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

Factor Comparison:
A quantitative job evaluation methodology which proceeds as follows. (1) First, 20 or 30 key company jobs are selected as a basis, and the various principle factors are identified as being required in their performance (examples might be mental ability; responsibility; working conditions, etc). (2) Next, the key jobs are evaluated by group discuss...

Factory Gate Pricing:
see FGP

Fail Safe (= "Failure to Safety"):
an interlocking machinery guard system, being a guard with a moveable part connected with the macinery controls, such that (1) the parts of the machinery constituting a danger cannot be set in motion until the guard is closed, or (2) such that the power is switched off and the motion braked before the guard can be opened to allow access to the dan...

Failure Mode:
The reaction of a manufactured product to a cause of failure. For example, the cause of failure may a surge of current; the failure mode of the product as a result of the surge may be a burnt out circuit. The concept of failure mode is employed in FMECA, qv.

Failure Rate:
Usually denoted by the Greek letter lamda. Under operational conditions, the failure rate of a particular type of component or unit expresses the number of failing units to have occurred by a certain time as a fraction of the number of surviving units.

Fair Shares (lean DRP, or DRPII):
A formal means of calculating the replenishment requirements of a distribution network. The system consists of three stages: (1) identification of those SKUs in the network that will require replenishment at some short time ahead; (2) calculation of the ideal quantities of material to be despatched to fulfil future needs of these SKUs; and (3) the...

Fairtrade:
a global scheme initiated by government development agencies within "first world" countries intended to persuade Western consumers to purchase fairtrade commodities in shops and supermarkets. Fairtrade commodities - coffee, cotton goods, fruit, tea ... - are commodities grown in "third world" countries, currently sold at very l...

FAK:
(Freight All Kinds) A system of tariff charging applied in Deep Sea transportation employed by non-conference operators whereby a charge is made by the shipper dependent only on the cubic capacity of the load carried and the distance it is conveyed. Contrast the tariff rates charged by a Conference operator which is set depending on the cargo's fi...

Family Forecast:
Synonymous with "Group Forecast" (qv).

Fao:
office jargon meaning "for the attention of".

FAS (Final Assembly Schedule):
Meaning 2 - A product may consist of a basic structure but incorporate a number of alternative features specified on an individual basis by the customer when he places the order. An example is a standard Ford Focus, but with the customer specified options of a blue exterior, a 1400cc engine, automatic transmission etc.. Manufacture proceeds in two...

FASB:
In the UK, Financial Accounting Standards Board.

FCA (followed by a named place):
Free Carrier - see Incoterms (Group F, "main carriage unpaid"). FCA means that the seller delivers the goods cleared for export to the carrier nominated by the buyer at the named place. Note that if delivery occurs at the seller's premises, the seller is responsible for loading, but if delivery occurs at any other place, the seller is no...

FCFS:
See First come, first served.

FCS:
Finite Capacity Scheduling, qv.

FDI:
foreign direct investment.

FED:
Field Emission Display.

Feeder Operation:
Synonymous with Gateway Work Centre (qv).

FEM:
Finite Element Method.

FFCA:
Full Faraday Cycle Analysis - see AEN.

FGP:
Factory Gate Pricing - the assumption of responsibility by the retailer or wholesaler for the costs and responsibility for the primary distribution of goods from the supplier's factory to the next point in the supply chain - ie usually to the retailer's or wholesaler's warehouse. A proposal for an FGP deal is typically a supply chain initiative of...

FHBR:
Finance House Base Rate, the basic rate of interest charged by a lending insitution such as a leasing company. However, the company may charge its customers, say, 1% above its base rate in many circumstances, or may vary the rate charged in relation to its FHBR.

FIFO:
First In, First Out - a commonsense and near universal principal of stock rotation (but see LIFO). FIFO is sometimes used synonymously with First Come, First Served (qv) as a simplistic despatching rule, its effectiveness being used as a benchmark whereby other, more sophisticated, despatching rules can be judged.

