What is Waste?

 Waste is defined as anything that does not add value in the mind of the customer. Waste can occur in even the most efficient organizations. Lean Manufacturing classifies waste into 7 types:-

 Process, Methods, Movement, Defects, Waiting time, Inventory and Overproduction.

 Process waste occurs whenever the output from an operation is less than the material used to start the process, a good example is cutting a seat cushion from a piece of leather, the remnants from the cutting process may not be usable, and hence this is process waste.

Methods waste occurs when needless activities are performed, for example if a batch of parts has intermittent quality, some parts may be good and others bad, then the time taken to sort the bad parts from the good is methods waste. Movement waste occurs when there is insufficient space to store parts in the proper location, and as a result parts are put in a temporary location which requires double handling when the proper location becomes available. Defect waste occurs when good parts are damaged during transportation or in process, an example occurs if mistakes are made during the drilling of holes in a hull or deck. Waiting time waste occurs when products do not flow at the same rate to sequential operations. Inventory waste is created whenever there is a mismatch between the demand rate and the rate of supply. Over production waste is created whenever production schedules are exceeded, and material and labor is committed to products that may never be required by the customers.

Waste adds unnecessary costs to the products sold, and makes it more difficult for companies to compete in the marketplace. Everyone must all become more aware of the waste that is present in each area, and take steps to eliminate or reduce it, so that the company can become more cost competitive.