Waste Analysis

Question 1

What is waste?

Answer 1

any activity that consumes resources such as time, space, and materials, but does not add value to a product or service

Question 2

Customers may not be willing to bear the ___________ of activities that don’t add __________ to them.

Answer 2

cost, value

Question 3

What are the types of waste?

Answer 3

D - defects
O - overproduction
W - waiting
N - not utilizing knowledge, skills, and abilities
T - transportation
I - inventory
M - motion
E - excess processing

Question 4

What is overproduction waste?

Answer 4

producing items earlier or in greater quantities than what is required, which results in too many finished goods in inventory or too many service providers waiting to deliver services

Question 5

What are the causes of overproduction? (5)

Answer 5

• fear of insufficient inventory
• unbalancing scheduling or workload
• misuse of automation
• redundant systems
• creating buffer inventory to compensate for unreliable processes

Question 6

What are the impacts of overproduction? (4)

Answer 6

• large-batch processing
• other types of waste (movement, transportation, inventory, waiting)
• confused priorities
• extra space needed

Question 7

What metric is used to analyze overproduction?

Answer 7

Work in Progress (WIP)

Question 8

What are defects?

Answer 8

process activities or outputs that do not conform to customer requirements

Question 9

What causes defects? (7)

Answer 9

• unclear work instructions
• lack of standard work
• insufficient processes
• poorly maintained processes
• poor materials
• inadequate training
• lack of understanding of customer requirements

Question 10

What is the impact of defects? (5)

Answer 10

• unnecessary rework
• inspections
• errors of omission
• costs to resolve issues
• potential loss of customer confidence

Question 11

How are defects measured?

Answer 11

evaluation process to identify defects

Question 12

How are defects analyzed?

Answer 12

defects/unit = number of defects/ number of units

first pass yield = # defect free units produced :# of units entering without requiring rework or scrap

Question 13

What is waiting waste?

Answer 13

any time a work in progress is idle

Question 14

What are the causes of waiting waste? (10)

Answer 14

• bottlenecks
• uneven cycle times
• information and queuing delays
• late deliveries
• upstream quality issues
• handoffs
• approvals
• inspections
• unplanned downtime
• producing forecast

Question 15

What are the impacts of waiting? (2)

Answer 15

• downtime cost
• other types of waste: overprocessing, not utilizing knowledge, skills, abilities

Question 16

What is transportation waste?

Answer 16

excess transport of information, products, or materials around the organization or between facilities

Question 17

What are the causes of transportation waste? (3)

Answer 17

• poor workspace layout
• unclear understanding of process workflow
• excessively large storage areas

Question 18

What are the impacts of transportation waste? (4)

Answer 18

• redundant handling of materials or products
• longer lead times
• damaged products
• added costs for transportation systems

Question 19

What is inventory waste?

Answer 19

a supply in excess of single-piece flow is present in a process

Question 20

What are the causes of inventory waste? (6)

Answer 20

• push system
• fear of insufficient quantities
• unbalanced scheduling or workloads
• incentive programs for exceeding production quotas
• poor market forecasts
• unreliable market shipment

Question 21

What are the impacts of inventory waste? (4)

Answer 21

• extra costs in workers, time, space and finances
• additional wastes hidden by inventory
• obsolescence and damage
• shortages (due to lack of accurate info)

Question 22

What is motion waste?

Answer 22

when people or outputs are diverted out of the flow of the system, adding movement without value

Question 23

Efficiently designed systems are ___________________ and _______________________ strain and disruptions to safety, quality, and productivity.

Answer 23

ergonomic (designed for efficiency and comfort for users)

minimize

Question 24

What are the causes of motion waste? (5)

Answer 24

• unfavorable work area layout
• poor organization and housekeeping
• inadequate instructions or documentation
• inconsistent work methods
• busy movements while waiting

Question 25

What are the impacts of motion waste? (3)

Answer 25

• added lead time
• fatigue and strain
• reduced quality

Question 26

How is motion waste analyzed?

Answer 26

5s score

Question 27

What is overprocessing (excess processing) waste?

Answer 27

more work is performed than what is required or duplication of effort

Question 28

What causes excess processing? (7)

Answer 28

• nonstandard work
• busywork to accommodate downtime
• misunderstanding of true customer requirements
• lack of communication about standards
• redundant approvals
• excessive copies
• extra information

Question 29

What are the impacts of excess processing? (3)

Answer 29

• defects caused by fatigue from performing redundant processes
• extra costs
• delivery delays

Question 30

What is resource underutilization?

Answer 30

failing to utilize people’s knowledge, skills, and abilities

Question 31

What are the causes of resource underutilization? (4)

Answer 31

• poor hiring practices
• organizational politics
• inadequate investment in training
• business culture

Question 32

What are the impacts of resource underutilization? (4)

Answer 32

• high turnover
• lost talent
• unnecessary management costs
• suboptimal processes due to lack of participation

Question 33

How is resource underutilization analyzed?

Answer 33

skill matrix