xi
8 Wastes
As a Lean practitioner and teacher, I know the power of the visual factory and
how it can be the platform for more improvements. Visual controls are very Lean,
and the concept of visual controls is a major part of Lean manufacturing. Lean
manufacturing has been and will always be about waste reduction. Developing,
sustaining, and improving on a visual factory will remove or reduce a signicant
amount of waste. Many of you reading this playbook already understand the
concepts of waste and Lean. For those of you just getting started, here is a brief
description of each of the 8 Wastes of 5S:
Overproduction
Overprocessing
Waiting
Motion
Transportation
Inventory
Defects
Wasted Potential
Overproduction is the act of making more product than necessary and
completing it faster than necessary and before it is needed. Overproduced product
takes up oor space, requires handling and storage, and could result in potential
quality problems if the lot contains defects.
Overprocessing is the practice of extra steps, rechecking, reverifying, and
outperforming work. Overprocessing is often conducted in fabrication departments
when sanding, deburring, cleaning, or polishing is overperformed. Machines can
also overprocess when they are not properly maintained and simply take more
time to produce quality parts.
Waiting occurs when important information, tools, and supplies are not readily
available, causing machines and people to be idle. Imbalances in workloads and
cycle times between processes can also cause waiting.
Motion is the movement of people in and around the work area to look for
tools, parts, information, people, and all necessary items that are not available.
Ifa process contains a high level of motion, lead time increases, and the focus
xii ◾ 8 Wastes
on quality begins to decrease. All necessary items should be organized and
placed at the point of use so the worker can focus on the work at hand.
Transportation is the movement of parts and product throughout the facility.
Often requiring a forklift, hand truck, or pallet jack, transportation exists when
consuming processes are far away from each other and are not visible.
Inventory is a waste when manufacturers tie up too much money by holding
excessive levels of raw, work-in-process, and nished goods inventory.
Defects are any quality metric that causes rework, scrap, warranty claims,
andrework hours from mistakes made in the factory.
Wasted human potential is the act of not properly utilizing employees to the
best of their abilities. People are only as successful as the process they are given
to work in. If a process inherently has motion, transportation, overprocessing,
overproduction, periods of waiting, and defect creation, then that is exactly what
involves people. That is wasted human potential.
A visual factory can help you reduce these eight wastes and by doing so will
create a much more productive and protable company for all.
My hope is that you will read this playbook and not only be inspired but also be
able to roll up your sleeves and begin your 5S journey after the last page is read.
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