbered teaspoons, the 'half life' of the spoons was a mere 81 days (that is, every 81 days, half the teaspoons r...

Tender:
A tender (noun) is a document submitted by a vendor offering to supply goods or services, being so submitted in response to a request to do so by a company wishing to buy. The tender document constitutes a legal offer, so that, if it is accepted by the buyer without any amendment, a contract is immediately formed. (Note importantly that the origina...

Terotechnology:
A word derived from the Greek and meaning the study and management of an asset's life from its very start (acquisition) to its very end (final disposal, perhaps involving dismantling and specialised treatment prior to scrap). One of the most dramatic examples of the full consideration of terotechnology is the construction, use and final decommissi...

TEWE:
Technology for Enterprise-Wide Engineering.

TFP:
total factor productivity - see productivity.

TFT:
Thin Film Transistor.

TGW:
Things Gone Wrong - a measure of system quality.

TGWU:
Transport and General Workers Union (UK).

The Deming Circle:
a name sometimes given to the PDCA circle (qv).

Theory of Constraints:
A number of rules, procedures, algorithms and recommendations connected with the management of a production bottleneck and other matters, devised by Eliyahu Goldratt. Where several products can be made at the bottleneck, the main issue is which products that require use of the bottleneck output are to have their requirements satisfied in full and ...

Theory of Runs:
On a variable control chart used in SPC, probability will suggest that the sample means will be distributed more-or-less evenly about the centre line. If two successive sample means are on the same side as the centre line, the possibility of this occuring is simply 1 / 2. If three successive sample means are on the same side, the probability is (1...

Theory X and Theory Y:
Theory X states that employees are antipathetic to work and can only be cajoled into doing their best by money and perquisites. Theory Y states the opposite - that employees enjoy work and its challenges, and can be motivated by their employers' encouragement and recognition. These two theories are no longer fashionable.

Threats:
(1) In negotiation tactics, a landlord informs a commercial tenant whose lease is about to expire, that the premises are required by another tenant and the existing tenant's lease will not therefore be renewed. After this news has sunk in, the landlord now says he might allow the existing tenant to renew his lease provided he agrees to pay double ...

Three Bin System:
In a two-bin system, if the size of a standard container is relatively small and either the rate of use of the material is high or the time to obtain a replenishment is lengthy, it may be justified to convert to a three-bin system instead. In a three-bin system, if the second standby bin is never broken into before the arrival of the replenishment...

TIFF:
Tag Image File Format:

TIG:
Technology Implementation Group.

Tim Wood:
an amusing and useful mnemonic relating to waste and lean manufacture as follows: T = the waste of Transport, I = Inventory, M = Movement, W = Waiting O = Overprocessing, O = Overproduction and D = the waste of Defects. See also Waste.

Time & Motion Study:
US terminology for Work Study. See Taylorism.

Time Fence (1st):
In master scheduling, the duration of time from the present moment to some designated time in the future (ie the first time fence) is termed the frozen zone. Master scheduled plans in the frozen zone cannot be rescheduled by the mechanism of the projected stock balance - ie if the arithmetic indicates that plans within this zone are needed at diff...

Time Fence (2nd):
In master scheduling, the duration of time from the first time fence (qv) to some designated time further in the future is referred to as the semi-frozen zone. As with the frozen zone, the MPS system cannot reschedule plans within the semi-frozen zone. If the arithmetic indicates material plans are needed at different times, rescheduling messages a...

Time Fence (3rd):
In master scheduling, the third time fence (in so far as it exists) is from the 2nd time fence to the planning horizon of the product. There are no rescheduling restrictions, and if the projected stock arithmetic shows that plans must be rescheduled, they are duly rescheduled by the system. It is very likely that frequent changes will be made by t...

Time Phased Order Point (TPOP):
When an order is calculated to be required under the order point system, then if the replenishment quantity received is R units and the forecast of demand is d units per day, the replenishment R will last for R / d days - ie a second order will be needed in R / d days after the arrival of the first one, and so on. Time phased order point ignores t...

Time-Series:
In sales forecasting, a time-series is the arrangement of data to be analysed in distinct, separate periods, such as the months of the year. The age of the data is usually held as being significant - for example, older data is typically given less "weight" or importance than more recent data in conducting the analysis and arriving at a f...

Tine:
a prong of a fork, as in the expression the tines of a fork lift truck.

TIR:
Transport International Routier (French for International Transport Company). When displayed on a vehicle, it means that the vehicle is capable of being sealed for customs purposes (but not necessarily that it is so sealed at the time the TIR plates are displayed).

Title:
Legal ownership. The title in goods, or legal ownership of them, passes to the buyer either when the contract says so or when the goods are processed in such a way as to change their physical form. Nowadays, contracts will normally specify that title passes to the buyer only when payment has been received by the supplier. (If title passed to the b...

TLA:
Three Letter Acronym (an acronym being a word formed from the initial letters of other words - eg FAS = Final Assembly Schedule).

