Muda is all about waste and Lean manufacturing is about eliminating Muda. It is any activity that adds no real value to the product or service being created or delivered. The diligent attention to the elimination of waste in how work is performed is a fundamental tenet of Lean manufacturing, the operational excellence strategy that was developed over many years and is widely used in business today.

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Muda means waste and refers to a wide range of non-value-adding activities; eliminating waste is the key to efficiency. When you look at the Toyota Production System (TPS), eliminating Muda waste is one of the main principles of the Just-in-Time system. Some things that are considered waste are unnecessary financing costs, storage costs and worthless stock of old items. Toyota divides Muda into seven categories:

1. Transportation – increases risk of product being damaged, lost or delayed.
2. Inventory – Outlay of capital that doesn’t immediately produce income.
3. Motion – Damage inflicted through the production process.
4. Waiting – Product sitting idle.
5. Over-processing – Doing more work than is necessary.
6. Over-production – Making more product than is required by the customer.
7. Defects – Replacing faulty parts or products.

Processes consumes resources and naturally, waste can occur. The more resources that are used, the more opportunity exists for waste. The tools of Lean manufacturing and the TPS help focus on the elimination of Muda waste and create a heightened awareness. Understanding exactly what waste exists and where it is exists is crucial to any Lean manufacturing process. Even though products differ between manufacturing organizations, lean practitioners understand that the types of wastes are very similar.

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Muda is the direct obstacle of flow. There are 7 distinctive types of Muda which all lead to waiting times, and therefore longer lead times in a process. Simply taking out the Muda does not work. Usually, there is a reason why the Muda is there and this reason often has to do with the other two enemies: Muri and Mura.  This means there are three enemies of lean and they are interrelated, and should therefore be considered simultaneously. Instead of just looking at the traditional 7 wastes of Muda, it is incumbent to consider instead the three categories of waste used by TPS (Toyota Production System).

Take a few moments and watch this educational video.

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Most definitions of lean manufacturing refer to the reduction of the Muda (7 wastes) as the main focus. Few definitions of lean differentiate between the different types of waste and seem to purely focus on Muda. The Toyota Production System (TPS) sees waste as being three — Muda, Mura and Muri — something that many lean practitioners seem to have forgotten. The best way to tackle a problem is to remove the root cause, therefore the focus of any waste reduction program should be on removing both Mura and Muri, as this will automatically remove much of the Muda (7 wastes) in the workplace.

The overall aim of any quality improvement technique is to improve the profitability of the business. To do this you have to be able to recognize these three wastes for what they are and be able to tackle the root causes.

Muda – Commonly referred to as the 7 Wastes and are non-value adding processes or actions.

Mura – Seen as unevenness or a lack of stability and flow. This drives the creation of Muda.

Muri – This is simply defined as overburden. Expecting too much, with defining process or not having the correct skills or tools.

The three Japanese Mu words are part of the Toyota Production System (TPS). Each of these is a type of waste and are recognized by the Japanese as part of a business improvement initiative. The elimination of waste has come to dominate the thinking of many when they look at the effects of the TPS because it is the most familiar of the three to implement. In the TPS, many initiatives are triggered by inconsistency or over-run reduction, which drives out waste without specific focus on its reduction.

In today’s competitive environment, a focus on reduction of waste is crucial to the success and profitability of any organization. Eliminating waste makes it easier to see and find problems, which is the first step to solving them. It removes frustrations, which improves worker and customer satisfaction.

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There is a war on waste, and lean principles are leading the attack. Lean is a proven methodology for the elimination of waste within a process. It is centered on making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else. The key principles that lead the battle are known as 5S. Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain are the elements that are used consistently to eliminate waste. Waste is often invisible in our work environments. The traditional seven wastes are defects, inventory, processing, waiting, motion, transportation and overproduction. By applying the 5S methodology, waste can be identified and attacked, then subsequently eliminated.

Lean and Cleanliness

That is also the elemental cleaning function in an organization. When you look at the 5S principles, you will see that cleaning is firmly represented. When organizations implement lean, they go through several steps that have cleaning activities embedded. Often when 5S activities are conducted, they are focused on one area or subject matter, not the entire organization and not the overall cleaning function. One area or function might see improvement, but the overall organization might still need help.

Organizations that have embraced lean have not applied those principles to the cleaning process. Many still view cleaning as a housekeeping function, almost as a necessary evil. There is not enough focus applied, shortcuts are taken, and the overall organization suffers. The focus might be on getting by as cheaply as possible, unaware of the waste that is being created, which far outpaces any dollars saved on the front end. The same is true for a manufacturing plant, office or any other work environment, or even your home. The longer you wait to make needed repairs and improvements, the more expensive it will be in the long run. And, the longer you take to maintain something properly, the faster it will deteriorate.

