Manufacturing Glossary

Machine learning in manufacturing uses historical production data to find patterns, make predictions, and automate decisions on the shop floor.

Make to Order (MTO) is a production strategy where manufacturing starts only after a confirmed customer order is received.

Make-to-Stock (MTS) is a production strategy where items are manufactured based on demand forecasts to maintain a stock of finished goods.

A manufacturing cell is a dedicated arrangement of machines and workstations for producing a family of similar parts.

A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is software that tracks and documents the transformation of raw materials into finished goods in real time.

A detailed plan that specifies what end products to build, how many are needed, and when they are needed.

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a system that calculates the materials and components needed to manufacture a product based on production schedules.

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is the average time a piece of equipment operates before it breaks down.

Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) is the average time required to fix a failed piece of equipment and return it to service.

Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) refers to the supplies, spare parts, tools, and consumables that keep production equipment and facilities running but never become part of the finished product. MRO covers indirect materials and the upkeep activities that consume them.

A Material Review Board (MRB) is a cross-functional team that evaluates nonconforming material and decides its disposition, typically scrap, rework, repair, use-as-is, or return to vendor. It controls how off-spec parts are handled before they reach production or the customer.

Mass production is the high-volume manufacture of standardized, interchangeable products in a continuous flow, typically on assembly lines using specialized equipment and division of labor to drive down unit cost through economies of scale.

Manufacturing overhead is the sum of all indirect production costs that cannot be traced to a single unit or job, such as factory rent, equipment depreciation, utilities, indirect labor, and maintenance. It is also called factory overhead, and the two terms are interchangeable.

Medical Device Classification is the FDA's risk-based system that assigns every device to Class I, II, or III based on the regulatory controls needed to assure its safety and effectiveness. Higher classes carry higher risk and stricter premarket requirements, from general controls to full premarket approval.