This document outlines a waste walk/audit process to identify and eliminate waste using Lean tools. It defines different types of waste including transportation, excess inventory, excess motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, defects, and underutilized talent. For each waste type, potential causes are identified along with recommended countermeasures. The waste audit process involves measuring and observing waste, identifying improvement ideas, and planning follow-up activities to ensure waste is removed on an ongoing basis. The overall goal is to structure a process to eliminate waste through the appropriate application of Lean principles and tools.

1. Waste Walk / Audit
“Structured process to eliminate waste
with the appropriate Lean Tools”
Anand Subramaniam

2. “Don't waste good iron for nails or good men
for soldiers.”
- Chinese Proverb
2

3. Transport
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Moving parts in and out • Safety • Kanban
of storage • Storage • Flow lines
• Moving material from one • Push production • Pull system
workstation to another • Over production • Value Stream
• Capital Expenditure • Functional layout • Supply chain
• Increases damage management
• Batch production
• Multiple staging
points
3

4. Excess Inventory
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Raw materials • Lack of flow • Build to order
• Finished goods • Long set-ups • Internal kanban
• Work in process • Long lead-times • External kanban
• Consumable supplies • Over production • Set-up reduction
• Purchased components • Paperwork in process • One-piece flow
• High levels of safety stock • Lack of ordering lines Supplier
procedure development
• Long queues in
service operations
• Large deposits of
material at each
operation
4

5. Excess Motion
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Non ergonomic moves • Unsafe • 5S
• Reaching for tools • Cycle time • One-piece flow
• Lifting boxes of parts • Inefficiency • Workstation
• Sorting through materials • Missing items design
• Searching for BOMS, • Unsafe work area • POUS
parts, tools, prints, work • Disorganised • Water Spider (one
instructions, etc. workplace who performs a
• Poor workstation wide range of tasks
design – stocks the line)
• 3P (Production
Preparation &
Process)
5

6. Waiting
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Waiting for parts • Lack of priority • TPM
• Waiting for prints • Work imbalance • Jidoka
• Waiting for machines • Push production • Office Kaizen
• Waiting for inspection • Order entry delays • Downstream pull
• Waiting for information • Centralised • In-process gauging
• Waiting for machine inspection • Takt time
repair • Lack of production
communication
6

7. Overproduction
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Producing more to avoid • Forecasting • TPM
set-ups • Long set-ups • Set-up reduction
• Producing product to • Poor Communication • Pull system
stock based on sales • “Just in case” for scheduling
forecasts breakdowns • Heijunka -level
• Batch process resulting in loading
extra output
• Working on the wrong
parts at the wrong time
• Making more parts than
your customer needs
7

8. Overprocessing
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Inspection • Push system • 3P
• Paperwork • VOC not understood • 5S
• Over-tight tolerances • Unnecessary approvals • Flow lines
• Multiple cleaning of parts • Redundant processes • Lean Design
• Awkward tool or part design • Delays between • Office Kaizen
• Consumes valuable processing • One-piece pull
resources • Opportunity for more
• Designs “thrown over the defects
wall” • Processing beyond
specification limits or
customer requirements
• Unnecessary record
retention
8

9. Defects
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Scrap • Process failure • 3P
• Defects • Mis-loaded part • Jidoka
• Rework • Batch process • Six Sigma
• Variation • Inspect-in quality • Poka Yoke
• Correction • Incapable machines • Built-in quality
• Field failure • One Piece Flow
• Missing parts
• Wrong parts from supplier
9

10. Under Utilised Talent
Waste Causes Counter Measures
• Poor quality • Mistrust • Kaizen
• High turn over • Lack of goals • Job rotation
• High Absenteeism • Poor training • Cross training
• Poor job satisfaction • Poor communication • Empowerment
• Lack of • Problem Solving
empowerment • Idea
• No control over implementation
situations
• Lack of feedback on
ideas
10

11. Waste Audit
How will we know we
Possible Cause Proposed Action
were successful?
Transportation
Excess Inventory
Excess Motion
Waiting
Overproduction
Overprocessing
Defects
Under Utilised Talent
11

12. Waste Measures
 By numbers:
 Loads
 Contents
 By observation:
 Survey
 Photos (before and after)
 By impact:
 Problem solved (through Improvement Idea)
12

13. Waste Removal – Improvement Ideas
13

14. Follow-up Activities
14

15. “Give a man a beer, waste an hour. Teach a
man to brew, and waste a lifetime!”
- Bill Owen
15

16. Good Luck
http://www.linkedin.com/in/anandsubramaniam
16