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No matter how organized you are, the classic task or to-do list is a monster that has a mind of its own, and grows at an alarming rate. Isn’t it time to quit working for the monster, and start making the monster work for you?

Make the Task List Monster Work for You

Making the task list monster work for you, instead of being a slave to the monster is really simple. It takes organization and mindset. Nothing more, nothing less. So how do you take simplistic steps and slay the monster?

First, get your self organized. Clean up your your workflow and make your practices habit. Do them everyday and without a thought. Habits are powerful when they are done as second nature. Some prefer the pen and paper written list, others go digital. Whatever you choose, make sure that the platform of choice is simple, clear and easy to use. There are multitudes of platforms in the digital space that sync across all of your platforms. Do your research and pick one that makes your comfortable, then stick with it. Stop jumping from solution to solution! Almost any solution will work if you stick with it, and are disciplined in following it for a month.

The next step is straightforward logic. You probably work through a task list that is greater than 20 items. Every evening, you refine and prioritize that list for the next day. However, this is where the monster grows out of control! Instead of reducing a task list during the work week, your list tends to grow. This is called “inventory” and it is one of the 7 forms of waste! This leaves you with a strong feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control, and you spend a lot of time sorting through the list to decide which tasks are most important.

Simply, take control of the list! The idea is to have a task list with three items on it. Yes, we said three! Take that monster list, dig in and critically prioritize where you end up with the Top 3 tasks on your list everyday. These tasks are of highest priority that align with your business goals. Now, you can start each day with a clear, manageable focus on just exactly what needs to happen every day. If you’re afraid of losing all the other ideas and tasks you need to complete, find a place to store them for later retrieval.

Another key is to break down each task into a manageable task to move it forward. Don’t put down items like “write a book” or “clean out garage.” Instead, put down tasks like “create book outline” or “clean out one container in garage.” These tasks should not be on your to-do list for days and weeks, otherwise they are too daunting and need to be more specific.

Embracing the Top 3

At first, this is just not going to seem either logical or practical. It takes time to make the practice a habit, and see the effectiveness. However, if you practice the Top 3, you will quickly fall into a habit that gets results. That monster to-do list reduces into a manageable form that works for you! Get up in the morning and attack the Top 3 with gusto. As you complete the Top 3, go straight to working on other items that are presenting as opportunities. Your day is not done when the Top 3 are complete. It simply means that you achieved a significant goal. You feel successful and accomplished, which changes your mindset. Working on other items in your realm will then feel like icing on the cake, with a cherry on top. It’s a great feeling to have the monster working for you and seeing success!

What tips and tricks are working for you? Add your comments below…

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Untangling the twists and turns of workflow in a process can be frustrating. Have you ever tried to visualize the flow of a process, from start to finish? In most organizations, it can be convoluted and complex. The goal, of course, of any workflow, it to try and use the most direct flow from point A to point B. That is what exists in an ideal world! The fact remains in organizations, there are silos and protected turf. Everyone wants to ‘touch’ the product or process in the flow. The question then becomes whether those ‘touches’ are valid and provide value to the end result. Simplification of the flow and allowing ‘touches’ from various departments only when necessary to the success of the end result should be required.

Clarity With a Spaghetti Diagram

A Spaghetti Diagram will provide an overhead view or visualization of all the stops or ‘touches’ the product or process encounters before the delivery of the end result. When you can see it, touch it and feel it, you can then start to untangle the mess involved in workflow.  As you trace along the workflow line, you can quickly begin to understand and analyze the value of each ‘touch’ along that flow. Does that ‘touch’ bring bring value to the end product or product? Each touch along the way can then be broken down and evaluated for the value it brings to the process or product. Once a proper and thorough evaluation of those ‘touches’ have been undertaken, you can then eliminate the unnecessary stops or create additional ‘touches’ that are required to add value or quality.

Simplifying For Quality

When applied properly, the Spaghetti Diagram can provide clarity and understanding of the complexities of workflow. Simplicity is the key to success. You can now comfortably eliminate redundancies and unnecessary touches to the flow, which drain quality and increases costs. The tool is valuable in helping break down silos in an organization for better efficiencies. You may not go directly from point A to point B, but your journey along the flow will become much more efficient and cost effective, ultimately delivering a higher quality product or process for the customer.

