Glossary · 96 terms
Manufacturing technology glossary.
MRP, MES, OEE, CAPA and more: short, clear definitions of the terms you hear most on the shop floor.
A
- AI (Artificial intelligence)Artificial intelligence (AI) is the umbrella term for computer systems that learn from data to predict, classify, recommend or generate content.
- AMR (Autonomous mobile robot)An AMR is a mobile robot that uses maps and sensors to plan its own route through a facility and move materials without fixed tracks or markers.
- API (Application programming interface)An API is an interface that lets one piece of software share data and functions with other software under defined rules.
B
- B2B (Business-to-business)B2B is a business model in which a company sells products or services to other businesses rather than to individual consumers.
- BI (Business intelligence)Business intelligence (BI) is the set of methods and tools that combine data from different systems and support decisions with reports, dashboards and analysis.
- BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)BLE is a version of Bluetooth that lets low-power tags and sensors transmit data over short distances and supports approximate positioning.
- BOM (Bill of materials)A bill of materials (BOM) is the structure that defines all raw materials, semi-finished goods and components of a product, with their quantities and hierarchy.
- BPFO / BPFI (Bearing fault frequencies)BPFO and BPFI are the characteristic vibration frequencies a bearing produces with outer-race and inner-race damage, used in predictive maintenance to locate the fault.
C
- CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action)CAPA is the process covering corrective actions, which eliminate the root cause of an existing non-conformity, and preventive actions, which stop potential problems before they occur.
- Capacity planningCapacity planning is the process of checking whether a production plan is achievable with available machine, line and labour capacity, and balancing the load.
- Chlor-alkali processThe chlor-alkali process is an industrial chemical process that produces chlorine, caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and hydrogen through electrolysis of brine.
- CIP (Clean-in-place)CIP is a method of cleaning tanks, pipes and process equipment without dismantling them, by circulating cleaning solutions through the system.
- CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System)A CMMS is software that manages the equipment register, maintenance plans, work orders, spare parts inventory and maintenance history.
- CNC (Computer numerical control)CNC is the technology that precisely controls the movements of machine tools such as lathes, mills and lasers with a computer program.
- COA (Certificate of analysis)A COA is a certificate that documents, with laboratory test results, that a batch of product meets its specifications.
- Cobot (collaborative robot)A cobot is a collaborative robot designed to work safely alongside people in the same workspace, within speed and force limits.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)CRM is software that manages customer and prospect information, sales opportunities, quotes and communication history in one place.
D
- DAP (Delivered at Place)DAP is an Incoterms rule under which the seller delivers goods to the destination named by the buyer, bearing transport cost and risk until then.
- Data lakeA data lake is a data architecture in which structured and unstructured data are stored in raw form in a scalable repository and processed when needed.
- DCS (Distributed control system)A DCS is a control system that manages an entire process in continuous-process plants such as chemicals and energy by distributing control across many controllers.
- Digital twinA digital twin is a digital model of a physical asset, line or process, fed with real-time data, that lets you monitor, simulate and predict its behaviour.
- DM (Data management)Data management (DM) is the process of collecting, cleaning, storing and governing data from an organisation's different systems and making it usable for analysis.
- DMS (Document Management System)A DMS is software that manages the creation, approval, versioning, distribution and archiving of documents in a controlled way.
E
- Edge AIEdge AI means running AI models on devices close to where data is produced (industrial PCs, gateways, cameras) without sending the data to the cloud.
- Enterprise AIEnterprise AI is an AI system that works on a company's own data, connects to its business processes and follows the company's security rules.
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)ERP is enterprise software that manages business processes such as finance, purchasing, sales, inventory and human resources in a single integrated database.
G
- GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)GDPR is the European Union regulation governing the protection and free movement of personal data.
- GMP (Good manufacturing practice)GMP is the set of quality and hygiene rules that ensure products in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics and chemicals are manufactured consistently and safely.
- GPS (Global Positioning System)GPS is a global positioning system that determines location, speed and time outdoors from satellite signals.
- GPU (Graphics processing unit)A GPU is a processor that executes thousands of operations in parallel and is used to train and run AI models.
