M01-Preventing and Eliminating MUDA
M01-Preventing and Eliminating MUDA
M01-Preventing and Eliminating MUDA
Level-II
SI International Standard
The requirements for a job vary according to the nature of the job itself. However, a certain work
ethic must be cultivated to succeed in any job and this is fundamental to an individual’s sense of
himself as a worker, as part of production relations and a fundamental economic being. The basic
requirements for a job remain the same no matter what the job is, where it is located or what
professional and educational qualifications are required for it. These are as follows:
Discipline: Nothing is possible without discipline. Any job requires a fundamental core of
discipline from the worker or the employee and this is a quality which is independent of age,
post, stature, job and so on. Discipline is absolutely indispensable and provides the impetus for
work that can be strenuous, repetitive, boring and even unsatisfactory at times.
Enthusiasm: Enthusiasm for work is also a pre-requisite for any job. An innate love for the job,
which in modern parlance is known as job satisfaction, is a core requirement for any job. The
drive to succeed, to innovate, to do well and to make one’s profession into one’s livelihood is a
critical drive which needs to be present in the employee or cultivated as soon as possible. No job,
however perfectly carried out, can evoke the feeling of satisfaction of a job well done without the
instinct for success.
Qualifications: This is a more material, tactile need for a job which can be conveyed through
degrees and certificates. However education is not limited to what is taught in colleges or
vocational training courses. It is the burning desire to learn more, to reach the depths of
knowledge about a particular field of interest, to complete the job and learn from it that marks
the true enthusiast and the truly learned.
Soft Skills: Soft skills include those skills which ensure that a job is executed well, and the
employee can carry himself in the proper manner too. For example, good and smooth
communication, computer skills, proficiency in language if needed, presentable appearance, the
ability to manage crises are all soft skills which are fundamentally important in any job and
which must be cultivated consciously.
Thus, the requirements of a job, though specific to it, cover also a general spectrum. These make
for better employees and better individuals.
Work Instruction
Information about the work
Describe what workers need to be able to do on the job
Work functions
Key activities of each work function
Performance indicators
Describe what task to be done or work roles in a certain occupation
Work instruction is a description of the specific tasks and activities within an organization. A
work instruction in a business will generally outline all of the different jobs needed for the
operation of the firm in great detail and is a key element to running a business smoothly.
In other words it is a document containing detailed instructions that specify exactly what steps to
follow to carry out an activity. It contains much more detail than a Procedure and is only created
if very detailed instructions are needed. For example, describing precisely how a Request for
Change record is created in the Change Management software support tool.
Many people confuse “procedures” with “work instructions”. In fact, most people write work
instructions and call them procedures. Knowing the differences of procedures vs work
instructions can help you understand the documentation process much better and, therefore,
procedure documentation.
Procedures describe a process, while a work instruction describes how to perform the conversion
itself. Process descriptions include details about the inputs, what conversion takes place (of
inputs into outputs), the outputs, and the feedback necessary to ensure consistent results. The
PDCA process approach (Plan, Do, Check, Act) is used to capture the relevant information.
OHS requirements are legislation/regulations/codes of practice and enterprise safety policies and
procedures. This may include protective clothing and equipment, use of tooling and equipment,
workplace environment and safety, handling of material, use of fire-fighting equipment,
enterprise first aid, hazard control and hazardous materials and substances.
Occupational safety and health (OSH) also commonly referred to as occupational health and
safety (OHS) or workplace health and safety (WHS) is an area concerned with the safety, health
and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goals of occupational safety and
health programs include fostering a safe and healthy work environment. OSH may also protect
co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by
the workplace environment. In the United States the term occupational health and safety is
referred to as occupational health and occupational and non-occupational safety and includes
safety for activities outside work.
Occupational safety and health can be important for moral, legal, and financial reasons. In
common-law jurisdictions, employers have a common law duty (reflecting an underlying moral
obligation) to take reasonable care for the safety of their employees. Statute law may build upon
As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) "occupational health deals with all aspects
of health and safety in the workplace and has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards."
