Eight Wastes

Lean philosophy dictates anything that does not add value to a process or product, or that the customer is unwilling to pay for, is waste and should be eliminated. Each step of a process in the production of a good or service either adds value or waste to the end product. Ultimately, the elimination of waste increases an organization’s productivity and profit.

The 8 wastes within the Lean philosophy are discussed below along with office and manufacturing examples.

1. Defect - Work that contains errors or lacks something necessary
   • Office Examples
     • Incorrect information being shared
     • Data entry errors
     • Forwarding incomplete documents
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Scrap
     • Rework
     • Missing parts
2. Overproduction - Producing more materials or information than customer demand
   • Office Examples
     • Creating reports no one reads/needs
     • Making extra copies
     • Providing more information than needed
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Producing more products than demand
     • Batch process resulting in extra output
     • Having a “push” production system
3. Waiting - Idle time created when material, information, people or equipment is not ready
   • Office Examples
     • Ineffective meetings
     • Waiting for meetings to start
     • Files awaiting signatures/approvals
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Waiting for tools, parts, information
     • Broken machines waiting to be fixed
     • Raw materials not ready
4. Not Utilizing Talent - Not, or under, utilizing the talent of employees
   • Office Examples
     • Insufficient training
     • High absenteeism and turnover
     • Inadequate performance
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Employing people in the wrong position
     • Not fully training employees
     • Missing improvements by failing to listen to employees
5. Transportation - Movement of materials or information that does not add value
   • Office Examples
     • Hand carrying paper to the next process
     • Delivering unneeded documents
     • Going to get signatures
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Moving products around before shipping
     • Moving product from different workstations
     • Moving inventory around to take stock
6. Inventory - Excess materials on hand that the customers or employees do not need right now
   • Office Examples
     • Purchasing excessive office supplies
     • Searching for computer files
     • Obsolete files or office equipment
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • More finished products than demand
     • Extra materials taking up work space
     • Broken machines sitting around
7. Motion - Movement of people that does not add value
   • Office Examples
     • Searching for files
     • Walking/reaching to get materials
     • Sifting through inventory to find what is needed
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Reaching to make adjustments
     • Walking to get a tool multiple times
     • Repetitive movements that could overwork/injure an employee
8. Extra Processing - Efforts that do not provide value from the customer's perspective
   • Office Examples
     • Unnecessary signatures on a document
     • Making more copies of a document than will be needed
     • Saving multiple copies of the same file in multiple locations
   • Manufacturing Examples
     • Adding unneeded value to a product
     • Using a more high-tech machine than needed
     • Extra steps to correct avoidable mistakes