mura

A Japanese term (斑) meaning “unevenness; irregularity; lack of uniformity; nonuniformity; inequality.” Mura is a key removal-of-waste concept (along with Muda and Muri) in lean manufacturing that focuses on the reducing the waste of unevenness.  By failing to smooth demand we put unfair pressure on our processes and people and cause the creation of inventory and other wastes. See also muda, muri