Health has been defined as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Occupational health is a multidisciplinary field of
healthcare concerned with enabling an individual to undertake their occupation, in the way that
causes least harm to their health. It contrasts, for example, with the promotion of health and
safety at work, which is concerned with preventing harm from any incidental hazards, arising in
the workplace..
The definition reads: "The main focus in occupational health is on three different objectives:
Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health: those in the field of occupational health
come from a wide range of disciplines and professions including medicine, psychology,
epidemiology, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, occupational, occupational medicine, human
factors and ergonomics, and many others. Professionals advise on a broad range of occupational
health matters. These include how to avoid particular pre-existing conditions causing a problem
in the occupation, correct posture for the work, frequency of rest breaks, preventative action that
can be undertaken, and so forth.
Physical hazards are a common source of injuries in many industries. They are perhaps
unavoidable in certain industries, such as construction and mining, but over time people have
developed safety methods and procedures to manage the risks of physical danger in the
workplace. Employment of children may pose special problems. Falls are a common cause of
occupational injuries and fatalities, especially in construction, extraction, transportation,
healthcare, and building cleaning and maintenance.
The transportation sector bears many risks for the health of commercial drivers, too, for example
from vibration, long periods of sitting, work stress and exhaustion. These problems occur in
Europe but in other parts of the world the situation is even worse. More drivers die in accidents
due to security defects in vehicles. Long waiting times at borders cause that drivers are away
from home and family much longer and even increase the risk of HIV infections.
Confined spaces also present a work hazard. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health defines "confined space" as having limited openings for entry and exit and unfavourable
natural ventilation, and which is not intended for continuous employee occupancy. Spaces of this
kind can include storage tanks, ship compartments, sewers, and pipelines. Confined spaces can
pose a hazard not just to workers, but also to people who try to rescue them.
Noise also presents a fairly common workplace hazard: occupational hearing loss is the most
common work-related injury in the United States, with 22 million workers exposed to hazardous
noise levels at work and an estimated $242 million spent annually on worker's compensation for
hearing loss disability. Noise is not the only source of occupational hearing loss; exposure to
chemicals such as aromatic solvents and metals including lead, arsenic, and mercury can also
cause hearing loss.
Electricity poses a danger to many workers. Electrical injuries can be divided into four types:
fatal electrocution, electric shock, burns, and falls caused by contact with electric energy
Vibrating machinery, lighting, and air pressure (high or low) can also cause work-related illness
and injury. Asphyxiation is another potential work hazard in certain situations. Musculoskeletal
are avoided by the employment of good ergonomic design and the reduction of repeated
strenuous movements or lifts. Ionizing (alpha, beta, gamma, X, neutron), and non-ionizing
radiation (microwave, intense IR, RF, UV, laser at visible and non-visible wavelengths), can also
be a potent hazard
In Victoria, workplace health and safety is governed by a system of laws, regulations and
compliance codes which set out the responsibilities of employers and workers to ensure that
safety is maintained at work.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (the Act) is the cornerstone of legislative and
administrative measures to improve occupational health and safety in Victoria.
The Act sets out the key principles, duties and rights in relation to occupational health and safety.
The general nature of the duties imposed by the Act means that they cover a very wide variety of
circumstances, do not readily date and provide considerable flexibility for a duty holder to
determine what needs to be done to comply.
C. Regulations of OHS
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 are made under the Act. They specify the
ways duties imposed by the Act must be performed, or prescribe procedural or administrative
matters to support the Act, such as requiring licenses for specific activities, keeping records, or
notifying certain matters.
D. Guidance of OHS
Effective OHS regulation requires that Work Safe provides clear, accessible advice and guidance
about what constitutes compliance with the Act and Regulations. This can be achieved through
Compliance Codes, Work Safe Positions and non-statutory guidance ("the OHS compliance
framework"). For a detailed explanation of the OHS compliance framework, see the Victorian
Occupational Health and Safety Compliance Framework Handbook.
