The Seven Wastes
|
The 7 Wastes |
Some Related
Questions |
|
1. Waiting |
Can some
tasks be done in parallel rather than in
series? |
|
2.
Transportation |
Can the
process be configured to move product to the
next operations (rather than have people do
the moving)? |
|
3. Processing
Itself |
Can some
tasks be combined or eliminated? |
|
4. Motion |
What aids,
such as fixtures, new equipment, or special
tools, could speed up the process? |
|
5. Poor
“Quality” |
Where can
mistake-proofing be used to eliminate or
reduce errors or rework? |
|
6. Inventory |
Is WIP
(inventory) needed just-in-case or can we
operate without it? |
|
7.
Overproduction |
Can the
operation produce to order rather than
produce for inventory? |
In a broad sense, waste can be considered
as any activity or resource in an organization that does
not add value to an external customer.
The seven wastes can be applied to a
warehousing situation, an office (substituting documents
for products), transactional or support service
activities, and many other work functions that are not
necessarily manufacturing or operational in nature. |