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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
GO TO T, Tar, Tb, Tc, Td, Te, Ten, Th, Thr, Tif, Tig, Tim, Tin, Tir, Tit, Tla, Tn, Toc, Tol, Too, Top, Tor, Total, Toy, Tp, Tqc, Tra, Trade, Tran, Trea, Tren, Tri, Tru, Tup, Turn, Tva,Tv Two, Tyr, Tx , last entry
t test : see Student's t test.
T / A: "Trading As" . A company that is legally incorporated as Company A carries out its business under the name of Company B (usually for historical or trademark reasons).
T&N: Turner and Newall.
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 the other party or narrow his options by misleading him as to the true facts, in either case gaining an advantage over him. For example, "The Engineering Department would like to pay your price of £15,000, but has only £10,000 remaining in its budget". This budget limit is a gross lie, of course, but the tactic may achieve its aim of obtaining the machine at the lower price. The more expert the negotiator, the more natural and truthful seems the deceit he practises. It is not a question merely of recognising what tactic is being used against you, but that a tactic is being used in the first place. The best protection against being outsmarted by the use of a tactic against you is outright cynicism, churlish though outright cynicism might appear to others. Glossary readers interested in negotiation are recommended to visit the free training course notes in negotiation, which, of course, include the use of tactics. To do so, see section 3 of the free on-line 'course' on negotiation at this site. See also threats.
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 the next (even though each is within the target limits). In choosing between alternative product designs all meeting target, Taguchi advocated the adoption of that design which would result in the minimum range of performance among the individual units actually manufactured. The advantages of doing so are twofold, said Taguchi. First, quality and process control will be easier to maintain in manufacture (ie the production of parts conforming to performance targets will be easier). Secondly, given that inherent variation in manufacture is inevitable, at least with such a design the consumer will experience greater consistency in performance from one manufactured unit to the next. See also "Loss to Society".
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 pendulum with a sliding weight..
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 can clearly be a issue when the operator is weighing light objects - use the smallest container possible, and the lightest scale, and remember that if several containers are involved, the different tare weights must be obtained each time. (In a matter completely divorced from 'tare', it is noted that a very common error in weigh counting is not that of obtaining an erroneous reading for the tare weight - it is miscounting the number of items in the sample weighed.) See also weigh counting.
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 giving rise to the performance; (2) that failure to reach a target is due to underperformance by staff ; and (3) that the theory of stable systems and common causes is wrong. One must first state that the achievement of a measure of performance is entirely dependent on the inherent nature of a system giving rise to it, and if the performance is unsatisfactory, it is up to management to change the system . Second, it is noted that 50% of staff will always be performing below average* - what needs to be measured is the standard deviation of performance. If the system is stable, it will then be found that all achievement lies between the mean measure minus 3 standard deviations, and the mean plus three standard deviations. Third, if arbitrary action to reach a target is taken on a stable system, the system will be de-stabilised and made worse. It is surprisingly difficult to get over to people the notion that mistakes can be made but things are still OK - that the system remains in control. See Key Performance Indicator and see Benchmarking. (*see Lake Wobegon!). Also see productivity and value added. Finally, take note of f-law number 4 (see systems thinking) : Managers who don't know how to measure what they want, settle for wanting what they can measure.
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 carrying out of job tasks by the worker to the standards laid down. Workers must be carefully selected and trained for the tasks they will be required to perform, and, for maximum mutual benefit, there must be close cooperation between management and workers.
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.
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 remaining in the experiment disappeared). A further French experiment suggests that 600,000 tons of teaspoons go missing every year. Readers of this Glossary may ask where they might go. There are a number of explanations. One, based on suggestions by Douglas Adams, is that the spoons may be migrating to a planet "where they enjoy a uniquely spoonoid lifestyle, responding to highly spoon-oriented stimuli, and generally leading the spoon equivalent of the good life". A second explanation, put forward in the web forum of The New Scientist, is that odd socks are seducing the teaspoons with tales of a better life. Yet a third explanation is that the 22% of the 'missing mass' of the universe, which astronomers have hitherto labelled dark matter, in fact comprises teaspoons, along with odd socks, ballpoint pens, mugs and gloves.
