Waste Elimination
“The Seven Deadly Wastes”
“Waste (“muda” in Japanese) is “anything other than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, space, and worker’s time which are absolutely essential to add value to the product.”
Shoichiro Toyoda,
Founder of Toyota
The relentless elimination of waste is as important today in your LeanSigma® Transformation as it was when Taiichi Ohno, pioneer of the Toyota Production System, identified the primary sources of waste, which he called “The Seven Deadly Wastes.”
- Defects
Any production that results in rework or scrap.
- Overproduction
Producing more than is needed for immediate use.
- Inventory
Any work-in-process that exceeds what is required to meet customer needs.
- Excess Motion
Unnecessary movement of people, such as walking, lifting, reaching and stretching.
- Over-processing
Using more energy or activity than is needed to produce a product – or adding more value than customers will pay for.
- Transportation
Unnecessary movement of products, materials or information.
- Waiting
Any delay between the end of one process activity and the start of the next activity.
“One thing you can’t recycle
is wasted time.”
Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production
System pioneer
