AnInfoGuide. The9Wastes.

ThetermLeanmanufacturingwaspopularisedbyWomackandJonesintheirbookTheMachine thatchangedtheworld.Thisbookbenchmarkedmanufacturingcompaniesaroundtheworldand found,atthattime,thatJapanesemanufacturingcompaniesweretypicallymuchmoreproductive andefficientthantheirWesterncounterparts. AfewyearsbeforetheThemachinethatchangedtheworldcameoutTaiichiOhnohadpublished abookcalledToyotaProductionSysteminitheexplainedthemainfoundationsoflean manufacturing.TheseprinciplesguidedtheJapanesecompaniesthatwerefoundtobeworldclass byWomackandJones.TaiichiOhnodevised7categorieswhichcovervirtuallyallofthemeansby whichmanufacturingorganisationswasteorlosemoney;thesehavebecomeknownasThe7 wastes.2morehavebeenaddedtotheclassictomakeour9wastes. Wasteistheuseofresourcesoverandabovewhatisactuallyrequiredtoproducetheproductas definedbythecustomer.Ifthecustomerdoesnotneeditorwillnotpayforitthenitiswaste,this includesmaterial,machinesandlabour.TheJapanesewordforwasteismudaandisoftenusedin books,trainingcoursesandbyleanconsultantstomeanwaste. The9wastesare: 1. Overproductionandearlyproductionproducingovercustomerorders,producingunordered materials/goods. 2. MaterialTransportationhandlingmorethanonce,delaysinmovingmaterials,unnecessary movingorhandling. 3. Inventoryunnecessaryrawmaterialsinstores,workinprocess(WIP),&finishedstocks. 4. Talentnotusingalltheskillsofyouremployees 5. PeopleMotionmovementofequipmentorpeoplethataddnovaluetotheproduct. 6. ReworkorDefects.Producingorreworkingscrap. 7. Inappropriateprocessesunnecessaryprocessingorprocedures(workcarriedoutonthe productwhichaddsnovalue). 8. Delays.Waitinghangingaround,idletime(timewhennovalueisaddedtotheproduct). 9. Energy. Othershaveincludedadditionalcategorieswhichinclude; TalentandenergyaretheadditionstoOhnosoriginal7. Whilethe9wastesisnotatoolinitselftotackletheproblemswithinacompanywhichare causingthewasteinfirstplace,theydoplayavaluableroleintacklinginefficiencyandtherefore cost. Theideaof9wastesisusefulbecauseitallowsacompanytocategoriseproblemsandthenfocus attentionintheappropriateareasoncetheyhavebeenidentified.Therearemanytoolsand techniquesintheleantoolboxwhichcanbeappliedtomanyareasofproductioninordertotackle anyoneofthesewastes.Afewexamplesarelaidoutbelow.

AnInfoGuide. The9Wastes.
1. Overproduction Oftencausedbyqualityproblems,acompanyknowthatitwillloseanumberofunitsalongthe productionprocesssoproducesextratomakesurethatthecustomerorderissatisfied.Thesekind ofissuecanbetackledusingmistakeproofingmethods(Pokayoke)andbyunderstandingthe machineprocesscapabilitiesoftheproductionequipment.Statisticalprocesscontrol(SPC)willalso helpmonitorproductionoutputsandgivewarningofproblemsbeforetheyoccur. Ifthereasonacompanyisoverproducingisbecauseofsmallordersandeconomicbatchsizesthen SetupreductiontechniquessuchasSMEDcanhelp.Ifacompanycanreduceitschangeovertime thenitisthenabletoproducesmallerbatcheseconomically. Overproductionhasbeensaidbysometobetheworstofthe7wastesasitencompassestherestof thewastes,oftenthemaindrivingforceforJIT(Justintime)systems. 2. MaterialTransportation Factorylayoutscanoftenbethefundamentalcauseofexcesstransportation.Whenappropriate,re layingoutthemachineswithinafactoryfromafunctionaltoacellularlayouthasbeenfoundby manycompaniestohelpnotjustreducetransportationwastebutalsoreduceWIPandwaiting. Excessinventorylevelscanalsoleadtowastedhandling. 3. Inventory Manycompaniesorderoverandabovewhatisrequiredtofulfiltheorder,thismaybeduetoquality problemsalongtheproductionprocessortheoftenmistakenbeliefthatissavesmoneybyordering largerquantities.Thetruecostofexcessinventorylevelsshouldbecarefullyanalysedbefore orderingexcessrawmaterialssimplybecausethepurchasepriceisless. Tacklingtherootcauseofthequalityproblemsshouldalsobeapriority. 4. Talent Thepeopleintheprocessworkwiththedaytodayfrustrationsandissues.Understandingand resolvingthesefrustrationscanhavesignificant&easyresults.Involveallyouroperatorsinthe solutionsandtheresultsandbeimpressive. 5. PeopleMovement SimpleGoodHousekeepingisaveryeffectivewayofreducingwastedmovementbymenand materials.5Sisatechniqueusedbymanycompaniestofocuseffortonkeepingtheworkplacetidy withunusedmaterialsandmachinesdisposedoffsoasnottocreateunnecessaryclutterand thereforesearching.Relayingoutthefactorycanalsohelpreducemotionwaste.

AnInfoGuide. The9Wastes.
6. Rework&Defectiveunits IfyoudontdoitalreadyrecordandanalyseeverythingthatsNotRightFirstTime,foratleasta month.AsimpleParetowillhelpyouprioritiesyourefforts. 7. InappropriateProcesses Reworkisatypicalexampleofoverprocessingasdiscussedearlierreducingtherootcauseofthe qualityproblemissolutioneliminatingrework.Techniquessuchas5whys,SPCandmistakeproofing (Pokayoke)areavailabletohelpidentifyandeliminatecausesofqualitydefects. 8. Delays&Waiting Productswaitingaroundinfactorieseitherasfinishedgoodsorworkinprogress(WIP)another majorcauseofwaste.WIPiscommonlycausedbyproducinglargebatchsizeswhereagainSMED techniquescanhelp.Delaysarealsoprevalentininformationsystems,productionofschedules& clarityofthenextpriority. ConcentratingonkeepingbottleneckprocessesgoingarealsoagoodwayofreducingWIP,thebook TheGoalbyEliyahuM.Goldratthasalottosayonthisandhasbeenfoundtobeveryusefulby manymanufacturingmanagers. 9. Energy Pooruseofalltypesofenergyisawaste&canbeexpensive.Compressedairorwaterleaksoften getignoresbutareexpensive.Howlongisyourequipmentswitchedonfor? Overview Ifyouweretorecordallofthenonvalueaddedactivitiescarriedoutinatypicalmanufacturing companydonotbesurprisedtofindoutthat99%ofallyouractivitiescarriedoutarenonvalue adding,eventhebestmanufacturersmanage95%.Theeliminationofwastenotjustreducingitisa vitalcomponentofincreasingcompetitivenessofyourorganisation. TheManufacturingAdvisoryServiceisavailabletohelpsmallandmediumsizedmanufacturing tacklealltheissuescausingwaste.Ifyouwouldlikehelp,adviceorinformationaboutanyofthe9 wastesorothertechniquesraisedinthisarticlethenpleasegetintouchwithourHelpdeskon(0845) 6083838.