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Kaizen: The effecting of continuous improvement by systematically making small beneficial changes on a continuous basis. Two kinds of change are possible in a company: (1) wholescale major changes, perhaps associated with the introduction of new technology or systems; and (2) gradual, never-ending change using existing resources to effect small improvements. Kaizen is concerned with possibility (2). For example, kaizen might be based on putting into practice '5 S' (SSSSS). The principal exponent of kaizen is Masaaki Imai, who also holds that the subject subsumes personal, or self, improvement, as well as improvement of the work environment. As well as '5S', see Kaizen Teian below.
Kaizen Teian: an employee suggestion scheme set up as an adjunct of a continuous improvement drive. Suggestions are elicited from shop floor and other employees, these then being evaluated by management and, if beneficial to the manufacturing process, duly put into effect. Financial awards may be made to staff based on the merits of the ideas they come up with.
Kalman Filters: Synonymous with Bayesian Forecasting (qv), the term Kalman filters having its origin in engineering science.
Kanban: A Japanese word with no equivalent in English (except, perhaps, "signage"), used by The Toyota Car Company since 1953 to mean a card about 3" x 5" in a plastic vinyl pouch holding brief, simple information relating to the manufacture to hand. A formal definition of kanban is: a card or signal conveying information and indicating the need to take action within a Just-in-Time or lean manufacturing system. Toyota use kanban to control the production of parts (the production kanban) and the movement of parts (the movement kanban). The number of kanban cards in the system is critical, since this determines the amount of stock present on the factory floor: every effort is made to operate with fewer and fewer cards so as to reduce such stock. To calculate the number of cards, see the Toyota Equation. Kanban in Japanese is pronounced "con bon". Note that a "two bin" system of replenishment, whereby a new lot is called for from supplies when a previous lot has been used up, is often (wrongly) called a kanban system - people who insist on calling their simple two-bin system "kanban" also like to call the two-bin replenishment ticket a kanban ticket. (God bless the British amateur.)
Kann Was: a type of schwundgeld originating in January 2004 in Bad Oldesloe, Germany.
Kano Analysis: A diagramming method devised by the Japanese quality expert Noriaki Kano in which each customer requirement relating to a manufactured object or service is placed in one or other of three classes: (1) Dissatisfiers or Basic Requirements - these are essential requirements and define the minimum baseline (for example: the car is provided with brakes; the TV set gives a picture); (2) Satisfiers or Variable Requirements - attributes of the object/service which will please the customer either more or less depending on the degree to which it is present (examples are price, or the acceleration capabilty of a sports car); and (3) Delighters or Latent Requirements - features which go beyond what the customer might ordinarily expect (eg a built-in satellite navigation system in the car). A Kano diagram in the form of a cross can be drawn to help show which requirements have been well/poorly provided for and the customer satisfaction resulting therefrom. For example, an excellent standard of provision of a Class 1 feature will not elicit customer satisfaction, whereas even quite a poorly provided Class 3 feature will cause some satisfaction.
Katatataki: allegedly, Japanese for an employee getting a tap on the shoulder so that his employer can say Goodbye! (Better than just being handed a black bin bag, one supposes.)
KBE: Knowledge-Based Engineering.
Kerf Allowance: An addition to the stated requirements of bar, rod, tubing and similar material to compensate for the small amount of material that will be lost in cutting operations.
Kirschblute: a type of schwundgeld originating in October 2004 in Witzenhausen, central Germany.
Kiss: keep it simple stupid.
Kit: The collection of those parts needed to complete a manufacturing job. Thus a job to make 50 bicycles will require a kit of 100 wheels, 50 frames, 50 handlebars ...
Kitting and Kitting Area: An area in which a kit of parts is to be assembled prior to the commencement of a production job. In unruly and less than brilliantly managed factories, it has been known for kits to be "robbed" - ie for material in kits to be removed surreptitiously by operators wanting those parts for other jobs. If stock records are 100% correct, physical kitting is unnecessary ... kits (if necessary at all) can be assembled "on the computer" by moving the stock into a special category of the stock record (ie into "allocated status"). Although kitting is often held to be synonymous with the terms staging and hauling, staging at least is perhaps more associated with assembling material in preparation for its despatch.
Knowledge Mapping: A knowledge map is a type of functional map depicting what is known about some particular, critical variable relating to a product, over time (for example, what is known about the top speed of the average motor car, year by year from 1918 to the present).
KPI: Key Performance Indicator. A measurement believed by a company to be indicative of its business performance. For example, a KPI for an organisation concerned with production monitoring and control might be its inventory records accuracy, expressed as a percentage. See BAM and see also benchmarking.
Krupp, Alfred: A prominent German iron and steel industrialist, and founder of a major steel firm bearing his name.
KWA: Key Word Analysis, a technique associated with design quality and failure avoidance.
KWIC: Key Word in Context - a library and text classification and search technique.
KWOC: Key Word out of context - a library classification and search technique.
