Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt – The 8 types of muda examples and general solutions

1. Waste Overview

Hi there. My name is Cameron Hansen. I’m here with Lean Strategies International, LLC to give you this updated overview of the eight forms of waste. In this lecture you will learn what valueadded and nonvalue added work is. After we understand these two types of work, we will discuss what waste is and finally we will touch on each of the eight forms of waste that can be found in any organization. Let’s get started by first discussing the three types of work that take place in every organization. The first type of work activity is called value added work.

Value added work is the actual work that a customer is willing to pay for. We can also describe value added work as the activities that transform a product or a service from one condition to another, but only if the customer is willing to pay for it. Additionally, the transformation and the activity must be performed correctly the first time through. If these three qualities are present, the activity or process is in fact a value added activity. So what do we call an activity that does not have these three qualities? Well, these types of activities are referred to as business necessary or business value added activities.

These activities are work that your customer is not willing to pay for. However, they must be performed as a necessary precaution to protect the business or comply with requirements. While these activities add no value at all, our third and final category is nonvalue. These are wasteful activities that are referred to in lean as mooda. This type of work activity is best found by looking from a customer’s perspective while attempting to answer the question, would I be willing to pay for this if I were the customer? One of the easiest ways to understand non value is to use the analogy of a stream. Our work activities are the water which we expect to flow freely from beginning to end. As you can imagine, if the stream is full of rocks and junk, the water can no longer flow as freely as it should. These rocks represent the waste we call non value or muda.

When we identify the rocks or waste found within the stream, we can then remove these rocks from the water, saving space, improving time and freeing up resources so that the stream can then flow rapidly to its destination again. Now when we compare this analogy to the value streams that flow through our organizations, we can then understand why focusing on waste is so productive. In a typical value stream, we often find that it is filled with rocks or waste. This limits the flow of resources, capital and time. Now as you can see here that by taking a more traditional approach of speeding up machine cycle times or working countless hours of overtime, we only focus on the value added portion of the value stream. While hard work is never a bad endeavor, it is clear that by focusing on the removal of waste, we have far more opportunity to improve the value stream.

To do this, we must be able to identify the eight forms of waste which we will focus on in the rest of this lecture. Now, the first type of waste is transportation waste. Transportation waste is any unnecessary movement of people, products or machines. You will see this when parts are moved across facilities or when employees need to travel excessive distances to retrieve tools or data and information. The next type of waste is inventory waste. This type of waste can be defined as any unnecessary storage of materials, products or information. Inventory waste is found all throughout the value stream. After inventory waste, we have the waste of motion. This type of waste is directly related to motion or movement by people and machines which does not add or create value like reaching too high or bending too low. Another type of muda is the waste of waiting. The waste of waiting can be defined as any person or persons awaiting products, information, data, machines or services. This waste is often associated with long setup times, lengthy changeovers and approval queues throughout your value stream. The next type of waste is the deadliest form of waste there is overproduction. Overproduction is the deadliest form of waste because it enhances all other forms of waste.

Overproduction occurs when parts and services are created in excess of the needed demand. It also occurs when services and parts are delivered earlier than the actual requirement. Next, we have the waste of overprocessing. Overprocessing is the hardest type of waste to see because it is usually masked with workarounds and the hidden factory. The easiest way to define overprocessing is doing more to a product than what the customer specification or transformative process requires the first time through.

Overprocessing is sometimes referred to as inappropriate processing because it includes steps that are not needed, extra handling, duplication of activities, and processes that are just not statistically capable of producing the desired results. One example of overprocessing would be a worker using screws and fasteners where clamps and more efficient tools could be used.

The next type of waste is defects. A defect is any output from a service or a product that does not meet the customer required specifications or their chosen requirements. A defect is not the same as defective. There may be more than one defect in a defective product or process. Some examples of defects are parts that do not conform to customer requirements, data that is missing information, and errors on forms or parts. The last type of waste is the waste of underutilized skills with both machines and people. One easy way to remember these eight forms of waste is through the acronym Tim Woods or the acronym down and Time, whichever you prefer. They are both helpful reminders of the eight forms.