- GS1GS1 is the international organisation that manages barcode and data standards for globally unique identification of products, locations and logistic units.
H
- HAZOP (Hazard and operability study)HAZOP is a risk analysis method that systematically examines deviations from a process's design intent using guide words to identify hazards and operability problems.
- HMI (Human-machine interface)An HMI is the screen or panel interface through which an operator monitors and commands a machine or process.
I
- IBC (Intermediate bulk container)An IBC is an industrial container, usually 1,000 litres on an integrated pallet, used to transport and store liquids and bulk products.
- IMS (Maintenance management system)IMS is the name of the system in the ORELSIS product family that manages equipment maintenance, breakdown requests and preventive and predictive maintenance; such software is generally known as a CMMS.
- IoT (Internet of Things)IoT is the connection of sensors and devices over a network to each other and to software systems so they can share data; its industrial application is called IIoT.
- ISO (International Organization for Standardization)ISO is an independent organisation that publishes international standards for management systems and technical topics; ISO 9001 covers quality, ISO 14001 environment, ISO 45001 occupational health and safety and ISO 27001 information security.
K
- KDV (Value-added tax, VAT)KDV is Türkiye's value-added tax (VAT), an indirect consumption tax levied on the value added at each stage of the supply of goods and services.
- KPI (Key performance indicator)A KPI is a numeric, clearly defined indicator that regularly measures how well a target is being met.
- KRI (Key risk indicator)A KRI is a leading indicator, monitored against thresholds, that signals an increase in the likelihood of a risk materialising.
- KVKK (Turkish Personal Data Protection Law)KVKK is Türkiye's Law No. 6698, which sets the rules for processing personal data and the obligations of data controllers.
L
- LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)LDAP is the protocol used to access directory services that hold user, group and permission data, such as Active Directory.
- LIMS (Laboratory information management system)A LIMS is software that manages sample registration, test planning, result entry, approval and reporting in a laboratory.
- LLM (Large language model)A large language model (LLM) is an AI model trained on very large text corpora that can understand natural language and generate text.
- LOTO (Lockout-tagout)LOTO is a safety procedure that locks and tags a machine's energy sources during maintenance or repair to prevent unexpected start-up.
M
- MAPE (Mean absolute percentage error)MAPE is a forecast-accuracy measure that shows, on average, by what percentage forecasts deviate from actual values.
- MES (Manufacturing Execution System)MES is the software layer that tracks, records and manages the execution of work orders on the shop floor in real time.
- ML (Machine learning)Machine learning (ML) is a branch of AI in which models learn patterns from historical data and make predictions on new data without being explicitly programmed.
- MLOpsMLOps is the set of practices that makes developing, deploying, monitoring and updating machine learning models repeatable and auditable.
- MQTTMQTT is a lightweight IoT protocol in which sensors and devices exchange messages through a broker using a publish-subscribe model, with low bandwidth use.
- MRP (Material Requirements Planning)MRP is a planning method that calculates which materials are needed, when and in what quantity, based on demand, the bill of materials and inventory.
- MRP II (Manufacturing Resource Planning)MRP II is an extended production planning approach that considers material planning together with capacity, labour, machine and financial resources.
- MTBF / MTTRMTBF is the average operating time between two failures and MTTR is the average time spent repairing a failure; both are key maintenance metrics.
O
- OCR (Optical character recognition)OCR is the technology that converts text in scanned documents or images into readable, searchable text.
- ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)ODBC is a connectivity standard that lets applications connect to different databases through a standard driver interface.
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)OEE is a metric that summarises production efficiency in a single number, calculated by multiplying an asset's availability, performance and quality rates.
- OHS / HSE (Occupational health and safety, environment)OHS (İSG in Turkish) is the protection of workers from work-related accidents and illness; HSE refers to managing health, safety and environment together.
- On-premise AIOn-premise AI is an AI deployment in which the model and the data run on the company's own servers and data is never sent to an outside service.
- OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture)OPC UA is an industrial communication standard that lets machines, PLCs and software from different vendors exchange data securely and in a standard way.
- OT / IT (Operational technology and information technology)OT refers to field systems that monitor and control physical processes (PLC, SCADA, DCS); IT refers to enterprise information systems that run business processes.
