7 Wastes of Production

7 Wastes of Production

Taiichi Ohno defined the 7 types of waste that describe all activity that adds cost but not value. In a Lean Enterprise these 7 types of “Muda” are the target of an endless pursuit of waste elimination. Learning to see “Muda” all around you is the key to starting out on your journey of transforming your organization into a Lean Enterprise.

The 7 Wastes – “Muda”	Definition	Examples	Causes	Countermeasures
Overproduction	Producing more than the customer needs right now	Producing product to stock based on sales forecasts Producing more to avoid set-ups Batch process resulting in extra output	Forecasting Long set-ups “Just in case” for breakdowns	Pull system scheduling Heijunka – level loading Set-up reduction TPM
Transportation	Movement of product that does not add value	Moving parts in and out of storage Moving material from one workstation to another	Batch production Push production Storage Functional layout	Flow lines Pull system Value Stream organizations Kanban
Motion	Movement of people that does not add value	Searching for parts, tools, prints, etc. Sorting through materials Reaching for tools Lifting boxes of parts	Workplace disorganization Missing items Poor workstation design Unsafe work area	5S Point of Use Storage Water Spider One-piece flow Workstation design
Waiting	Idle time created when material, information, people, or equipment is not ready	Waiting for parts Waiting for prints Waiting for inspection Waiting for machines Waiting for information Waiting for machine repair	Push production Work imbalance Centralized inspection Order entry delays Lack of priority Lack of communication	Downstream pull Takt time production In-process gauging Jidoka Office Kaizen TPM
Processing	Effort that adds no value from the customer’s viewpoint	Multiple cleaning of parts Paperwork Over-tight tolerances Awkward tool or part design	Delay between processing Push system Customer voice not understood Designs “thrown over the wall”	Flow lines One-piece pull Office Kaizen 3P Lean Design
Inventory	More materials, parts, or products on hand than the customer needs right now	Raw materials Work in process Finished goods Consumable supplies Purchased components	Supplier lead-times Lack of flow Long set-ups Long lead-times Paperwork in process Lack of ordering procedure	External kanban Supplier development One-piece flow lines Set-up reduction Internal kanban
Defects	Work that contains errors, rework, mistakes or lacks something necessary	Scrap Rework Defects Correction Field failure Variation Missing parts	Process failure Mis-loaded part Batch process Inspect-in quality Incapable machines	GembaSigma Pokayoke One-piece pull Built-in quality 3P Jidoka