E. Policy of OHS
Not every term in the legislation is defined or explained in detail. Also, sometimes new
circumstances arise (like increases in non-standard forms of employment, such as casual, labour
hire and contract work, or completely new industries with new technologies which produce new
hazards and risks) which could potentially impact on the reach of the law, or its effective
administration by Work Safe. Therefore, from time to time Work Safe must make decisions
about how it will interpret something that is referred to in legislation, or act on a particular issue,
to ensure clarity. In these circumstances, Work Safe will develop a policy. A policy is a
statement of what Work Safe understands something to mean, or what Work Safe will do in
certain.
Tools and Equipment are required to identify and measure Waste/Muda in work stations. The
following are some tools and equipment used to identify and measure Waste/Muda:
Tools and Equipment for Waste/Muda Identification Tape/Meter Stop watch, Photo Camera
Video Camera Calculator
Motion
Do you move unnecessarily during a process or activity? Ever make 3 trips back into the house
for things you forgot before finally leaving?
Transportation
Do you move materials or supplies unnecessarily? This isn’t about you moving this is about
moving stuff. I’ve walked miles in the kitchen carrying ingredients back and forth; maybe better
organization could cut down on how much we have to carry stuff?
Inventory
Having too much, or too little of supplies. Sticking with the kitchen theme, how much does it
cost in time, energy and gas when you have to run out at the last minute for missing ingredient?
On the other end buying too much of anything is a waste as well. I’ve still got dozens of pipe
fittings I purchased 8 years ago (just in case!) during a kitchen renovation.
Over-processing
Doing more than really necessary. Scrubbing the same spot after it’s already clean, repetitive
mouse clicks because we don’t know the computer’s shortcut commands, or too much packaging
peanuts and such for a non-fragile item are all examples of over-processing.
Rework
As the saying goes, “if you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time
to do it over.” – John Wooden. Rework is just that, having to do anything a second time because
it was unacceptable the first. Be it cleaning, repairing, filling out forms a second time we all
experience the pain and frustration of rework.
Time
The most obvious to most of us, waiting for another person company or process before we can
move forward is a huge waste. Waiting for the computer to finish processing a page, waiting at
the doctor’s office long past your appointed time, or waiting in line at the local grocery store
costs us all. The more inefficient others are, the less efficient we can be.
Waste of space
Needs for inspection, and transportation
Expansion of working fund
Shelf life may expire
It ties up cash
Talent and Ideas – Consultants that teach these philosophies are sometimes including the waste
of talent and ideas as the 8th type of waste. In the heat of the moment, we get frustrated because
of wasteful activities, we ponder that there must be a better way. By not taking action and
changing our ways we are wasting our capabilities and opportunities.
Cash – A 9th form of waste appropriate to personal financial growth is just plain cash. How
many times have you purchased a product or service but never used it? Have you ever bought
food that was never eaten, clothes that were never worn or software that was never used?
By training yourself to see the Muda you will find that it is easier to save a dollar than to make a
dollar. It’s that recognition, which in part, prompted this blog.
Classification of waste
A number of methods for classification of waste have emerged. Here are some of them:-
The 3MU’s
5M+Q+S
We should not force hard work on Employees in the name of productivity improvement
• Mental and physical overburden on operators, and overburden on production machinery
Mura
5S. During a Kaizen event, there will be questions regarding quality management that
need to be answered.
Value Stream Mapping. To study how the value of a product flows through a process,
teams use value stream mapping (VSM).
Fishbone Diagram.
Gemba: means the real place. Often managers and supervisors can get valuable
information by actually going down to the production line and talking with employees.
Gemba is often used in the form of Gemba walks, which are scheduled walks for
managers and supervisors observe processes up close and talk with frontline employees.