2. ©STUDY Activity – Stand in the Circle

Hi there everyone and welcome to the summary of the Tim Woods activity. By the end of this module, you will know what it means to stand in the circle and what the five steps to our study activity are before going and completing this powerful training technique on your own. As you know by now, many organizations around the world are always trying to remove waste. Many have successfully integrated lean strategies, reaping benefits like improved efficiency, stable operations, better yield rates, and higher profit margins, while others struggle to simply understand the basics of a lean thinking organization. As you have probably seen by now, at the heart of a lean organization is people.

Their culture, behaviors, and capability all contribute to the successful implementation of a lean strategy. In the book The Toyota Way 14 Management Principles, author Dr. Jeffrey Liker outlines his 14 principles with a four P model. One of those, PS, which is focused on people and partners, challenges us to grow leaders who live the lean philosophy and respect, develop and challenge one another. One way we can develop and challenge each other is through continued CADA.

Kata is a martial arts reference which describes a system of individual training exercises or techniques that are used to develop an individual skill set in a specific area. Legend has it that the master, Sensei Taichiono, would often take groups of people to a shop floor. He would then draw a circle on the ground and ask individuals to stand in the circle. Students were then instructed to keep a clear mind and focus on the area or value stream they were observing. The objective was to find and identify as many opportunities to improve as possible. This was one way that Mr. Ono would help his students to develop a Chisen or continuous improvement mindset while learning not to act on things before deep and meaningful observations take place.

Now we are going to do the real thing with an activity we call study. The study activity is inspired from Mr. Taichi Ono’s famous stand in the circle activity while adding to it some fun tools for you to use. Before we jump in, let me first say that you can use the study activity in manufacturing, office, healthcare, education, agriculture, or any other industry that has a business process attached to it. Before you begin, you may want to go and speak with a supervisor before completing the study activity. If they give you approval, you’re sure to identify opportunities to improve. If you’re not able to get permission to perform the activity during work hours, you may want to ask or suggest if it would be okay to come in after hours or on a day you’re not working. Another option would be to go and observe the activities at a grocery store, retail outlet, local mechanic, or another neutral location. We first start by standing in a safe observation spot for 30 to 45 minutes. During this first step of the study activity, you will want to be sure not to speak or engage with others in the area.

This 30 to 45 minutes is meant only for focusing and observing the area. Next, you’ll need to take notes about your observations. Once your 45 minutes is up, our next step is to understand the observations with your team. You’ll want to review your findings and share any details associated with the observations. As a team, you’ll work to prioritize and review each of them. You will also place a check mark next to the type of waste you’ve identified. Let’s note first, before moving on to the next step, that many of the forms of waste or possible opportunities you discover could be categorized as more than one form of waste. Our next step is to determine a root cause and solve at least one issue within the next hour. To do this, you will want to use the what five Why what if method. Since you have already answered the first what by identifying opportunities or waste, you’ll next want to ask why five times in order to dig towards a root cause.

Once you’re satisfied that you have in fact reached the root cause, a good way to get started finding solutions is to ask what if? To complete a five y analysis, simply ask why repeatedly to one of the people or members down at the gamba. This will help you discover real root causes by following up with a phrase like what if? You prompt them to innovate or brainstorm and come up with solutions right away. Remember, if possible, try to find more than one solution. After all, when you bring team members together to understand the observations and define root causes and solutions, the possibilities are endless. A fun activity to try out is to have a little friendly competition between teams to see who can come up with the most solutions.

The last step of our study activity is yokoten. Yokoten is a Japanese word used in lean, which translated means the sharing of best practices and knowledge throughout an organization. In other words, share your experience with everyone in a report out or a presentation so that they can all learn from your experience. You’ll need a few supplies for this activity, so let’s make sure we have them all ready to go along with the template and clipboard. Be sure to make and take with you some extra paper and a pencil to write with. The last item that is available for download is a quick and easy presentation template that you can use to share your findings with the entire organization. And that’s it.

The Study Activity don’t forget to turn in your assignments when you complete them, and be sure to take the quiz. A coach will review your experience and contact you if they have any tips or advice. Remember, we’re never far away, so any questions, please feel free to ask and we’ll see you in the next lecture. After you finish your study, of course. Until then, keep on improving, and we will keep on giving you solutions that ignite your power.