Have you ever wanted to be a detective?

My whole life I have loved mystery novels and movies and I think I would have made a pretty good detective - except I don't deal with blood very well.

Luckily, lean is a lot like being a detective because we are looking to eliminate 7 types of waste. They are:

1. Excess Inventory - including documents and information

2. Unneeded processing time

3. Waiting

4. Excess Motion

5. Overproduction is the making of more than required by the next process, earlier or faster than required, - including documents and information.

6. Defective Products - including documents and information

7. Transportation

You may look at these and think that they do not apply to your industry but I assure you that they do.

While it is true that lean was developed in manufacturing, it has gained popularity in a variety of other industries from healthcare, hospitality, transportation, technology, retail, and others.

The reality is that there is just as much waste regarding information as there is in a physical product, and since information moves faster, it is sometimes difficult to see where the waste is.

This is why practicing lean principles is so important, so we can look at the entire value stream from concept to customer, and make sure we are eliminating as much waste as possible.

#lean #leanthinking #waste

https://expanding-excellence.com/f/7-types-of-waste