Jishuken: can be translated into an autonomous study groups or self-study. This concept
encouragers managers to be more directly involved and learn about the processes they are
responsible for and how they can work to improve them.
5 Whys: This is an important tool when it comes to identifying the root cause of an issue.
It is difficult to make an impactful change in the workplace if the root cause has yet to be
considered. The 5 Whys is exactly like the name implies; after a problem arises you
should ask yourself why five times.
Value Stream Mapping: Mapping out processes and streams in a facility can be very
beneficial for a business practicing Kaizen. These maps are usually hand-drawn and
include a diagram of materials moving through the different areas of the workplace. It is
important to remember these are just a few tools that fall under the umbrella of Kaizen.!
Process Kaizen happens at the individual / team level, taking small, targeted steps to improve
efficiency, productivity, communication, and transparency. Because it is simply the process of
making incremental improvements, process Kaizen is accessible to anyone looking to improve
their performance, regardless of whether their organization is undergoing a Lean initiative.
If the following scenario sounds familiar to you, a Kaizen board might help: You have a super-
productive team meeting, one where everyone contributed awesome ideas for working smarter
and getting more done. A week or two goes by… and none of the ideas have been implemented.
You have another meeting to discuss the ideas, and everyone gets energized once more – but
once again, nothing actually gets done.
This is where a Kaizen board becomes useful. It’s difficult to make time and devote energy to
work that isn’t treated like work, but rather, a side project. Using a Kaizen board at the team or
organizational levels can help turn good ideas into actionable cards, which the group collectively
manages. As long as the team (or organization) commits to reviewing the board as a group (and
prioritizing the work alongside other work), a Kaizen board can make your improvement ideas a
reality.
A. Inventory
This waste is materials that aren’t used or finished goods that haven’t been sold. Inventory can
take up a lot of real estate and can be costly to store. Finished goods that are sitting around can
deteriorate or expire if it’s a perishable good. Work in process inventory can turn into waste if it
was scrapped or if it isn’t actively used in production.
B. Transportation
This type of waste represents the unnecessary steps between the production processes. For
example, during the transportation of materials from one location to another, is there any
movement that can be eliminated or reduced? Additionally, it’s considered Muda if the load of
the vehicle used to transport these materials is under capacity. Another example is
Operation Sheet 2
Identify MUDA and problem
1. Mura,
2. Muri and
3. Muda
Page 23 of 51 Automotive department Preventing and Eliminating MUDA Version -1
September, 2022
Steps1 Select a workplace.
Step5 Explain the existence of Mura, Muri and Muda on each machine/worker.
This unit is developed to provide you the necessary information regarding the following content
coverage and topics:
All possible cause of problem
Cause using 4M1E
Creative idea generation eliminate critical root cause
Action plan suggest solution
This unit will also assist you to attain the learning outcomes stated in the cover page.
Specifically, upon completion of this learning guide, you will be able to:
Listing all possible cause of problem
Analyzing cause using 4M1E
Using creative idea generation eliminate critical root cause
Preparing action plan suggest solution
Problems can have a single underlying cause. One very effective approach to effective problem
solving is Root Cause Analysis (RCA). RCA is one of the most widely used tools/techniques for
detecting issues.
The power of Root Cause Analysis lies in its ability to analyze the situation and pinpoint the root
of the problems – rather than treating the symptoms. This systematic approach focuses on
identifying both, active problems and latent errors, which cause adverse situations and events. It
focuses on identifying the main cause of the problem.
And to be clear, “problem solving” and “improvement” are learning processes. If you didn't
learn, you didn't solve the problem, and you didn't improve anything
1. Define the problem. Analyze what you see happening, and identify the precise
symptoms so that you can form a problem statement.