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 original invitation to tender issued by the potential buyer is not a contractual offer). Forms of tendering are (1) competitive tendering - the potential buyer invites tenders from as many suppliers as possible, (2) selective tendering - the buyer invites tenders only from a few favoured suppliers and (3) negotiated tendering (also refered to as post tender negotiation, PTN) - the buyer separately and independently negotiates with a particular supplier, the negotiation centred on the supplier's response to a previous tender issued by the buyer at an earlier point. Purchase through tendering is associated with government and local government, and the procedure is claimed by politicians and civil servants to show openness and honesty in the process of procurement.(For example, on receipt, tenders are locked away, and opened in the presence of witnesses.) However, there has been evidence that companies submitting tenders have colluded in the prices they quote, for the simple reason, in a particular city, that they wish to pass the work around . Tendering is looked down on in industry as being a reactive and lazy way of buying, although clearly industrial sales departments must respond to invitations to tender issued by government agencies. An e-tender is a tender invited to be submitted, or submitted, by e-mail.
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 decommissioning of an oil platform at sea.
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).
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 which products are to go short. The principal that Goldratt applies is to allocate output in such a way as to maximise the total financial contribution emanating from the plan as a whole. (The mathematical optimisation technique of mathematical programming is required to reach a solution.) Other issues in the theory of constraints are the sensitivity of the optimised product mix finally arrived at to change, and the need to concentrate entirely on the proficient operation of the bottleneck, if necessary to the exclusion of all else. The theory of constraints covers wider issues than production bottlenecks, however. For example, it addresses management questions relating to change. There are a very great many Internet sites relating to to this topic, but see OPT.
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 / 2) x ( 1 / 2) x (1 / 2) x 2. If nine or ten successive sample means are on the same side, the probability is about 1 / 370, and this may indicate a loss of process control.
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 the existing rent. The landlord had no intention of carrying out the threat of terminating the lease, and the existence of another potential occupant is untrue. What he is after is, of course, his "compromise" of double rent on renewal. If the existing tenant can keep his nerve, in fact this is a straightforward negotiation about the new rent. (2) In law, if Party A threatens to break a contract with Party B unless B agrees to new or revised contractual conditions (eg an increased price), Party A is exercising "economic duress" and threatening to commit a legal wrong. Even if Party B signs the new agreement, the agreement will be vitiated (ie voided) by the courts. (Among other things, there is no consideration present in the new agreement, so that it does not constitute a contract!). See tactic. Also see sub-section 3.18 of the free 'course' on negotiation at this site.
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, one should revert to two-bin.
TIG: Technology Implementation Group.
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 different times, the system will merely issue rescheduling messages. In some campanies, there may be rules restricting even the master scheduler's freedom to reschedule plans in the frozen zone. The freeze zone might be one week. In master plan management relating to stocked items, if the projected stock balance falls below the safety stock level in the frozen zone, but not below zero, no rescheduling message will be produced (safety stock "is there to use"). Time fences have also been referred to as decision points and the frozen zone the firm zone.
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 are produced. In all companies, the master scheduler is allowed to reschedule plans in the semi-frozen zone, but perhaps no one else. There is some merit in setting the duration of the semi-freeze zone from the end of the freeze zone up to the longest supply leadtime of manufactured and purchased products. This will ensure that the raw material schedule remains stable when there are small changes in the master plan. In master plan management relating to stocked items, if the projected stock balance falls below the safety stock level in the semi-frozen zone, but not below zero, no rescheduling message will be produced (safety stock "is there to use"). The semi-frozen zone has also been referred to as the trading zone.
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 the system to raw material plans and the plans of components low in the bill of materials. Since such changes may be due merely to the uneven arrival of sales demand, it seems desirable that the start of the third time fence should be sufficiently far out that raw material plans which have actually been communicated to suppliers should not be rescheduled. The third time zone has been humorously called the liquid zone, but more elegantly as the free change zone.
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 the fact that at each months end, the forecast of d units / day is liable to change. It is consequently extremely difficult to see how it might be used other than in the context of the straightforward projected available balance calculations, set out as a table.
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 forecast.
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.
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 buyer, and the buyer subsequently became bankrupt, the goods would be sold by the receiver in bankruptcy. If title still remained with the supplier, the supplier would be able to re-possess them.)
