If you consider yourself a Lean expert, this quiz is for you! Can you name the seven wastes of Lean Manufacturing? If they don’t come to mind immediately, scroll down to see the answer.

The Seven Wastes of Lean Manufacturing:

1. Over Production-This is the most critical type of waste. Usually it covers up an underlying problem in the manufacturing or business processes. Controlling over production will help alleviate the other six wastes.
2. Defects- Defective parts or products waste money. Either the entire piece is thrown away, it needs to be repaired or reconstructed. Regardless of what is wrong with it, a defect requires additional time and energy to return the product to specifications.
3. Transportation- Any time materials or products are moved, there is waste. Some transportation cannot be eliminated, but try to decrease the occurrence as much as possible. Sometimes this means electronic waste, other times it is moving boxes from one machine to another when the entire process could be automated.
4. Waiting- Downtime in the manufacturing process is an efficiency killer. Downtime can be defined as a driver waiting for goods to be loaded, or a machine waiting for its next job. Synchronizing processes will decrease downtime.
5. Inventory- Inventory ties up working capital in goods that have not yet been purchased by a customer. These products take up space, packaging and can be part of transportation waste. Some inventory is good; waste occurs when there is an inappropriate amount.
6. Motion- Motion is similar to transportation, but applies to workers. Excess or awkward movements can cause workman’s comp injuries, so it is important to consider ergonomics when re-designing a workspace. The best way to eliminate motion waste is to analyze the points of use and have only necessary tools at the station. This idea can be translated to any job – from a chef to a machine operator to a secretary.
7. Processing- This waste could be over air conditioning the office space, or redundant paperwork, or sorting parts that don’t need sorting. You can eliminate this type of waste by using less machines or using predictive maintenance.

Understanding how each of the seven wastes of lean manufacturing plays a role in the manufacturing process will help you to implement practices to be a more efficient manufacturer.

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