The identification and selection of appropriate options for addressing a problem should be
guided by an understanding of its cause. Such insights may also lead to the original framing
choice being changed. Often the causes of health systems problems are complex and uncertain
and it may be more appropriate to consider underlying factors without attributing causation. The
process of clarifying the cause or underlying factors is unlikely to be simple or linear. And
although it may be possible to reduce uncertainty about the cause, it may be equally or more
important to clarify uncertainty about the cause. Strategies for clarifying the cause of health
system problems include using either broader or more specific frameworks, brainstorming,
reviewing relevant research evidence, and interviews with key informants.
Cause and effect analysis concerned Man, Machine, Material, Method and Environment (4M1E)
which were applied in this process . It was revealed that the number of tentative causes was 12
factors as shown in Table 2. These factors were used for further analyzing the relationship
between cause and related effect using the cause and effect matrix.
Entrepreneurs are faced with solving many problems as they develop their ideas for filling gaps,
whether those opportunities involve establishing a new company or starting a new enterprise
within an existing company. Some of these problems include staffing, hiring and managing
employees, handling legal compliance, funding, marketing, and paying taxes. Beyond the
mundane activities listed, the entrepreneur, or the team that the entrepreneur puts in place, is
indispensable in maintaining the ongoing creativity behind the product line or service offered.
Innovation and creativity in the business are necessary to expand the product line or develop a
groundbreaking service.
It is not necessary for the entrepreneur to feel isolated when it comes to finding creative solutions
to a problem. There are societies, tools, and new methods available to spur the creativity of the
entrepreneur that will further support the success and expansion of a new enterprise. 14 Learning
and using entrepreneurial methods to solve problems alleviates the stress many startup owners
feel. The entrepreneur’s creativity will increase using collaborative methodologies. Some
entrepreneurial collaborative methodologies include crowdsourcing, brainstorming,
An action plan consists of seven steps: setting objectives, assessing the objectives, identifying
action required to meet the objectives, working out how to evaluate the activity, agreeing a time-
frame for action, identifying resources (human, financial and technical), finalizing the plan, and
evaluating the results.
1. Set objectives
You need to identify clear objectives that will guide your work to achieve the resource center’s
aims. Objectives need to be achievable - do not be over-ambitious. They need to be measurable
(for example, a certain number of activities carried out within a certain period), so that you can
know whether you have achieved them.
Ask yourself:
Assessment helps to determine whether or not the objective is appropriate. It may result in
confirming the objective, abandoning it or revising it. Ask yourself:
A series of tasks needs to be identified for the objectives to be achieved. List these as steps.
Ask yourself:
1. Plan the content of the information pack and decide how to distribute the packs, in
consultation with other staff and users.
2. Calculate costs and staff time, and make sure that funds and time are available.
3. Allocate responsibilities.
4. Gather information for the pack (search resource center, contact other organizations).
5. Request permission from publishers to photocopy material.
6. Photocopy material and prepare packs.
7. Distribute packs.
1. Plan the content of the information pack, including evaluation forms, and decide how to
distribute the packs, in consultation with other staff and users.
2. Calculate costs and staff time, and make sure that funds and time are available.
3. Allocate responsibilities.
4. Gather information for the pack (search resource centre, contact other organisations).
5. Request permission from publishers to photocopy material.
6. Prepare evaluation forms.
7. Photocopy material, prepare packs.
8. Distribute packs.
9. Contact clinics to see if they have received packs.
10. Revise plans for distributing packs if they have not reached some clinics.
11. Assess the feedback from the evaluation forms and use it to plan future work.
As you identify each task, work out how long it will take and when it needs to be done. This will
help you to see whether your action plan is on schedule or whether you need to modify the
schedule.
Ask yourself:
What is the actual time required for each individual task? (Be careful not to under-
estimate)
When will each step be completed?
Example: Total of 18 days over a three-month period
6. Assess the action plan
Ask yourself:
An action plan must be realistic if it is to work. It is easy to over-estimate what you can do,
leading to disappointment and failure. For example:
1. Leaflets that you had planned to include in the pack may have run out and need to be
reprinted. Can you substitute something else, or will you need to arrange for them to be
reprinted before you can finish preparing the packs?
