 |
| idle capacity |
Unused production, storage or logistics resources. Capacity may be idle due to a lack of requirements in the current timeframe, or because of being held as a hedge against possible future requirements. |
| idle time |
The planned or actual time an operation is not engaged in run time, or the active production of a product. Idle time is typically scheduled, for setup, maintenance or other activities, or unscheduled due to lack of a required resource such as material. |
| IEC |
International Electro-technical Commission |
| IEEE |
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers |
| ijo-kanri |
See Abnormality Management. |
| impact analysis |
The process of determining the organizational costs and benefits of a proposed alternative. |
| implementation approach |
The variety of methods used to install a new system, which may include a full cutover (simultaneous implementation of all system functions), phased cutover (implementing a series of modules or subsystems over different periods of time), parallel (simultaneously running both the old and new systems to compare performance and output), and many other variations. The approach depends on the project goals, scope, resources and timeframe available, similarity between old and new systems, number of sites to be implemented, degree of functional integration and many other factors. |
| implementation plan |
A system installation or conversion plan that defines scope and goals, resources required, scheduled activities, scheduled activity durations, and actual project status. A high-level plan may communicate only major phases and milestones, while detail plans include specific descriptions of the individual tasks involved and the critical path. |
| implementation team |
Internal or external personnel who are responsible for the installation of a project or system. Team members include the project leader, functional team leaders, functional team members, and technical support and consultants as required. Team members may be assigned on a full-time basis, on a part-time basis as required for their area of responsibility, or on an ad-hoc basis to solve a specific issue. |
| implosion |
Tracing a component and its requirements upward through successively higher levels of a bill of material. The opposite of exploding a top-level item down to individual components. |
| imposed date |
A project task or operation date determined by an external constraint that a given resource can not change. |
| inactive |
Resources or material that have not been used for a specific period of time and may have become obsolete, or are purposely being held in anticipation of possible future requirements. |
| inbound logistics |
The systems and tracking methods used for incoming materials in the process of being shipped from customers or vendors to a manufacturing facility or distribution center. |
| incentive |
Financial compensation, public recognition or other benefits used to reward higher levels of performance and/or new ideas or contributions. |
| incident tracking |
The systems to report problems or questions (incidents), locate and provide solution advice, provide escalation when necessary and track the successful resolution or current status of each assigned incident. |
| income statement |
A basic financial statement that details sales revenue, cost of goods sold and selling/administrative expenses, income before and after taxes and the gain or loss from unusual events or discontinued operations. It usually represents activity for a quarterly or yearly basis, and is compared to the same previous from the previous year. |
| incoming inspection |
The activity that conducts quality, quantity and product verification measurements on newly-received material from a vendor or other internal manufacturing site. It samples receipts based on product and vendor parameters and categorizes them as usable for production or as a reject to be reworked or returned to the vendor. |
| incoterms |
Trade contract terms established by the International Chamber of Commerce (ex.- FOB (Free on Board), DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) |
| incremental cost |
The cost added to an existing product or project status by processing the next operation or performing an additional activity. |
| indented bill of material |
A multiple-level bill of material listing the end item at the far left side (often noted as level 0), with the immediate lower level (1) components indented one place to the right. Items used in the level one components (level 2) are listed under each level one item and are indented an additional place to the right. Subsequent levels are presented in the same way. |
| indented where-used |
A multiple-level where-used that lists bottom-level components at the far left side, and indents the next-higher level parent of each one place to the right. Each higher-level parent is indented one additional place to the right until the highest-level item (level 0) is reached. |
| independent demand |
The portion of demand for a given item not created by the requirement for any other item. Whether for an end item or a component, independent demand is created by a sales or internal distribution order for that item, and not because it is used in an upper-level assembly. |
| independent variable |
A variable created as an input or predictor used in a model to generate the outcome (the dependent variable). |
| indirect cost |
A cost that can not be meaningfully traced to a specific product or production process; a group or consolidated cost that is normally allocated to multiple items based on a calculated distribution of overhead. |
| indirect labor |
