HAVE YOU SEEN TIM WOOD
THE SEVEN WASTES
 

TRANSPORT
CUSTOMERS DO NOT PAY FOR THEIR GOODS TO BE MOVED AROUND (UNLESS YOU RUN A REMOVAL SERVICE!) SO ANY MOVEMENT OF MATERIALS IS A WASTE! ALTHOUGH TRANSPORT CAN NEVER BE ELIMINATED WE MUST LOOK TO REDUCE THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY MATERIALS AROUND THE COMPANY. ALWAYS LOOK TO IMPROVE THE WAY MATERIALS FLOW, WHERE POSSIBLE PREVENTING DOUBLE HANDLING.

INVENTORY
INVENTORY OR STOCK IS A MAJOR WASTE BECAUSE TO MUCH CAN LEAD TO PROBLEMS WITH QUALITY IF A LARGE NUMBER OF PARTS ARE MADE WITH A PROBLEM. STOCK TENDS TO HIDE PROBLEMS SUCH AS SLOW PRODUCTION RATES OR SLOW CHANGEOVER TIMES AND POOR PLANNING. IT ALSO COSTS MONEY TO STORE, MOVE AND BE LOOKED AFTER. NOT ALL INVENTORIES ARE BAD IF PLACED WITHIN THE PROCESS IN ORDER TO IMPROVE FLOW BUT A JUST IN TIME APPROACH WITH MINIMAL INVENTORY SHOULD BE OUR GOAL.

MOTION
UNNECESSARY MOTION BY A HUMAN OR MACHINE DURING THE WORKING DAY IS SEEN AS A MAJOR WASTE. IN A HUMAN THIS RELATES TO HOW WELL A WORK AREA IS SET OUT AND HOW MUCH TIME AND ENERGY IS WASTED REACHING OR STRETCHING FOR THINGS THAT SHOULD BE CLOSE AND EASY TO OBTAIN. THERE IS ALSO HEALTH & SAFETY ISSUES RELATED TO THIS. BY DESIGNING ERGONOMIC WORK AREAS UNNECESSARY MOTION CAN BE ELIMINATED AND BETTER FLOW INTRODUCED.

WAITING
IF MATERIALS OR PRODUCT IS WAITING IN A QUEUE OR AT A PROCESS THEY WILL NOT BE ADDING VALUE. WITHIN LEAN FLOW IS VITALLY IMPORTANT PRODUCT’S NEED TO MOVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE THROUGH ALL PROCESSES THIS WILL LEAD TO SHORTER LEAD TIMES. WHENEVER YOU ARE WAITING FOR SOMETHING ASK YOUR SELF IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE THAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE THIS.

OVER PRODUCTION
OVER PRODUCTION IS THE WORST OF THE SEVEN WASTES AND WILL DRIVE ALL OF THE OTHER WASTES.
WE SHOULD ALWAYS STRIVE TO MAKE WHAT IS REQUIRED NO MORE, NO LESS AND AT THE RIGHT QUALITY.
OVER PRODUCTION CAN LEAD TO EXCESSIVE LEAD TIMES, HIGH INVENTORY, UNSEEN QUALITY ISSUES, RE-WORK AND HIGH LEVELS OF TRANSPORT.

OVER PROCESSING
OVER PROCESSING REFERS TO THE WASTE OF ‘USING A HAMMER TO CRACK A NUT’ BY PURCHASING MACHINERY THAT IS OVER SPECIFIED THERE WILL BE A RELUCTANCE TO NOT USE IT EVEN IF A BETTER OPTION IS AVAILABLE. THIS WILL LEAD TO POOR FLOW THROUGH THE FACTORY WHEN MATERIALS ARE FORCED THROUGH ONE MACHINE BECAUSE OF COST. CARRYING OUT MORE WORK ON A PART THAN IS REQUIRED BY THE CUSTOMER IS ALSO ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF OVER-PROCESSING.

DEFECTS
A VERY OBVIOUS WASTE, DEFECTS COST MONEY THROUGH LOSS OF MATERIAL, LOSS OF PRODUCTIVE TIME WASTE OF OPERATORS TIME. PARTS MAY NEED TO BE RE-WORKED OR MADE AGAIN ALL OF WHICH OUR CUSTOMERS WILL NOT PAY FOR. GETTING IT RIGHT 1ST TIME IS THE ONLY WAY.