Fill Rate:
Usually, the percentage of lines of customer orders filled from stock immediately on receipt. For example, if 10 orders were received each with 10 lines on each order, and 98 of the lines were filled straightaway, the fill rate of the company would be 98%. Other definitions relating to this common phrase are, of course, quite possible. See also Fir...

Final Assembly Schedule:
See FAS (2).

Finished Product:
A product after its final stage of manufacture has been completed.

Finish-to-order:
synonymous with assemble-to-order - see two-level master scheduling.

Finite Capacity Scheduling:
The scheduling by computer of materials plans onto work centres and operations, taking strict account in so doing of: (1) the lengths of time the planned requirements will occupy the resources; (2) the limited availability of the resources; (3) the technical rules and restrictions relating to materials made on the work centres concerned; and (4) c...

Fire Safety:
the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005 states that companies must ensure that their employees are provided with adequate fire safety training. For short courses throughout the UK on this subject, visit www.firetrainingacademy.co.uk.

Firm Zone:
see Frozen Zone.

First Card Unload:
An old shop floor practice of removing from the apparent work load of a work centre the entire content of a job operation immediately the first units of production have been reported as having been made. Although this puts the work centre supervisor in a good light, it also understates the remaining actual work requirements.

First Come, First Served:
A popular everyday phrase, but here meaning a job despatching rule operating as the name says. The outcome of potentially using the FCFS rule in terms of job finishing times is used as a yardstick for judging the performance of the other rules in simulation exercises examining the effectiveness of alternatives.

First Pick Ratio:
Where customer orders are being picked, the percentage of lines completely filled from stock, as specified on the orders, immediately on receipt. This definition is virtually the same as Fill Rate, except that Fill Rate may be thought to allow some order lines to be only partially completed, while First Pick Ratio implies that lines picked are100%...

FIS:
Factory Information System.

FISH:
first in, still here ... a humourous reflection by a production or stores supervisor in one of their more cynical moments.

Five Whys, The:
A dialectical procedure put forward by Sakichi Toyoda (a founding father of Toyota). A person asks why change needed to eliminate waste cannot be made to an existing situation, and receives an explanation. The person challenges the explanation with a second question - the second why, and so on, coming eventually to the fifth question and a challeng...

Fixed Asset:
See Asset (Fixed).

Fixed Cost:
See Cost (Fixed).

Fixed Interval Re-Order System:
The application of the POQ rule with a fixed, regular period (say, one month). Also referred to as the sales replenishment system.

Fixed Location Storage:
A storage area in which each different product to be stored is assigned to an exclusive, pre-specified location (everything in its place, and a place for everything). See also Variable Location Storage and honeycombing.

Fixed Order Interval:
A variation of the Order Point Replenishment System (qv), in which the reorder intervals are fixed. In the Order Point System proper, a new replenishment is ordered when stock falls to the "reorder point". In the Fixed Order Interval system, instead of ordering a specified replenishment lot R, what is ordered is sufficient stock to last until the ...

Fixed Planned Order:
An alternative name for a firm planned order (qv) in MRP.

Flag of Convenience:
An expression meaning that a ship owner has registered the home port of his vessel outside his home country, usually for tax reasons and to avoid restrictions imposed by his home government on manning levels and wage rates. Panama, Liberia or Honduras are often chosen as countries of registration, and the national flag of one of these countries wi...

Flex (verb):
To make an adjustment to a budget as described in Flexible Budget.

Flexible Budget:
A budget in which an adjustment is made to allow for a difference between actual activity (ie actual production) and forecast activity.

Float:
Stock, including WIP, in excess of the immediate requirements for it. There are a large number of dictionary definitions of "float", including (1) a dock or place where vessels may float, and (2) an issuance of shares. See also Slack.

Floating Order Point System:
An order point system in which the order point is recalculated from time to time as the overall levels of sales demand fluctuate.

Floor (flatness of):
In a stores or warehouses, the flatness of the floor is critical to economical and safe working. Floors which are not flat will slow down fork lift trucks and cause elevated loads to lean. "Flatness" is specified by BS8204 (Part 2). The maximum elevation difference should be 3mm, although the standard for "super flat" flooring i...

