Toyota defined seven categories or types of waste.
- Overproduction (making more than what is needed, or making it earlier than needed)
- Transportation (moving products farther than is minimally required)
- Waiting (products waiting on the next production step, or people waiting for work to do)
- Inventory (having more inventory than is minimally required)
- Motion (people moving or walking more than minimally required)
- Processing itself
- Defects (the effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects)[2]
To eliminate waste Lean strategy utilizes tools to help you continually improve your management system. Some of these are:
Setup Reduction
Setup Reduction helps to reduce time of changeover. When organizations transition from one type of product line to another or one type of service to another a lot of time/materials can be wasted in preparation and changeover. For example: changover in a hospital room from one patient to another, bakery changinover from one type of pastry to another.
Total Productive Maintenance
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a process to maximize the productivity of your equipment and facilities. Total employee involvement in overall effort to improve Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and Creativity. By reducing equipment downtime more productivity can be gained from equipment and facilities.
Value Stream Mapping
Value Stream Mapping is a tool used to create a material and information flow map of a product or processes. The Value Stream starts with the raw materials, goes through all the process steps and finishes at with delivery process. Your evaluation of the current process will make it apparent where the process can be streamlined and improved.
Cellular/Flow Manufacturing
Cellular manufacturing is an approach that helps build a variety of products with as little waste as possible. Equipment and workstations are arranged in a sequence that supports a smooth flow of materials and components through the process, with minimal transport or delay. The process of operations is balanced so that product flows as if it was a continuous process.
5S System
The 5S System includes:
-Sort and remove items that are not needed
-Set in order remaining items
-Shine or clean everything
-Standardize the first three S's by implementing visual displays and controls
-Sustain the gains through self-discipline, training, communication and total employee involvement.
Pull System/Kanban
Pull Systems/Kanban control the flow of resources in a production process by replacing only what has been consumed. They are customer order-driven production schedules based on actual demand and consumption rather than forecasted sales.
Kaizen Blitz
A Kaizen Blitz is an intensive and focused approach to Process Improvement. Kaizen means "continuous improvement" and Blitz means "lightening fast". During the Kaizen Blitz event, participants use Lean techniques, team empowerment, brainstorming and problem solving to rapidly make improvements to a specific area or process. The Kaizen event provides immediate tangible results and motivation for ongoing continuous improvements. [1]
