- benchmarkingMeasuring products or processes against industry standards, an essential part of total quality management
- capacity utilizationThe degree to which an organization's output capabilities are being deployed or utilized
- cost driverThe factor that is viewed as causing costs to be incurred within an organization
- databaseAn information storehouse, usually electronic, that can be queried to extract data meeting certain parameters. Enables singular data entry and multiple data output.
- direct costsA cost easily traced to a specific job; generally direct material and direct labor
- indirect costsA cost not easily traced to a specific job; generally categorized as factory or manufacturing overhead
- job cost sheetA document representing a compilation of cost data for a specific job
- just in time inventoryRaw materials are received from supplies just as they are needed in the production process
- KaizenJapanese term used to describe a blitz like approach to study processes and install efficiency within an organization
- KanbanJapanese term which means some form of signal that a particular inventory is ready for replenishment
- lean manufacturingIndicative of an environment where waste has been trimmed; entails a focus on standardization, speed, and quality, without compromising responsiveness to customer demand
- materials requisition formForm showing what material has been removed from the raw materials stock and put into production
- overapplied overheadApplied overhead exceeds the actual amount; usually viewed as a favorable outcome, because less has spent than anticipated for the level of achieved production
- overhead application rateA rate used to apply manufacturing overhead to output; estimated factory overhead for a period divided by the estimated application base
- Six SigmaA trademarked quality management system developed by Motorola; driven by pursuit of statistical results that reflect near perfection in production and processing
- transfer pricingThe system of setting prices at which goods are exchanged between affiliated units; usually involving cross-border transactions
- underapplied overheadApplied overhead is less than the actual amount; usually viewed as a unfavorable outcome, because more has spent than anticipated for the level of achieved production