2. The member of staff preparing the pack will take annual leave for six weeks during the
period in which the pack was planned to be prepared. Can you re-schedule the work, or
can someone else do it?
Revise the action plan. Obtain feedback and comments from colleagues, and revise it again if
necessary.
Operation sheet 3
This unit is developed to provide you the necessary information regarding the following content
coverage and topics:
Plan of MUDA
Ten basic principles of eliminate waste/MUDA
Tools based on OHS procedures
Tangible and intangible results
Types of diagrams using tangible results
Improvements elimination of waste/MUDA
This unit will also assist you to attain the learning outcomes stated in the cover page.
Specifically, upon completion of this learning guide, you will be able to:
Implementing Plan of MUDA
Adopting ten basic principles of eliminate waste/MUDA
Using Tools based on OHS procedures
Identifying Tangible and intangible results
Comparing various types of diagrams using tangible results
Reporting gain improvements elimination of waste/MUDA
Manufacturers/service providers, who want to set selling price above the market price, customers
will not be willing to buy their products/services.
Waste/Muda is any activity which consumes resources, such as money, time, energy, materials,
etc, that does not create value and can be eliminated.
Value is defined by the next customer (Know your Customer’s Need). The next process is your customer.
The activity/effect exactly what the next customer needs is value adding activity. •
Part of an operation that adds value to make parts and products or deliver service. In other words,
it is part of the operation that the customer exactly needs / willing to pay for.
Part of operation that adds no value but cannot be avoided rather it can be reduced.
1. ”Muda‟
Example
Operation:-To staple two papers using a stapler where the work place is disorganized.
First you must adopt an attitude that supports your ability to see waste. Waste is hard enough to
find when you want to find it; if you don’t want to find it, or if your response to find it is denial
or resistance, then it will never be possible for you to root out waste and make your work
environment stress free.
It is very important that you understand that one purpose of discovering waste is to take the
frustration out of your work.
Many people will resist see the waste in their work. Just don’t let it be you. You may hear
yourself or others saying things like: “Let’s not fix what is not broken.” “Can’t we live well
enough alone?” “This is just another attempt to make us work harder for the same amount of
money.” “It looks good on paper, but it will never work on the floor.” “We tried that twenty
years ago. It didn’t work then; it won’t work now.” “That is not my job.” And so on.
You know the lines. You have probably said one or two of them at one time or another. We all
have. Resistance is normal. Just don’t let it keep you from learning to see the waste in your work.
In the end, you are the one who suffers most from the results of waste.
In order to balance capacity and load without overproducing, you must implement the advanced
methods of lean production:
Full work
Line balancing Pull production using Kanban
Quick-changeover operations.
Level production - small-lot, mixed production.
Production leveling
Regulating the flow of production
Pull production using Kanban
Quick changeover operations
Where as many kinds of movement may be unnecessary, work is the movement you do to add
value to the product. Movement that does not add value is waste. Find ways to reduce the
amount of movement to do your value added work. Start by looking at the movement of your
feet, then your hips, shoulders, arms, hands and fingers.
Then an assessment is carried out to see whether the impediments have been overcome or to
what extent the initial objectives have been met. It is carried out together with evaluation for
further improvement of the work. The Circle identifies the tangible and intangible results,
verifies them using data, and compares them with the initial goal. Tangible results are results
targeted through changes in processes, whereas intangible results are those in areas such as
improvement in employee learning skills and education. If the results do not meet the goal, then
the Circle needs to return to previous stages and reexamine the processes.
Tangible results are those that can be quantified, like when a defect rate is reduced by a certain
percent.
Intangible results on the other hand are those that are qualitative, like when teamwork among the
members is improved.