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: (1) In stock records accuracy, In determining whether a stock record is or is not accurate vis a vis the actual amount of physical stock present, it is common to apply a "tolerance" to the stock record figure. The tolerance is the amount, usually expressed as a percentage, by which the actual physical count may differ from the stock record such that the record is indeed still deemed to be correct. For example, if a stock record was 500 units and there was a tolerance allowed of 5%, then if the actual amount of stock was anywhere between 475 units and 525 units, the record would be considered correct. One reason for setting tolerances relates to the measurement of continuous material - ie measurements made in length, area, weight, volume etc.. Because of the method used, there is certain to be a difference between the measurement actually recorded and the underlying "true" measurement (only known if there was an infinite degree of precision in measuring). The second reason is more mundane: high record accuracy may be unimportant with regard to the material concerned - small, cheap objects, for example. Note that the existence of a tolerance only affects the decision on reporting correctness. For one thing, it is the actual amount recorded that is used in, say, planning or sales order processing, and the fact that it is or is not within tolerance is irrelevant. For another thing, if the stock and the record do not agree, a correction is made and a reason sought for the variance, regardless of whether it was or was not within tolerance. See the entry under 'tolerances' in sub-sections 1.6 and 1.7 at the free on-line course on Stock Records Accuracy at this site. (2) In engineering and manufacture, the upper and lower limits of some dimension relating to a component part, specified by the engineer, with which an actual part must comply in order for it to be acceptable in manufacturing. The difference between the upper and lower tolerance is referred to as the tolerance spread.
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 manufacture. (This arrangement is also found occassionally in engineering industry, but is given no special name.)
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 the database with the relevant data is not especially difficult. What makes tools different, however, is (1) that tools are reusable, and (2) that tools have a limited working life, after which they must be replaced or repaired. For further comments, including (i) storage & retrieval of tools, (ii) issuing, (iii) tools requirements planning, and (iv) the 'tools database', see sub-section 1.10.3 of the free on-line 'course' on stores/warehouse operations at this site.
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); (2) predictive maintenance (historical analysis and the use of SPC); (3) corrective maintenance, or improvement maintenance (upgrading equipment to prevent the recurrence of breakdowns); (4) preventive maintenance (routine, regular work and inspection to keep equipment in top shape); (5) autonomous maintenance (the training and involvement of operators, and the transference to them of independent responsibility - often regarded as the central plank of a TPM initiative).
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 such non-technical activities as (say) the issuance of printed instructions to enable the customer to use the units easily and the conduct of consumer surveys to ensure that the requirements of the customer are anticipated in design and product development in the first place.
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 an organisation, centred on quality, based on the participation of all members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction and benefits to all members of the organisation and to society." (ISO 9000:2000).
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 number of cards, d = the number of units made per hour, L = the transportation leadtime in hours, b = a safety factor, usually initially set at 0.1, and c = the number of units in a parts container, if one is used. Toyota make the point, however, that the number of kanban calculated is merely the start and that every effort must be made to reduce the number required (and so reduce the stockholding).
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 allied matters. For sold items, it will include the address of each customer, the date of purchase and, if relevant, the id of the item purchased. Maintaining manufacturing traceability is a legal requirement in the pharmaceuticals and aeronautical industries.
TRADACOMS : see UNTD12.
Trade Bill: see Bill of Exchange.
Trade Creditors and Trade Debtors: companies which are currently credit suppliers/credit customers.
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: (1) Data. A single record of data, often describing an event such as the receipt of a raw material or the completion of a machine operation. The data may be recorded on a paper form or electronically. The data transaction may also refer to the data processing system as it is actually transmitted through the data processing system it is intended to support. Because there can be many different types of event, there can be many different types of data transaction. (2) Computer Software. In writing software to handle data transactions, it is customary for IT personnel to write a distinct, separate program to process each different type of data transaction. These programs are often referred to by them simply as transactions.
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, giving him the opportunity to cancel it.
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 system for 20 units relating to an issue made at 9.00am. If the stock record is changed to 140 in accordance with the count, and afterwards the late transaction is received and processed, the stock record would then take the value 120 units (140 less 20). How can the record be corrected by the cycle count in these circumstances? Late transactions are usually prevented when a count is about to take place by the drastic action of closing off the stock beforehand so that transactions simply do not take place.
Transaction (Premature): In reconciling a cycle count, if the stock is released too soon after the count, transactions relating to activity immediately after the count may be processed, preventing correct count / record reconciliation. This problem has been successfully overcome through software.