Production support labor that can not be allocated to a specific item or process. The labor charges for plant maintenance and other activities that are sometimes broken into 1) indirect activities done by personnel classified as indirect and 2) activities such as training for personnel usually classified as direct |
| infinite capacity planning |
Capacity planning methods that load requirements based on the planned or scheduled date and do not rearrange them if capacity is not available. Infinite capacity systems show over or under conditions based on calculated load vs. resource availability and do not normally suggest date, quantity or work center changes when resources are overloaded. |
| information management task |
The task of taking a specific product from order-taking through detailed scheduling to delivery. [See Value Stream] |
| informative inspection |
A form of inspection used to determine non-conforming product. [See Inspection or Judgment Inspection] |
| ingredient |
A term often used in process industries in place of component. An ingredients list is equivalent to a bill of material. |
| in-house |
A function or process using internal organization resources. |
| injection |
In the theory of constraints, an action or activity that leads to a desired effect or the solution of a problem. |
| in-process inventory |
syn: work-in-process (WIP) |
| input module |
This module accepts analog or digital voltage and current signal from field devices. An analog-to-digital converter inside the module changes analog input signals into a digital format to be interpreted by the CPU. The input module also conditions the signal through sampling and filtering. |
| input/output (I/O) control |
An analysis method that measures planned and actual input and output for a linked set of resources to identify the source of disruptions in output. If the plan for a given work center calls for 100 units/day of output and it is only achieving 80, I/O control identifies whether it is getting required input as planned (therefore the problem is at that work center) or is getting only enough input for 80 units, which indicates a problem in a feeder work center. |
| inspection |
Activities, such as measuring, examining, testing, gauging one or more characteristics of a product or service, and comparing these with specified requirements to determine conformity. [See Judgment Inspection or Informative Inspection] |
| instability |
Unnaturally large fluctuations in a pattern. |
| instrument |
A device for measuring the value of an observable attribute; the device may merely indicate the observed value, or it may also record or control the value. |
| instrumentation |
Any system of instruments and associated devices used for detecting, signaling, observing, measuring, controlling, or communicating attributes of a physical object or process. |
| intangible asset |
An asset whose value can only be estimated or is indeterminate. Examples include patents, copyrights and goodwill. |
| integral control action |
Control action in which the output is proportional to the time integral of the input; i.e., the rate of change of output is proportional to the input. |
| integration |
1) In business operations, the strategy of controlling the sources of supply such as vendors and components (backward integration) or the methods of distribution (forward integration). 2) In systems design, the process that allows separate functions to use a common technology and database, pass data and information without requiring translation, reformatting or duplicate entry, and enable cross-functional views and management. |
| intellectual property |
An intangible asset, considered to have value in a market, based on unique or original human knowledge and intellect. Intellectual property may or may not be associated with a patent or copyright. |
| intelligent automation |
See Autonomation. |
| interaction |
The tendency of two or more variables to produce an effect in combination which neither variable would produce if acting alone. |
| interactive |
The property of a system that allows two-way communications on a timely if not real-time basis, as opposed to a system in which information flows only one way on a batch or scheduled basis. |
| interchange |
The discrete transmission of the set of data sent at one time, such as order or shipment data sent between trading partners. |
| intercompany |
Shipments and other activities that occur between different units of the same organization. Depending on the accounting parameters used, intercompany orders may be treated as sales and purchases or as transfers at standard cost. Intercompany transactions are netted in consolidations to avoid overstating results. |
| intermediate item |
A component or other material processed from its original state but not yet transformed into a finished item. |
| intermittent demand |
Sporadic demand for end items that may also involve low volumes, and requires specific forecast and safety stock or lead time techniques . More typical of to-order than to-stock environments. |
| intermodal shipment |
Shipment using more than one transportation mode (rail, truck, air, etc.) where the original shipment is containerized or otherwise kept together in its original condition. |
| internal data |
Data generated by an organization's operations, such as sales and purchase orders, inventory transactions, etc. instead of being provided from a third party study or database. |
| internal rate of return |
A discounted cash flow method used to specify the return rate for an investment, in which the present value of cash inflows are balanced against the present value of outflows. |
| internal set-up |
Set-up tasks that can only be done when the machine is stopped. Examples are changing the fixture, changing the tools, or making adjustments. After as many of the internal tasks have been externalized as is possible, the remaining internal changeover time is reduced through use of quick-change mechanisms. |
