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You might as well call them the 7 deadly sins of waste! Here in this infographic we’ve outlined the 7 wastes of Lean:

Overproduction: although its intention comes from a place of optimism, it is a huge waste. Overproduction is very costly, both in revenue and storage, and also makes it very difficult to notice any defects. From a manufacturing point of view, only produce what is ordered and can be sold and shipped immediately.

Waiting: any waiting being done is not adding value to the actual product. This usually happens when the flow of materials in the process is slow, causing production to be slow because waiting occurs. One process should link to the next and have a flow.

Transport: This occurs when you have to move product from one process to another. This action doesn’t add any value to the product. Excessive movement can cause damage or accidents and isn’t necessary at all. Mapping out flow can help this.

Extra processing: This happens when using high precision machinery, when a simpler more effective tool would work just fine.

Unnecessary Inventory: This is a result of waste, the sins of overproduction, and waiting. Since too much inventory will hide many issues, many flaws go unnoticed until the problem has been exacerbated. 

Motion/Movement: Any excess movement such as walking, lifting, bending, or stretching has to do with actual layout. Once again, this can be an accident or injury waiting to happen.

Defects: This is the bottom line, and if re-inspecting is a constant, that is an indication of significant loss of the total manufacturing cost. The use of Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) is a must.

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