TNE:
Tolerable Negative Error. Under the average weight system (ie the "e" on packages), the TNE is a maximum of 2.5% shortfall on the average weight. For example, 1000gms of sugar sold as 1000gms "e", can legally have an actual range of weight from 975gms to 1025gms. In this case, the TNE is 25gms.

TNF:
Third Normal Form - see SQL.

TOC:
See Theory of Constraints.

Tolerance Stacking:
Theoretically, if four stacking components are to be assembled with tolerance spreads of T1, T2, T3 and T4, the maximum spread for engineering design purposes is (T1 + T2 + T3 + T4). However, if certain conditions hold good, the maximum spread may be half this value.

Toll Manufacture:
In the process industries, because of the size, specialisation and capital cost of plant, it is common for Company A to send material to Company B for processing and return, Company B being in possession of the special equipment needed by Company A at the next stage of manufacture its product. The manufacture performed by Company B is termed toll ...

Tools Stores:
In many companies, tools required in manufacture are held in a separate store rather than in the store for materials. However, in general, tool control is best accomplished in conjunction with the planning of materials and jobs, in the normal management of the shop floor. The ability to associate particular tools with particular jobs by augmenting...

TOPS:
Team Oriented Problem Solving.

Tort:
The breach of a duty imposed by common law other than one where there is a contractual obligation. Thus the tort of negligence; the tort of breach of statutory duty, the tort of passing off, etc.. See duty of care.

Total Factor Productivity:
see productivity.

Total Preventive Maintenance:
A term sometimes mistaken for Total Productive Maintenance (qv).

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM):
TPM requires that its principles and practices should be accepted as valid and central throughout the company - ie that they should be accepted and supported by the most senior manager and the most junior shop floor operator alike. The subject of TPM itself is usually thought of in five divisions: (1) maintenance prevention (selection of equipment...

Total Quality Control (TQC):
The application of precepts and procedures intended to promote continuous improvement within the company and the production of goods and services conforming to customer requirements. Total quality control applies not merely to activities relating to physical manufacture (important though conforming product units may be). As well, it applies to suc...

Total Quality Management (TQM):
The smooth operation of the activities connected with total quality control will inevitably from time to time meet problems or will be seen to be deficient in some way. TQM is the guidance, control, review and adjustment of the operation of the procedures included in TQC. A formal definition of TQM put out by the ISO is "Management approach of...

Total Quality System:
A means of focussing on customers' needs and thereby enhancing customer satisfaction. (What a total quality system is most definitely not is a manual of procedures, controls and targets).

Total Value:
The cost to a buyer or consumer of a good that includes all expenditure liable to be incurred, not just the purchase price itself. Examples of costs other purchase price are the costs of breakdowns, maintenance, consumables, energy consumed and - eventually - the cost of disposal.

Toyota Equation, The :
An equation given by the Toyota Motor Car Company for calculating the initial number of kanban cards to be provided in a Just-in-Time manufacturing system. In words, the number of kanban equals the number of production units to be made during the transportation lead time (to the next stage). The equation is n = (d L (1 + b))/c, where n is the numbe...

TPI:
Total Profit Improvement.

TPM:
Total Productive Maintenance, qv.

TPOP:
Time Phased Order Point, qv.

TPS:
Toyota Production System - ie Just-in-Time.

TQC:
See Total Quality Control.

TQM:
See Total Quality Management.

Traceability:
The ability to determine the origin of manufacture or destination of supply of any given item and the detailed facts relating to such origin or destination. For manufactured items, the traceable facts will include the production batch identification number (eg leading elsewhere to dates, production details and quality test documents etc) and other...

TRADACOMS :
see UNTD12.

Trade Bill:
see Bill of Exchange.

Trade Creditors and Trade Debtors:
companies which are currently credit suppliers/credit customers.

trade debt
is one where a customer has been granted a certain period of time in which to pay for products supplied.

Trade Descriptions Act, 1968:
An act dealing with the application of false or misleading trade descriptions to goods and services.

Trade Fair:
A major gathering usually lasting 4 or 5 days in a national conference and hotel centre at which manufacturers exhibit their latest goods to buyers (wholesalers and merchants). An example is the giftware fair held at the NEC each January, to the great inconvenience of non-attendees wanting accommodation in the south Birmingham area at that time.

Trade Off Curve:
See Exchange Curve.

Trading Day:
A day on which the company is open for business with regard to sales - see forecast period.

Trading Zone:
the "semi frozen" part of the master schedule horizon - see 2nd Time Fence.

Transaction (Duplicate):
In the maintenance of stock records or the recording of shop floor data, a data transaction may be submitted twice by mistake. (Except for the time of arrival in the system, the data in each instance would therefore be identical.) In an on-line system, it is an easy matter for IT people to detect a possible duplicate and warn the data inputter, gi...

Transaction (Late):
In reconciling a cycle count, difficulties are inevitable if an unprocessed transaction remains within the system relating to an event which took place before the stock was counted. For example, the stock count made at 10.00am may be 140 units, the stock record at 10.00am may say 160 units, and there may be a late unprocessed transaction in the sy...