| interoperable |
Products and systems from multiple vendors that can be used together without modification or development of custom interfaces and tools. |
| interplant |
Shipments and transfers between manufacturing facilities of the same organization, which are typically accounted for as transfers at cost instead of a separate purchase and sale. |
| interpolation |
The projection of a value based on the position of two known values. |
| interval |
Numeric categories with equal units of measure but no absolute zero point, i.e., quality scale or index. |
| intrinsic forecast |
A forecast based on factors internal to an organization, such as past shipment demand patterns, instead of external factors such as economic indicators or projections. |
| inventory buffer |
Stock held to prevent a disruption of supply in the face of uncertainty in future demand. |
| inventory management |
Systems and processes that identify inventory requirements, set targets, provide replenishment techniques and report actual and projected inventory status. |
| inventory |
The money the system has invested in purchasing things it intends to sell. Raw, intermediate or finished items that are physically stocked by an organization, or for which they are financially liable. Classification methods specify the usage (for production or as MRO), valuation method, degree of control, timing (to order or to stock) and other factors associated with investing company assets in inventoried items. The sole purpose of carrying inventory is to fill an expected future internal or external demand; the ability to accurately predict that demand determines the level of investment required. |
| inventory revaluation |
The function of assigning a new cost valuation to on-hand inventory, based on a standards change or other determination of a change in its future worth. |
| inventory status |
The classification of inventory based on its stage in the processing cycle. Common classifications include raw materials (materials and components not yet transformed from their initial state), work-in-process (partially-completed units of production that have been altered from their original state), and finished goods (end items that require no further processing). |
| inventory turnover |
An inventory investment and activity measure that compares inventory usage (as defined by the annual cost of goods sold) divided by the inventory investment (as defined as the average inventory level at standard cost). Higher values indicate a more efficient use of inventory; absolute targets can only be set based on relevant industry figures, as the turnover for grocery chains is vastly different than for capital goods manufacturers. |
| inventory usage |
The volume of inventory consumed for a given period of time, sometimes broken into demand from recurring requirements and from miscellaneous adjustments not considered as normal, or repeating. |
| inventory valuation |
The process of assigning a financial value to on-hand inventory, based on standard cost, first-in, first-out (FIFO), last-in, first-out (LIFO), average list price or other method. The method used is determined by a requirement to meet legal or other standards specified by a third party, or by an operational measure found to be useful in analyzing inventory positions. |
| inventory write-off |
The reduction of the currently-stated financial value of an inventory item based on a determination that its future worth is less than its acquisition cost due to obsolescence or market changes. |
| investment decision |
The strategic process of determining the long-term, future costs and benefits of alternative courses of action, which may include a new investment, an additional financial investment in an existing resource, or the abandonment of an existing system or resource. |
| invitation for bid |
Similar to request for proposal, but may involve a more specific application or definition. |
| invoice register |
A log or report of accounts payable invoices created for a specific batch, vendor, date range or other parameter. |
| Ishikawa diagram |
A cause-and-effect diagram developed by Kaoru Ishikawa. Syn- fishbone diagram. |
| islands of automation |
Automatic systems or technology that are functional on an independent basis but don't provide the benefits associated with being integrated into a larger system. |
| ISO |
International Organization for Standards. |
| ISO 9000 |
A series of standards from the International Standards Organization that specify the internal procedures and documentation required to certify adherence to defined company processes supporting the overall quality management system. The standards do not specify a quality target level (99%, etc.), but stress the ability of a company to prove via third-party audit that they are complying with their defined procedures. |
| ISO 14000 |
The International Standards Organization set of specifications for environmental management systems. |
| issue |
1) To deduct an item from inventory based on its usage in a production, interplant or customer order; a transaction usually defined as demand that is considered in future demand calculations (as opposed to an inventory transfer between locations) 2) An identified project situation that requires a resolution |
| issue log |
A list of issues, or situations requiring resolution, recorded during a project or implementation plan. Issues are usually classified by type (technical, procedural, etc.) and identify required timing and the resources involved. |
| item master |
A part master record that lists its description, unit of measure, dimensions, family and group classification, production or purchasing ordering data, and other pertinent information. |
| item number |
syn: part number. |
