Lean will remove or reduce Waste or Non-Value adding steps in our processes. While waste removal should not be the focus of any lean initiative it will certainly be something that you achieve whilst seeking to implement the principles of lean manufacturing. The links below will explain everything you need to know about waste in our processes and explain what the tradition seven wastes are and how they can be reduced or eliminated. Select the pictures below to go to a detailed description.

 

Muda, Mura and Muri

The seven wastes of lean are only part of the story; you should also seek to understand the other forms of waste within your process and not just Muda as described by the traditional 7 wastes. Mura and Muri are vastly important and often create the 7 Mudas or wastes within our processes;

7 Wastes of Lean and Non-Value adding Processes

The following links will explain to you the differences between value adding and non value adding processes as well as summarizing the 7 wastes for both production and service organizations.

Seven Wastes

The following links will take you to detailed descriptions of each of the Seven wastes which can be remembered using the Mnemonic TIMWOOD (Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Over-Processing, and Defects). Plus some additional wastes that many add for completeness;