P
- Palletising robotA palletising robot is a robot cell that automatically stacks cases, bags or crates onto a pallet in a defined pattern.
- Pick and placePick and place is an automation task in which a robot picks a part from one point and places it precisely at another.
- PLC (Programmable logic controller)A PLC is an industrial computer that controls machines and process equipment in real time based on signals from sensors.
- PO (Purchase order)A purchase order (PO) is the document in which a buyer formally tells a supplier the quantity, price and delivery date for goods or services.
- Predictive maintenancePredictive maintenance is an approach that analyses equipment condition data (vibration, temperature, current, etc.) to anticipate when a failure may occur and plans maintenance accordingly.
Q
- QA / QC (Quality assurance and quality control)Quality assurance (QA) refers to the systems and processes that prevent defects; quality control (QC) refers to verifying conformity of the product through inspection and testing.
- QMS (Quality Management System)A QMS is the structure, and the software that supports it, through which an organisation systematically manages its quality policies, processes, records and improvement activities.
- QR code and DataMatrixQR code and DataMatrix are two-dimensional (2D) barcode types that carry many characters in a small area and remain readable even when damaged.
R
- R&D (Research and development)R&D (Ar-Ge in Turkish) is the systematic research and development work carried out to create new products, processes or technologies or to improve existing ones.
- REST (REST API)REST is the most common API architectural style, defining access to resources over the web with HTTP requests, usually with JSON data.
- RFID (Radio-frequency identification)RFID is an automatic identification technology that reads the data on a tag via radio waves without needing line of sight.
- RGS (R&D management system)RGS is the name of the system in the ORELSIS product family that manages R&D ideas, projects, budgets and outputs.
- RMS (Risk management system)An RMS is software for identifying enterprise risks, assessing them by likelihood and impact, mitigating them with actions and monitoring them.
- Robotic armA robotic arm is a programmable industrial manipulator that moves on joints similar to those of a human arm and picks, moves or processes parts with the tool at its end.
- ROI (Return on investment)ROI is the ratio of the net gain from an investment to its cost and shows how profitable the investment is.
- RTLS (Real-time location system)An RTLS is a system that determines the location of assets, vehicles and people in real time using technologies such as UWB, BLE or GPS.
- RTO / RPO (Recovery time and recovery point objectives)RTO defines the maximum time a system may take to be back in service after an outage; RPO defines the maximum amount of data loss that is acceptable.
S
- SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition)SCADA is a software and hardware system that collects data from distributed field equipment and lets operators monitor and control the process centrally.
- SerialisationSerialisation is the practice of assigning a unique identifier (serial number, 2D code, etc.) to each unit of product so it can be tracked at unit level.
- SLA (Service level agreement)An SLA is an agreement that defines measurable service levels between parties, such as availability, response time and resolution time.
- SMTP / IMAP (Email protocols)SMTP is the standard protocol for sending email, and IMAP for reading and synchronising email on the server.
- SOP (Standard operating procedure)An SOP is a written instruction that defines the steps, responsibilities and checkpoints for doing a task correctly and the same way every time.
- SPC (Statistical process control)SPC is a method that monitors measurement data with statistical tools such as control charts to show whether a process is stable and when intervention is needed.
- SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code)SSCC is an 18-digit GS1 number that uniquely identifies each logistic unit, such as a pallet, case or IBC.
T
- TLS (Transport Layer Security)TLS is a security protocol that encrypts communication over a network, preventing data from being read or altered.
- TraceabilityTraceability is the ability to follow, through records, which materials, processes, equipment and people a product or batch passed through from raw material to customer.
- TTS (Tracking and traceability system)A TTS is traceability software that records which process, person and materials every batch, lot or serial number went through, from raw material to shipment.
- TÜBİTAKTÜBİTAK (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) is the public body that runs science, technology and innovation policy in Türkiye and funds R&D projects.
W
- WIP (Work in progress)WIP is the amount of work and material that has entered production but is not yet finished, waiting on the line or between stations.
- WMS (Warehouse management system)A WMS is software that manages receiving, put-away, picking and shipping of materials in a warehouse at location level.
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