Floor Stocks:
Commonly used C-Class items issued to the shop floor for general use and replenished by the 2-bin system. Also known as line side stocks.

FLT:
Fork Lift Truck. Also visit The Fork Lift Truck Association. Also see LOLER. For an associated topic, see Tyres.

Flytipping:
the unauthorised and illegal dumping of rubbish on land, usually at night.

fmcg:
Fast Moving Consumer Goods - typically groceries, bottled drinks and such like. Sports cars are not fast moving consumer goods.

FME:
Failing Manufacturing Enterprise.

FMEA:
synonymous with FMECA, qv.

FMECA:
(a) Failure mode, (b) Effect and (c) Criticality analysis. A formal four-step procedure for investigating the reliability of a product currently under design. The potential liability to failure of the product under design is investigated thus: (1) Failure mode - what happened when it failed? (2) Failure mechanism - what was the cause of the failur...

FO:
Fibre Optic, or Foreign Office (UK).

Focussed Factory:
There appear to be a number of alternative definitions as to what constitutes a focussed factory. (If searching the Internet, use the American spelling of focused factory.) All definitions however relate to a lean/JIT manufacturing environment. One definition is one of several semi-autonomous manufacturing groups within a large factory overall, ea...

Footprint:
See Pallet.

Force Majeure (legal):
Literally, Latin for "irresistable force" - an overwhelmng event rendering a contract incapable of performance and void. Note the phrase "incapable of performance" ... ie not just very difficult, or suddenly more expensive than was originally envisaged. See also frustration.

Forcing:
In hierarchical forecasting (qv), the imposition of a higher group forecast total on the sum of the individual forecasts at the next level down. For example, the group forecast for men's shirts, size 14, may be �100,000. However, if the individual forecasts for men's shirts, size 14, at the lower level are (1) white- �30,000, (2) blue - �40,000 , a...

Forecast (Consumption):
See also Consumed Forecast, Error AddBack. The difference between a demand forecast and the actual demand placed by the customer (ie the "error" is not a mistake in the usual sense of the word).

Forecast Period:
In demand forecasting, past demand is organised as a time-series (qv) - ie into divisions of equal duration. Forecasts are similarly calculated based on these periods. The periods chosen are likely to be either (1) weeks, (2) calendar months, or (3) costing periods of 4 weeks each, with 13 periods in the year. It is usually preferable to chose cal...

Forecasting :
see Causal Forecasting, Naive Forecasting, Hierarchical Forecasting and, particularly, Demand Forecasting..

Forex:
City jargon for foreign exchange.

Forrester's Curves:
In 1961, Prof. Jay Forrester of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology employed a continuous simulation program named DYNAMO to illustrate the relationship of production rates, demand and stockholding in three consecutive links of a supply chain (which he called a "retailer", a "wholesaler" and a "manufacturer"). T...

FORTRAN:
FORmula TRANslation, the world's first high level computer language developed at IBM in the late 1950s by John Backus and seen to be geared to the programming of scientific and mathematical calculations. FORTRAN was standardised in 1966. As a consequence, programs have very high portability between computers. The publication of FORTRAN 2003 has gi...

Forward Market:
When a company requires a foreign currency at a specified date in the future, at the time the deal is struck it must immediately take action to protect itself against an adverse movement in the exchange rate in the interval of time leading up to the moment when actual payment will be demanded. (If the company does nothing, in effect it is speculat...

Forwards Scheduling:
The creation of a schedule by starting at the current date, and working forwards in time to find when, in the future, the work will be completed. Finite Schedulers and APS use forwards scheduling, although, as an option, backwards scheduling can be specified. (MRP uses backwards scheduling - qv.).

Fourth Party Logistics (4PL):
Multinational companies frequently outsource their logistical operations to many third party distribution companies (perhaps a different third party in each country in which inventory is held). The coordination of the activities of these third parties and the overall control of the total logistical operation by yet a further outside company - a si...

FP:
Finite Planning.

FPA:
Fire Protection Association.

fpm:
feet per minute.