Transaction Trail: A VDU display of a computer stock record or shop floor production job in association with the past recent data transactions that have been raised relating to the stock or job. By following the transaction trail in reverse chronological sequence, the user obtains a picture of the events which affected the stock. The transaction trail is very useful in stock count reconciliation or in reconciling the activities which took place during a production job. Issues in the management of transaction trails include the eventual purging of old data transactions.
Transportation Algorithm, The: An optimisation procedure used to determine which stock at depots with excess material are to be transferred, or "transshipped", to which depots with shortages of material. The operation of the algorithm requires the extents of the excesses and shortages of material at the various depots to be known, and the costs to be known of moving material from any one specific depot to any other. The transshipments determined are those whereby excesses are transferred to shortage locations at least total cost.
Transshipment: In distribution, the customary flow of goods is from the centre of the distribution network through the well-defined channels, typically being via regional warehouses and ultimately to the depots at the periphery (ie at the highest network echelon). However, when excess or deficient stocks arise for some reason at depots, such as due to a supplier failure, or when emergency replenishments become necessary, the logistician may decide to send goods from one depot to another depot at the same echelon by non-standard ad hoc network links. Typically, these so-called transshipments are from one depot to another depot, or perhaps from a depot back to a regional warehouse. See The Transportation Algorithm.
Treasury Bill: In the UK, a financial security issued by the Bank of England to enable the government to borrow money for short periods of time. "Three Month" Treasury bills are issued by the BOE through the discount market. Typically, they are purchased by discount houses in the City, and sold principally to commercial banks. The banks hold them as part of their liquidity base. They constitute a significant part of their required reserve asset ratio. Treasury bills are used by the government to control the economy's money supply. For example, the authorities can expand the money supply by issuing more treasury bills, thus increasing the liquidity base of the banking system and inducing an expansion of bank deposits.
Trend (in sales demand): A pattern of sales demand in which the level of demand is growing (or declining) at a certain rate from period to period. The growth (or decline) may be by constant amounts (ie having linear trend) or by accelerating amounts (ie having exponential trend).
Trial Balance: In accounting, a trial balance is a check to see that total debits (eg purchases, wages) equals total credits (sales receipts etc.). If debits do not match credits, the accounts are wrong. (If they do equal, this does not mean that they are necessarily correct, however.)
Trigg's Error Tracking Signal: Devised by Derek Trigg, one time of ICI in the UK, the signal is a dimensionless number calculated from the past n forecast errors, and is equal to: (the sum of the errors where signs cancel ... ie negative errors help cancel out positive errors) / (the sum of the absolute errors ... ie where pluses and minuses do not cancel). The worse the forecasts, the greater the signal value, up to a maximum possible value of unity. In a forecasting system, Trigg's tracking signal might be set, say, at 0.5, with any forecast series for which the signal equals or exceeds 0.5 being brought to the attention of management. (But it is most unlikely with moderen forecasting software that forecast errors will be large and persistant.)
TRIZ: Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, or theory of axiomatic design (the initials are from the Russian acronym teoriya rescheniya isobretatelskikh zadatch). Axiomatic design is a process for creating new designs and for analysing/improving existing designs. (In English, an axiom is a "fundamental truth".) TRIZ was originated by Genrich S. Althuller, an employee of the Soviet Navy, and is based on 40 axioms identified by him as being used over and over again to resolve technical problems.
TRT: Transition Tree.
True Value: (of a measurement) See Error (True).
Trunking: The conveyance of large full loads along major transport routes, usually as a first stage in the dispersion of product throughout the distribution network. Trunking is carried out for cost saving reasons, before the later more expensive distribution activity of local deliveries of many small lots - see Local Delivery.
Tue: a unit of measurement equal to the space occupied by a standard 20 foot container. 'Tue' is used in stating the capacity of a container vessel or storage area, and is an acronym of Twenty foot Equivalent Unit. A container vessel is considered large if it has a tue of 7,000 or more. The Cosco Ningbo is currently the world's largest container ship, with a tue of 9,449, a gross tonnage of 109,149, a length of 351m and a width of 42.8m.
Tukeys Test: One-factor ANOVA.
