EIGHT TYPES OF PROCESS WASTES

EIGHT TYPES OF PROCESS WASTES

Contents: What is process wastes?

8 Types of Process wastes

  1. Defects
  2. Overproduction
  3. Waiting
  4. Transportation
  5. Inventory
  6. Motion
  7. Overprocessing
  8. Human potential

Other examples of process wastes.

What's next?

 

WHAT IS WASTE?

Waste in processes are a major source of inefficiencies that prevent the process to run smoothly.

Waste is “Muda” in Japanese. Waste / Muda is a major topic in Lean methods.

When we eliminate the wastes, we only have the steps of the process that are necessary and we call them – value-adding activities, with these we aim to deliver better quality of the product or a better service for the end customer.

The eight types of waste are relevant to any process be it technical, operational, manufacturing or related to services

THE EIGHT TYPES OF WASTES

1. DEFECTS

Definition:

Work that contains errors or lacks something necessary.

Examples

Information, products, and services that are inaccurate or incomplete
Errors that occur over and over

2. OVERPRODUCTION

Definition

Producing more materials or information than customer demand

Examples

Making more, earlier, or faster
Printing 20 copies of a report but only need 3 people to look at

3. WAITING

Definition

Idle time created when material, information, people or equipment is not ready.

Examples

Excessive Cycle Time
Delays due to needing a signature

4. TRANSPORTATION

Definition

Movement of materials or information that does not add value.

Examples

Unnecessary movement of materials around an organization
Carrying large quantities in and out of storage

5. INVENTORY

Definition

Excess material on hand that the customers or employees do not need tight now

Examples

Purchasing excess Inventory
Long Cycle Times for certain parts, or suppliers

6. MOTION

Definition

Movement of people or goods that does not add value.

Examples

Any movement of people that does not add value to the product or service
Inefficient placement of frequently used supplies, tools, etc.

7. OVERPROCESSING

Definition

Efforts that do not provide value from the customer’s perspective.

Examples

Re-work loops or work- arounds
Extra fields requiring unused information

8. HUMAN POTENTIAL

Definition

Not or underutilising the talent of employees.

Examples

Not utilizing people’s experience, skills knowledge, or creativity
Lack of empowerment

OTHER TYPES OF WASTES

Inefficient use of space

Excess energy /power consumption

Pollution

Inefficient use of capital (money, real estate, etc.)

Unevenness or variation in process, causing unpredictable quality (Mura)

Unnecessary complexity

Being unreasonable with people (Muri)

WHAT'S NEXT?

There are a few options for dealing with the waste you identified depending on the focus of your initiative and the specific situation:

Eliminate?

Simplify?

Streamline?

Minimize?

Define an Action plan for managing the Wastes!

Lean methodology will help you come up with a smoother and faster process!