| It sounds so simple. "Reduce waste." I mean, isn't | | | | define them all. But they all share one common |
| that like throwing out the trash? Duh. On some level | | | | factor. The identify activity that is not "value-added." |
| we all know that waste is something to be avoided, | | | | We're getting pretty strict here, but at the end of |
| so when you tell someone that lean manufacturing, | | | | the day, any expended resource that did not focus |
| or lean in any workplace for that matter, is all about | | | | on making and selling books (the mission of your |
| reducing and eliminating as much waste in the | | | | company), was waste. And here is where it all falls |
| workplace as possible, it doesn't sound that profound | | | | apart for most of us. |
| to anyone. After all, we don't knowingly engage in | | | | 10 percent is considered "bad" by most of us when |
| wasteful practices, so whatever waste there is must | | | | 100 percent is the goal. And for most things, that's |
| be a very small percentage of what we do, right? | | | | reasonable. But if the top folks in our game can only |
| Well, if you think 90% is a small percentage, you | | | | manage about 40 percent, we think there's |
| might want to review your high school math notes. | | | | something wrong with the system because we're |
| That is the percentage of waste in the average | | | | used to the best being in the 90 percent or higher |
| work center. You can't believe it can you? Well that's | | | | range aren't we? Except for baseball where, for |
| one reason why lean is so hard to actually implement | | | | some odd reason, the best players have batting |
| successfully. We have a hard time believing we need | | | | averages in the 30-to-40 percent range, and we |
| it in the first place since we mightily underestimate | | | | don't mind. |
| how wasteful we are. | | | | So when a concept like lean comes along and says |
| Let's break it down shall we? In any workplace, there | | | | "the goal is zero percent waste, but the laws of |
| are resources expended every day. The most | | | | physics prevent us ever getting there," we reject |
| obvious of those resources are money and time. Can | | | | the concept. It must be flawed because it's so |
| we agree that if your business makes and sells | | | | ridiculous. Well, no wonder we won't succeed with it. |
| books, it would be wasteful to use company funds | | | | Add to the basic premise of waste-reduction the |
| to purchase a machine that makes, say, light bulbs? | | | | other seemingly contradictory aspects of lean, such |
| Just as buying something you don't need and cannot | | | | as you need to go slow to go fast, sometimes your |
| use wastes money, spending time doing much of | | | | people should NOT produce, etc. and you might as |
| anything but manufacturing and selling books can be | | | | well drive a steak in the heart of any lean |
| considered waste. The same holds true for other | | | | implementation program. |
| resources than time and money as well. In fact, there | | | | It takes an open mind and a bit of outside-the-box |
| are 7 categories of waste that have come to define | | | | thinking to truly "get" lean, and as much as we like to |
| pretty much all the waste commonly seen in the | | | | talk about it, most businesses are too risk-averse to |
| workplace, namely: defects, overproduction, | | | | actually think outside-the-box or be open-minded. So |
| inventory, transportation, motion, excess processing, | | | | ironically, most businesses will never succeed using |
| and waiting. | | | | the lean methodology. |
| It would take more than just this article to properly | | | | |