Question

Discuss the 7 sources of waste and the components of a Lean Production Environment.   

COURSE: TRANSPORTATION   

Answer 1

Lean manufacturing refers to the process of production that apply lean concept to manufacturing and use appropriate amount of resources to produce goods and services with zero waste.

The seven types of waste include: -

• Transport - Transportation is considered as a waste and the more the company transport, the more it cost time and money. Transportation may also result in damaging or misplacing the item. Example - If the products are transported from one functional area to another then it is a waste.
• Inventory - The material that is stored and cannot be worked on immediately is a waste. Example - The equipment that remained unused or are rarely used are waste.
• Motion - Movement of workers to assemble the product is a waste and the more the movement the more is the waste of time and energy. Example - Movement of workers in search of materials, tools or equipment.
• Waiting - The waiting period of labor and machines are considered as the waste of time and money. Example - System downtime can increase the workers wait time and thus is a waste.
• Over-processing - The non-value added work done that is not required by the customers and for which customers are not ready to pay is waste. Example - If the back-end customer service obtain same data from the customers that are already stored in their system then it is over-processing waste.
• Overproduction - If the products developed is more than what is needed then it is a waste. Example - If the products are developed before it is required by the next production stage, then it is over-production waste.
• Defects - Defection is nothing but imperfection that result in failure. It affects the quality of the product which will result in creating negative impression in customers' mind. This will impact the value proposition of the product that will make the customers to prefer competitors’ product. This will not only make the company to lose its market share but also impact the brand image negatively. Defects in product will also result in giving bad customer experience. Example - Incorrect data entry done by the back-end team is a defect.