The Circle must be able to establish at this point that the project gains also bring them direct
personal benefit. Therefore, a very important question that each QC Circle must answer is “What
is in it for me?” By answering this question, the members realize that they themselves, in
addition to the company, benefit from the project, which induces personal satisfaction as well as
a sense of achievement. This sense of achievement is the most important intangible result of QC
Circle activities. Take, for example, a case in which a defect rate is reduced by 90 percent.
Obviously this is good for the customer, and what is good for the customer is good for the
company, but how is it good for the Circle members? A member who is sold on the QC Circle
philosophy will say, “It is good for me because now I can be proud of my work, whereas before,
I was ashamed of the defective parts that I was making.”
1. Verify results
The QC Circle may achieve some results but these must be compared with the goal set in stage 3
step 4. Various types of diagrams can be used, but accurate comparisons cannot be made
between diagrams of the different types—that is, the same type must be used consistently.
It is not easy to find waste when you look at the production line or the warehouse or an
operation. If you have never been involved in improvement activities you will find it even harder
to discover waste that may be right in front of you. Waste is everywhere, in every operation; it is
so common and you are so used to it that it is hard to see
• There are several tools you can use to analyze current conditions of shop layout and process
flow quickly and effectively. We will describe some of them.
The Arrow Diagram focuses on the flow of goods to discover waste.(Arrow diagrams have
recently been renamed value stream maps.) We include here a simple method for creating an
arrow diagram to get a good understanding of your production process and to see where the
waste exists in your workplace.
2. Select the product to be analyzed- You can do a product/quantity (PQ) analysis to compare
products and quantity. Choose products with a large output and those with many production
problems as starting points for your analysis of current conditions using the arrow diagram.
3. Prepare a factory layout diagram- Include the entire factory layout, indicating the position
of machines, worktables and other equipment. Store the original in a safe place so that you can
make a copy of it each time you want to analyze another product line.
4. Make the arrow diagram- Do this on the factory floor. Use the symbols below to show the
different types of activities that occur. The map will make the waste more obvious to you and
your team than when you are simply standing on the factory floor observing standard operations.
Connect the symbols with lines that show the direction of the flow and the sequence of product
through each operation. Create other symbols as you need to. At all conveyance points, note the
conveyance distance and type of conveyance. At all retention points, note average work-in-
process inventory.
1. Increased job satisfaction- No longer will you spend hours looking for missing tools,
waiting for materials to arrive, walking around piles of inventory, lifting and setting down
heavy parts or tools, working in unsafe conditions and all the other things you have to do that
are not essential to your job. The frustrating non-value-added aspects of your job will
disappear and what you are trained to do and enjoy doing will be the major part of how you
spend your time.
2. Contributing to improvement- Your ideas about how to improve your job will be listened to
and you will participate in taking the frustration out of the workplace. Part of your job will be
to find root causes and to create solutions that last. You will not have to make short-term fixes
or live with someone short-term fixes that no longer solves the problems you face.
There is no question that when production waste is rooted out everyone is happier. The flow of
materials creates a hum in the workplace: a rhythm of the flow of materials from supplier to
customer emerges as the value-added processes are freed up to operate at the rate of customer
demand.
We have discussed how you discover waste and what to do to remove it; but it doesn’t end there.
Unfortunately, problems always crop up, and we prevent them from becoming sources of waste
we will be right back where we started in no time at all. That is one reason why one of the very
first things mentioned about discovering waste adopting the right attitude. If everyone is paying
attention to keeping waste from taking hold, then you have a good chance of sustaining
production flow. There are four important methods you can use for maintaining a waste-free
production environment:
Standardization
Visual controls
Auditory controls
5Wand1HSheet
5.1.1 Standardization
A standard operating procedure is a set of written instructions that describes the step-by-step
process that must be taken to properly perform a routine activity.
• Checklists.
• Step-by-Step List.
• Hierarchical Lists.
• Process Flowchart.
• Time-saving.
• Ensure the safety of employees.