FPO:
Firm Planned Order, or Fixed Planned Order (qv).

Fraction Rejected Chart:
See Attribute Control Chart.

Fraser's Five Point Plan:
A procedure put forward in 1958 by Munro Fraser for assessing a job candidate at an interview. See also Rodger's Seven Point Plan.

Free Change Zone:
the unfrozen part of the master schedule horizon - see 3rd Time Fence.

Free Trade:
Trade between nation states transacted without import barriers or import quotas.

Freehold
:Outright ownership of land or buildings, free of such charges as rent or leasehold. (Flying freehold refers to the freehold of property which is an elevated, juxtaposed part of another property - for example, an attic extension.)

Freeze Period:
In relation to the requirement of a company to "freeze" its material requirements from a supplier (as to date and quantity), the freeze period may be 2 or 3 days ahead. There is also a semi-freeze period and an unfrozen ("liquid") period. See the free on-line purchasing course at this site.

Freight Forwarding Agent:
An individual or firm having great knowledge of the practice of distribution and transport who will undertake to arrange the transportation of goods from one point to another on behalf of a customer. A freight forwarding agent may also assist the customer with customs and other documentation, and will manage the payment of dock dues and similar cha...

Frozen Zone:
also referred to as the firm zone - see Time Fence (1st).

FRT:
Future Reality Tree.

FRU:
Field Replaceable Unit.

Frustration (legal):
The occurence of an event such as a flood or fire may make the fulfilment of a contract impossible. The difference between frustration and force majeure (qv) is purely semantic - ie it is the force majeure which causes the frustration. The main point relating to frustration is that a party cannot claim the frustration of a contract merely because p...

FSAN:
Full Services Access Network

FTA:
Fault Tree Analysis - ie a methodology for predicting potential causes of product failure - see FMECA.

FTP:
File Transfer Protocol.

Full Faraday Cycle Analysis:
see AEN.

Functional Mapping:
A simple charting technique used especially in company planning to depict the behaviour of one or more critical variables over time. Examples of critical variables are product price; reliability; product performance; and field support. The value of the charts, or functional maps, is that the information they display is clear to read and easy to re...

Fungible:
goods of Type A ordered by a buyer are said to be fungible if it is acceptable to him that the supplier can send goods of Type B instead. Fungible is a legal term often used of money - the origin of money may be irrelevant in most circumstances when considering the total amount in the bank.

Future:
On the London commodity market (or on any other global commodity market), a future is a contract either to buy or to sell a quantity of a particular commodity (raspberries, copper or American dollars, for instance) at a specified date in the future. An industrialist wishing to sell physical goods in the future will sell a future at a given price i...

GAAP:
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. It should be noted that the GAAP accepted by the UK conform to the IFRS set of accounting standards. These are not the same as the GAAP pertaining to the US. It is consequently necessary for UK companies seeking to raise capital or file accounts in the US to prepare a second set of accounts complying with t...

Gage R&R:
see Gauge R&R.

Gantt Chart:
a horizontally oriented bar chart. When the horizontal axis denotes time, as usually it does, the Gantt chart is particularly useful for illustrating work schedules. See also planning board.

Gateway Work Centre:
The first work centre that a job proceeds to, immediately after its release to the shop floor. The measured control of the release of work to gateway work centres is the vital function of I/O Control, qv.

GATT:
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. A treaty originally devised and launched by the US in 1947 to promote free world trade, and since extended many times.

Gauge R&R:
Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibilty. In taking any measurement in business, whether in SPC on the factory floor or in a customer survey in the office, it is desirable that the means by which measurements are recorded should have the required degree of accuracy and should be (1) repeatable - ie if one person measures the same thing a second time ...

Gaylord:
a large corrugated container matching the dimensions of a pallet or smaller (wooden) container. Gaylord is a tradename that has become accepted as generic.

Gazette:
In the UK, a daily publication of the Department of Trade & Industry, in which are made official public announcements, including winding up orders (hence to be gazetted ... to be made the subject of a winding up order).

Gbs:
Gigabits per second.