If you’d like to learn more about Spaghetti Diagrams, check out our podcast episode called “Unappetizing Spaghetti Diagrams“

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Lean Standard Work has become a major component of most Lean systems. This is fundamentally a lean-principled way for managers at all levels to execute their work. There is a natural push back from leaders about having their own standard work, but they should have at least 5-25% of their time spent on recurring and scheduled tasks, These tasks include staff meetings, Go and See activity, coaching/mentoring sessions, strategic planning, weekly email communications to team, scorecard metric collection and review, and more.

The centerpiece or focus of Lean Standard Work systems is the use of checklists. Checklists are a way for leaders to keep up with the work that is important, and remember what they need to complete. This includes meetings, key people to check in with, and monitoring of metrics or standards to ensure the systems are performing properly. When you start reviewing leadership calendars, you immediately notice the lack of white space.

Meetings and tasks are set aside in the calendar and that time is protected, but the problem is overbooking. Looking closely at these calendars, leadership can, typically, be double or triple booked for events on the calendar. This leaves a leader to make a hasty decision at the last minute on which meeting is most important, at the moment. The lack of white space on the calendar leaves leaders with no time to think, plan or problem-solve.  We are taught to never schedule our production lines, or our workers above 80% capacity, but somehow a leader with 125% capacity on their calendar is acceptable or considered a “badge of honor”? Some of the most critical tasks a leader can do are never planned for!  Without creating white space for these unplanned situations, a leader will become overwhelmed. This is part of the reason over 80% of new CEOs fail within the first 18 months!

Creating White Space

Leaders must have time to solve problems! That is what they are hired for. Organizations heavily depend on the ability of their leaders to think, problem-solve and plan. Otherwise, we tend to lead from the hip and make decisions that are not quality focused. This causes leaders to fall into a “firefighting” mode when they are trying to lead the organization to success. By creating white space, leaders start to make better decisions and actually can move the organization forward. Here are three tips leaders can use to make some white space in their daily schedule:

1. Prioritize & Focus: Prioritize where you need to focus your time to best create success for your organization.
2. Stay in Control: Make sure you stay in control of your calendar. Be clear with subordinates and assistants about priorities and that blocked time cannot be crossed. Block time to think, plan and problem-solve.
3. Delegate: Develop subordinates and empower them to make decisions on things that aren’t in your list of top priorities. As they grown and develop their skills and understand your priorities, they will become your most valuable assets. This is the heart of Lean, respect for people. If you are not growing the skills of your people, you will limit your ability to improve, and you will become the bottleneck in the process, as they will seek you out for all approvals.

Lean Standard Work Practice

Preserving white space can be a daunting challenge for some. Some leaders have been raised in an environment of reactionary leadership and have been known to triple-book a schedule. It seems to be what is expected and it is what they understand. The fact is, creating white space in your schedule will empower the leaders of an organization and make them much more effective. It can no longer be a “badge of honor” for leaders to have overbooked schedules, and their white space time is relegated to after midnight. Just like any other Lean practice, it is about habit of practice and discipline around standard work (see Toyota’s Manage for Daily Improvement training materials). Understand and focus your time on what is most important. Make time everyday to think, plan and problem-solve.

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Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. It encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more ideas. This helps to get people unstuck by “jolting” them out of their normal ways of thinking. This tool can be an extremely powerful and effective tool in the Six Sigma toolbox. It allows things to be stirred up and the layers of complex issues peeled back to expose the truths!

4 Keys to Effective Brainstorming

The ideal situation when things just click is exactly the place brainstorming gets you to. It allows ideas and situations to come together and create the perfect storm for creativity. Some industries are much better at the practice than others. Businesses that are more of a creative environment tend to understand and use the concept more comfortably. Businesses who are more technical ‘rules followers’ are less likely to be comfortable with a brainstorm session. The fact is, using a brainstorm session can be equally successful in any business environment, regardless of the creative structure. To take advantage of this powerful tool, you simply need to set some basic ground rules. The importance of these rules are more focused on respect for others vs. following secured rules. Here are the four basic rules to establish a proper brainstorm:

1. No Such Thing As A Dumb Idea – All cards are on the table. The group must be able to feel comfortable that their ideas are plausible. Open yourself up to the possibilities.
2. No Criticism – It’s not a debate about the technical merits. It is about what is possible!
3. Build on Other’s Ideas – When an idea is put on the table, open your mind and imagine how to build on that. Avoid the technical and see how you can layer a path for improvement.
4. Avoid Quality vs. Quantity – This presents a challenge for a more structured business. The tool isn’t about the technical aspects, but about the idea. Go for the quantity every time to be successful. The more ideas that are on the table, the more you will be open to possibilities.