TUPE (pronounced chew-pee) - Transfer of Undertakings (Employment Protection ) Act 1981: This Act relates to the protection of employees under certain circumstances where the "undertaking" (see below) for which they are currently working, and with which they have a contract of employment, is transferred to another party. In very many instances, no special legal protection is necessary. For example, if the undertaking is transferred to a new company as a going concern, or if any such new company becomes the owner of the original undertaking through the purchase of its share capital, the original contract of employment simply continues as it was before, since the original undertaking continues in existence (legally, at least). However, if as a result of the transfer, there is a change in the employee's employer, the employee's original contract would clearly be terminated under common law (ie under the law of contract). Under TUPE however, the contract of employment is deemed not to be terminated. Instead, TUPE provides for the contract to transfer unchanged to the new company. Perhaps the most important consequence of this from the employee's point of view is that when there is indeed a transfer, there is deemed to be continuity of the contract from its very first existence under the original undertaking through to its rejuvenation under the new one. Among other things, this affects such matters as the employee's long-service and other seniority prequisites, his redundancy entitlement and such other benefits associated with length of employment. Note that the question of what constitutes as "undertaking" can be fraught. An undertaking may indeed be a "company" but it is also held to be any economic unit performing some function and possessing tangible assets.
Turn Round Time: This everyday expression is often used to mean the total elapsed time to repair or refurbish a machine from the time the repair or refurbishment is initiated to the time the machine is ready again for use.
Turnover: The total sales invoiced by a company during its financial year (regardless of whether all such invoices have in fact been paid by the customers invoiced).
Two Bin System: A simple materials replenishment system in which a spare full container of parts stands close to the container of parts being used. When the container in use is used up, the full container is then brought into operation. As this happens, an order is issued for a new replenishment bin from the source of supply. Note with a two-bin system that the quantities of stock are not recorded and are not known (except that the total quantity is approximately between one bin minimum and two bins maximum). The system is entirely concerned with replenishment. It is safer with a two-bin system to organise matters so that someone has literally to take and return a physical container - because two-bin is essentially a simple, paperless system, relying on people to process forms or tickets frequently leads to failures to effect the necessary replenishment.
Two Level Master Scheduling: The master scheduling of alternative product options in synchronisation with the creation and management of a schedule of work to assemble such options to create final products as specified by customers. In fact, "two level" master scheduling is a misnomer - only the alternative different options are master scheduled: the final product is "final assembled" - see FAS. The importance of two-level master scheduling is that it potentially provides for the customer an enormous range of option combinations in a very quick time (*), since the individual options have already been manufactured - all that is required is the short final activity to combine the options in the final product. (*) If there are 6 option variants of Option Type A, 6 option variants of Option Type B and 10 option variants of Option Type C, there are 360 possible final cominations. See also Master Scheduling. Note that two-level master scheduling is not the same as multi-level master scheduling, since with two-level there is a logical link between the two levels provided by thesuper bill.
Tyres
(of a fork lift truck): Tyres affect the steering, stability,
braking and acceleration of a fork lift truck. They are expensive and prone
to damage. In choosing a tyre, account must be taken of the truck's likely
work environment - will it be moving stock on a smooth warehouse floor or
traversing the rough terrain of a stockyard? As well, the distance to be travelled
each day must be considered and the type of FLT itself - size, wheel size,
and whether the wheel is one-piece, split or 3 - 4 pieces. There are three
types of tyres as follows: (1) Resilient Tyres. These are the most
cost effective for tyres that suffer constant punctures and undergo excessive
wear. Resilient tyres represent 70% of the market. (2) Pneumatic Tyres.
These give the best ride over a wide variety of surfaces. They are particularly
suitable for increased stability for moving wide loads or for high load stacking.
They are also suitable for a wide range of environments and offer high quality
performance at reasonable cost. (3) Press-on Bands. A press-on band
is a single piece tyre in which a rubber compound is moulded directly onto
a steel band, and then pressed onto the wheel. The press-on band has a hard
wearing tread that gives maximum FLT up-time, especially in harsh conditions.
Cuts and tears are minimised. The press-on band is often chosen when there
is a problem with height restrictions. Maintenance of
Tyres: the stores manager should look out (a) for cracks and rust on
the rim, which can lead to deflation and damage; (b) signs such as rusty marks
indicating that the wheel is working loose on the axle (this is a major safety
risk, and can damage the wheel or ruin the axle). The manager should also
keep a record of tyre wear and damage, to help in tracing faults and in the
detection of recurring problems. Also note: tyre life will be halved if pressure
falls 30% below the manufacturer's recommended level. For an automatic means
of fitting tyres and correctly adjusting wheel torque by non-specialist
staff, see the 'CSEasy' device from conti-online.com (contact Clive Green
of Briggs Equipment,
UK).
