LEAN Continuous Improvement What is Waste? Traditional Lean identifies 7 key areas of waste. Processes either add value or waste to the production of a good or service. To eliminate waste, it is important to understand exactly what waste is and where it exists. 7 Wastes Description Countermeasure Overproduction Making something before it is actually needed. Overproduction causes - Excess inventory Degraded quality and productivity Excessive lead times High storage costs Difficulty in detecting errors Examples: Printing hard copy forms Purchasing “just in case” Processing too soon Preparing reports that are unused/unread Schedule and produce only what is immediately needed – pace rate of production to the rate of customer demand. Use a pull system to control how much is produced. Pull system: production or service process designed to deliver goods or services as they are required by the customer, also called “build to order” or “just in time”. Only produce what is needed to reduce inventory. Reduce set-up times so that smaller batches can be produced. Waiting Time when work-in-progress is waiting for the next step. Much of a product/process lead time is tied up in waiting for the next operation. Examples: System/response downtime Approvals from others Awaiting customer information Late start meetings Late reports, paychecks, projects Link processes together so that one feeds directly into the next. This can dramatically reduce waiting. Use standardized work instructions to ensure that consistent methods are used. Transport/ Motion Unnecessary movement of materials, or people. Transporting between processes adds no value to the end product. Examples: Too many layers for electronic files Copy machine located far from user Reaching for commonly used supplies Mapping flows, design a linear, sequential flow end to end. Ensure works in progress are meeting just in time customer need. Avoid continual changes of job priorities.
LEAN Continuous Improvement What is Waste? 7 Wastes Description Countermeasure Underutilization of people Limiting authority and responsibility of staff for task completion. Examples: Limited decision making capability Restricted training on technical resources Provide appropriate levels of authority for transactions; ensure adequate business tools are available. Provide staff with appropriate training to fully utilize. Over processing More processing than is needed to produce what the customer requires. Extra mental or physical non-value added steps. This is often one of the more difficult wastes to detect and eliminate. Examples: Poor filing system Meetings without agenda for action Producing repetitive documents from scratch, “reinventing the wheel” Compare customer requirements to specifications. Look for potential simplifications to the process. Inventory Producing quantities that go beyond supporting the immediate need, or any type of batch processing. Examples: Excessive supplies Full “in-boxes” (electronic or paper) Computer files never used Bring in material as they are needed “Just in Time.” Reduce/eliminate buffers between steps. Defects / Errors Production that is scrap or requires re-work. Any type of correction on errors. Examples: Data entry errors Inaccurate reports/data Lack of standardized work Incomplete communications Design processes so they are less likely to produce defects/errors. Design processes to detect/error abnormalities so that can be immediately corrected. Look for single most frequent defect and determine why it occurs. Create work instructions that provide a consistent method.