• Ensures compliance standards are
met.
• Improved communication.
The factory is a living thing and must constantly be adjusted to stay responsive to changes in the
environment. Responsiveness must be systematic so that problems are addressed without losing
the solid foundation of the waste-removing methods already established. The best way to do this
is through visual and auditory controls.
Red-tagging – You probably did this at the beginning of your improvement activities when you
implemented 5S. If not, do it now: put a red tag on everything in the factory that is not necessary
to the current operations of the production process. After everyone has had time to notice red-
tagged items and claim any that are needed in their area, remove the remaining red-tagged items
from the environment.
Management can decide what to do with them: they can be sold, thrown out, or moved to a
location where they are needed. Always keep the production floor free of any thing that is not
directly part of the production process.
Signboards- The purpose of workstations and the names of the workers who operate them
should be displayed at every processing point. Signboards can also identify equipment and
processes so that everyone knows what things are and what they are used for. Standard
quantities’ should be included on supply bins or carts. The products produced on each line or in
each cell can be displayed, and so on.
Outlining- Boarders around tools and equipment, big and small, help people find and return
things. Outlining can also create patterns of work-flow by using the floor to indicate where and
where not to place things, where to walk, safety zones and danger zones. Outlining to indicate
goods to be processed or parts that have been processed becomes a signal to material handlers for
replenishing or for delivery to the next process.
Andons- Different colored lights can report the status and needs of a system and signal when
defects or abnormal conditions occur so that problems can be solved immediately.
5.4 Creating waste-free workplace using 5W and 1H sheet
The 5W and 1H Sheet The 5W and 1H (five “whys” and one “how”) is a powerful method and
one that never stops being wasteful in sustaining a waste-free production environment. The 5W
and 1H sheet is a tool that will help you systematically apply this method.
What is the Where does the When does Who is How does it happen?
problem? problem happen? it happen? responsible?
Order slips are At the tables During the The waiters The waiters fill out the
not filled out lunch peak order slips while
correctly welcoming other guests
or acknowledging other
guests' requests for
assistance
Why is it a Why does it Why does it Why is this Why does it happen that
problem? happen there? happen person way?
then? responsible?
The food This is where the There are so They are the There are not enough
served is not order-taking is many guests. ones taking the waiters during lunch, so
what the guests done. orders from the waiters try to respond
ordered. the guests. to the needs of many
customers at the same
time
5W1H Approach (II)
What should be Where should it When should it Who should be How should it be
done? be done? be done? responsible? done?
Why should it be Why should it be Why should it be Why should this Why should it be
done? done there? done then? person be done this way?
Is there a better responsible?
way?
Five Key Concepts for Asking “Why” and “How”
Following these principles suggested by Hiroyuki Hirano when you are asking the 5”whys” and
1”how”: • look with the eyes of a child- All improvement begins with the first why. Never cease
looking and never cease asking that first why. As you practice this, the result will follow.
Be a walker and an observer- Supervisors and managers must continually work through the
factory to see that standards are being followed and to practice seeing waste. Operators need to
continually examine their own operations to stay alert for new problems and new ideas for
solving them that may come to mind as they do their jobs.
Break down fixed thinking- If you ask “why” and “how” often enough you will eventually run
out of “known” answers. At this point you may reach internal mental resistance to the discovery
of what you don‟t know. Get in the habit of asking why and how beyond this point of fixed
thinking. That is when you will make the big discoveries about waste and how to solve it.
Standard operating procedure is a set of written instructions that describes the step-by-step
process that must be taken to properly perform a routine activity.
Step 1 – Develop a list of processes that you believe need SOP creation
1. The documents of the already identified wastes in several processes or work areas are
analyzed.
2. Rank the improvements that are needed. Focus on improvements on the process with the
greatest total when you add up the magnitude of its wastes.
a. Using the more detailed waste-finding checklists provided, find more specific instances of
waste.
4. Set target