Lean Manufacturing Breakfast Seminar 

Part 2
Seven Wastes
And The Tools to Fight Them  
This programme is funded by the European Union

under an Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and

Waste  

The essence of lean manufacturing is ide

All processes either add value or waste.

Through waste elimination, opportunitie

    to create competitive advantages. 

Value
= what the customer is prepared to pay f
Waste

Waste 
Material
Time
Equipment
Finished Goods

Hidden Costs 
Set  up and changeovers
Reduced Speed
Breakdowns
Idling and Minor Stoppages
Defects, Rework
Overproduction

The ‘Seven Wastes’ in Manufacturing  

1. Overproduction
2. Waiting
3. Transportation
4. Processing
5. Motion
6. Defects
7. Inventory 
8. Underutilized People 
(After Womack Jones Roos “The Machine That Changed The World: The

Story of Lean Production”, 1990; Womack Jones “Lean Thinking”, 2003)

1. Overproduction 

Overproduction is the production of an it

Overproduction drives high inventory lev

Overproduction has a negative impact on

Overproduction leads to all other forms o

“Just in Case production”

Overproduction 

Countermeasures 
‘Turn off the tap’

Reveales underlying problems

Order-based scheduling

Improve setup/changeover capacities

2. Waiting 

Waiting for the next process step is typic

Waiting is a major cause of production a

Waiting is mostly due to long runs, poor

Waiting 

Countermeasures 
Redesign production flow

Interfaces

Shorten production cycles

Kanban Scheduling

Teamwork

3. Transportation and Excess Motion  

Unnecessary movement of materials, peo

Excessive walking, bending, lifting and h

Transportation is a cost factor, and exce

Transportation and Excess Motion 

Countermeasures 
Process Mapping

Ergonomics

Workplace Redesign

Shorten distances and processes

Teamwork
4. Processing 

Overprocessing is processing an item to

Overprocessing implies overkill in techno

Inappropriate technologies result in larg

Overprocessing drives high asset utilisat

Processing 

Countermeasures 
Appropriate Technology

Appropriate Automation Levels

Flexible Options

Total Productive Maintenance

Teamwork

5. Defects 

Defects result in rework, adaptations, an

Defects drive costs associated to materia

Defects are the primary metrics in Six Si

Defects 

Countermeasures 
Quality Control

Benchmarking

Continuous Process Improvement

Teamwork

6. Inventory 

Inventory levels are a yardstick to measu

Excess inventory utilises shop floor spac

Work in Progress inventory levels corres

Inventories devour capital, and inventory

Inventory 

Countermeasures 
Redesign production flow

Interfaces
Order-based scheduling

One-Piece-Flow

7. Underutilized People 

People are hired for specific jobs and fun

People’s motivation and problem-solving

The value of transparency, communicatio

People’s involvement is key to any kind o

Underutilized People 

Countermeasures 
Management by Objectives

Performance Appraisal, Bonus System

Teambuilding

Training

Multiskilling

Lean manufacturing’s basics to eliminate

waste and focus on processes that add va

Value Stream Mapping

Flow

Cellular Production

Pull Scheduling

Continuous Improvement
Value Stream Mapping 

Typically, as much as 60% of operations i

medium sized enterprises does not add v
final product and can be eliminated.  
Value Stream Mapping helps to identify t
flows of material and information in proce
range of products, highlighting the oppor
improvement that will most significantly
performance.

Value Stream Products/Processes Matrix 

Products 
Processes 
Functional Focus 
Value Streams 
Product A 
Product B 
Product C

Value Stream Mapping

Broad perspective of value streams  

Objectives:
Increase customer responsiveness
Identify opportunities
Specify added value

Process Mapping
Sequential process charts  

Objectives:
Identify wastes
Specify improvements
Streamline processes
Standardize steps
Build consensus
Process Mapping Example

Process Mapping - Current, Future State

Flow 

Key Objective:
Align processes to suit customer requirem
Tools:
Takt Time Calculation
Overall Equipment Effectiveness
Set up reduction
Standardised Work
Levelled Production
Work Balancing
Pull Scheduling, Kanban
Error Proofing
5 S, Visual Controls, FiFo
Flow – Levelled Production 
Monthly customer
demand translated
into a daily mix of
products

Flow - Cellular Production

Flow

Takt Time 

Takt Time  =    Production Time Available

                      __________________________________

                               Customer Demand 

Crew Size           =   Sum of Manual Cycle Time

                      __________________________________

                                      Takt Time 

Example
Production Time Available  = 420 mins per day
Customer Demand = 500 parts per week = 100 parts pe
Takt Time = 420 / 100 = 4.2 minutes 
Cycle Time = 1,400 seconds
Crew Size = 1,400 / 242 = 5.6 = 6 staff, strive for cycle
reduction as to arrive at crew size of 5 staff

Overall Equipment Effectiveness 

OEE
= Availability/Uptime x Productivity/Speed x Quality %

Typical:  50-60% 
World Class:  85% 

Example
Availability 86%, Productivity 60%, Quality 96%
OEE = 0.86 x 0.6 x 0.96 x 100 = 49.5%
Just in Time 
Little or no inventory

Supplying the production process with the right part,

First in, first out flow

When a preceding process does not receive a request,

Small buffers accomodate minor fluctuations, yet allow

Pull Scheduling

5 S / 5 C 
Seiri - Sort, Housekeeping
Seiton - Set in order, Workplace organisation
Seiso - Shine, Cleanup
Seiketsu - Standardize
Shitsuke - Sustain
Clearout & Classify – clear up space
Configure – Standard layouts
Clean & Check – ensuring equipment fit for purpose
Conformity – standardize, communicate new standard
Custom & Practice – make it a habit and review freque

Metrics 

Primary Metrics Six Sigma: Defects

Primary Metrics Lean: Time 

Principles for Lean Metrics

Keep it simple. Use metrics that are easy to compile a
Limit the metrics. Metrics only have to signal an alert;
Use tripwires. Daily or weekly metrics only need to ale

Benchmarking 
Adopting Best Industry Practices
Setting Standards
Quality Management
Continuous Improvement
Deming Cycle – Plan Do Check Act (Project Mgmt)  
DMAIC Process Variant (Six Sigma)
Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control

Plan
Define a problem, an opportunity
Analyze the situation. Brainstorm on causes and possi
Develop an implementation plan

Do
Implement change/test
Document processes
Collect data

Check
Analyze data/results
Monitor trends/levels
Compare results against plan

Act
If results are as expected, conclude/adopt > benchma
If results are not as expected, revise plan
Document processes

Continuous Improvement 

Establishing an environment that fosters continuous

definition, measurement and improvement of key
processes driving performance. 
ays in identifying problems.

bility, quality and cost.

erial, parts, sub-assembly and finished goods
ality and costs.

and safety.
ciency rates, and high depreciation costs.

d overproduction.
ontrol etc.
me, inhibits communication, complicates the tr

turing investments.
d creativity are underutilised and generally m
e appropriate.
Prioritize.
ed goods storage not adding value to the bus
osts.
tes the tracing of defects.
nerally misunderstood.
o the business.