The brainstorm tool keeps the wheels of collaboration turning. It can unfreeze the curiosity of many and encourage their ideas to flow. Keep the rules of the tool to basic respect and you will find a goldmine that will flow into your business! There is no such thing as a bad idea.

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To create a seamless flow of value that goes all the way to the customer without interruption, waste needs to be reduced. This brings as to an enemy that causes waste in organizational processes, and it goes by the acronym TIMWOODS. Each letter in TIMWOODS represents a type of waste (they are also known as the eight wastes of Lean Six Sigma).

Keep on reading to find out what each of those letters means.

1. Transportation

When products, equipment, inventory, tools and people move further than they need to, you have Transportation waste. Defects and damage to products can happen when materials travel unnecessary distances. Furthermore, exhaustion, accelerated wear and tear and needless work can happen when equipment and people are moved unnecessarily. Transportation also requires packaging to protect items, and can require fuel to transport the items. The transportation time is not improving the value of the item, so it takes time which is a delay for the customer.

2. Inventory

Since value is being stored for a fee (probably in a warehouse), Inventory waste is common in manufacturing. Inventory is any value, whether materials or finished products, that either needs to be turned into something more valuable or sold to customers. And since overhead is being paid to store the products or materials, their value is reduced the longer they remain in there since their profit margin declines with each passing day. For office processes, inventory is a list of action items, your email inbox, and any work you have started but have not fully completed. In your personal life, it is the food in your refrigerator, clothes in your closet, and that book you started writing that you haven’t finished yet!

3. Motion

When machinery, equipment and people move unnecessarily, it leads to Motion waste. The movement can be anything, such as moving, stretching, bending, reaching, lifting and walking, that doesn’t bring any value. There is a need to redesign all work that leads to Motion waste while ensuring productivity and safety is maximized.

4. Waiting

When producing a product for consumers, any inaction that increases costs is known as Waiting. This is waste because while the product awaits its transformation, the organization is incurring overhead. Essentially, any potential profit the product would have made from being sold is continuously stripped as the organization continues to incur overhead from Waiting. Eventually, this contributes to Inventory waste as well, on top of destroying the flow of information and production materials. Waiting occurs in service processes as well, such as waiting for approvals, waiting for someone to return from vacation, and waiting due to confusion or indecision about what to do next in a process that is not well-defined.

5. Overprocessing

When there are more steps, components or there’s work being put into the production of a product that the customer doesn’t require, Overprocessing occurs. In the case of manufacturing, this includes adding in more functionality into the product than needed, making adjustments to already installed components, taking a solution and overengineering it, performing unnecessary analyses, pushing components beyond their limits and unnecessarily using high precision equipment. When packaging a product, can it be taped with one strip of tape or does it actually need 3 strips? In the office, does your manager want a 3-page project update or just one paragraph? Do your customers actually look at all the charts you create, or just one key chart, and ignore the rest?

6. Overproduction

If there’s one waste that can negatively impact the success of an organization as a whole, it is Overproduction. When more products or materials have been produced than customers are willing to buy, that is when overproduction happens. When your organization overproduces what it is offering, other wastes can occur as well. These include Motion, Waiting and Inventory. In the office, if you start working on a presentation for a meeting too early, there is a chance that the meeting gets delayed or cancelled, and you will have wasted that time, or have to go back and update your slides with the latest information. The goal is to do work “just in time” not too far in advance when things can change or get rescheduled.

7. Defects

Defects are the most recognizable forms of waste when it comes to Lean Six Sigma, especially when it comes to manufacturing. In manufacturing, instances of Defects include details missing in assemblies, end products that are in need of reworking and scrapped components and products. This waste is one of the biggest when it comes to manufacturing since it also leads to Overprocessing, Transportation and Overproduction waste. Defects also occur in the office and service processes, with incorrect invoice amounts, wrong customer ID numbers, emails sent to the wrong person, and spelling errors.

8. Skills

This waste has another name: Non-Utilized Talent. This particular waste can affect different types of organizations in various industries (so far, all the examples we have seen have to do with the manufacturing industry). This waste happens when management doesn’t use all of its workers to their fullest ability.

This type of waste also occurs when management decides to improve their processes while ignoring feedback from their employees, even when it comes to continuous improvement. If employees who directly deal with the processes are not allowed to voice their input when it comes to improving them, especially on an ongoing basis, this is considered non-utilized talent a waste.

Knowing these wastes is a step in the right direction towards eliminating them. You can’t even begin to improve a process unless you know what is causing a drop in performance in the first place. To that end, TIMWOODS is an important acronym to know.

