The pillars of waste
The seven pillars of waste – plus one
Originally identified by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System, the first seven items below are accepted as the most common forms of waste in a business.
However, at Scott-Grant our practical experience in every industry sector has proven that there is a very powerful eighth waste. Would you agree?
| Waste | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Over-production | Producing more than the customer ordered |
| 2 | Inventory | Excessive stock – raw materials and finished goods |
| 3 | Waiting/delay | Process downtime – problems with material or equipment availability, set up, technical approvals, awaiting instructions |
| 4 | Defects | Scrap or correction – non-saleable product, additional work required |
| 5 | Excessive transportation | Excessive movement of product, materials, goods, or equipment |
| 6 | Unnecessary people motion | Excessive walking, bending, turning, reaching, lifting |
| 7 | Inappropriate processing | Excess work, variable or poor presentation of product, communication, instruction, inadequate methods or equipment |
| 8 | Inappropriate staffing | Excess staffing or unsuitable skills – could be too many or too few people, imbalance of people, excessive skills or costs, inadequate skill or capability |
Think of your own business and see just how many could be applicable there.
Think of your own business and see just how many could be applicable there.
What to do next
If you need to improve capacity or reduce costs, or you need accurate data to determine how best to cope with change, we can provide the right way forward – cost-effectively. Remember that improving productivity is about making the better use of all your resources and vitally, making much better use of the critical ones.
Whichever business sector you operate in, the chances are we’ve helped people to address their productivity issues and improve the way they operate.
Scott-Grant can really help you improve your productivity and become more streamlined.
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