Download a free TIM WOODS (8 wastes) Powerpoint slides >>>

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The elimination of waste in processes is one of the most effective ways to increase the profitability of any business. Processes either add value or waste to the production of a good or service. There are seven wastes or ‘muda,’ and the tool was first developed by Taiichi Ohno and make up the core of the Toyota Production System (TPS). Take some time and learn more about the seven wastes, lean and the TPS.

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Lean and Six Sigma are among the most powerful and popular business process improvement methodologies which are being rapidly deployed by a variety of service and manufacturing organizations across the world. The guide below investigates the relation of Lean and Six Sigma with the environment, offering advice on how environmental conservation professionals can use the principles of Lean Six Sigma in order to obtain improved operational and environmental outcomes.

Defining Lean and Six Sigma

Normally referred to as Lean manufacturing, the lean methodology refers to business methods and principles which were initially developed as the Toyota Production system by the Japanese car manufacturer. The lean methodology focuses on systematically identifying and eliminating waste or non-value adding activities that consume capital or resource time.

At many organizations, Six Sigma refers to a measure of process and production qualities that strive to achieve near perfection. It is a data-driven, disciplined approach to production that aims to eliminate process defects in a variety of fields that range from transactions and manufacture to service and product provision.

The Importance of Connecting Lean Six Sigma to Corporate Environmental Efforts

Both Lean and Six Sigma are heavily reliant on a culture of continuous improvement which is perfectly aligned with the environmental goals of sustainability and prevention of pollution. There are a number of compelling reasons why Lean Six Sigma methodologies should form a major part of corporate environmental improvement and sustainability efforts. Some of these are:

• Quick and Dramatic Outcomes: One thing that Lean does is produce quick results. This is because many lean events last only 2-5 days and, in this period, teams will enjoy dramatic reductions in cost and lead times, as well as corresponding improvements in customer satisfaction and product quality. Use of lean methodologies in resolving environmental issues can offer impressive and dramatic results as well.
• Continual Improvement Culture: Lean Six Sigma tools can be used to engage all employees at each level of the organization in efforts to identify and eliminate waste from processes. If environmental waste is included in these improvement efforts, Lean Six Sigma becomes one of the most powerful ways to develop a culture of continuous improvement and sustainability. Sustainability and environmental stewardship is becoming more valued in the new generation of workers.
• Avoiding Pitfalls: Integration of Lean Six Sigma in environmental improvement efforts is one way to minimize an organization’s environmental impact and risks, while navigating regulatory issues and avoiding penalties for non-compliance.

How Lean Six Sigma Implementation Provides Environmental Improvement Results

There is a whole host of ways through which environmental protection professionals and organizations can leverage the power of Lean Six Sigma to improve results. Lean approaches to the environment are strategies that incorporate environmental improvement efforts with the principles of the methodology. Some examples of such implementations include:

• Connecting of Lean Six Sigma and Environmental Improvement Efforts at Facilities: Safety and environmental health professionals can offer support for operations-driven Lean Six Sigma implementations, helping them to expand their scope, expose hidden sources of waste, reduce time to implement when permits and legal paperwork might be involved, and improve operational and environmental results.
• Delivery of Lean Six Sigma and Environmental Technical Assistance: By partnering with Lean Six Sigma experts, environmental technical assistance personnel can deliver environmental protection services more effectively, and better quantify those results for regulatory agencies.
• Using Lean to Boost Effectiveness Of Environmental Programs: The visual controls used in lean and other concepts that form part of the methodology can boost the effectiveness of environmental compliance efforts, and reduce the chance of mistakes, near misses and environmental disasters. In addition, environmental agencies can use lean to help reduce waste produced by various business processes. The State of Iowa launched a lean program in order to speed up the time it took to issue new air permits, in order to allow businesses to expand and grow.

It is essential that environmental professionals understand how to interface with Lean Six Sigma experts so as to develop successful and effective partnerships. Lean Six Sigma experts can also learn from environmental consultants and professionals, to better identify opportunities and capture cost benefits within the work processes they improve.

Did you know that environmental benefits can be achieved by accident?

The US EPA published a table showing the connection between reducing the lean wastes and the impact on the environment

By applying Lean and Six Sigma to their organization, companies can reduce their environmental impact without even trying. They probably already have, and not realized it, or captured the benefits. Learn more about Lean and the EPA at their website.

Conclusion

There is no single cookie-cutter approach to integrating lean efforts and the environment the only way to succeed is by trying it out. As Lean and Six Sigma implementations continue to increase alongside the growing realization among organizations of the importance of environmental sustainability in their operations, there is an exciting opportunity to use these methodologies to reduce waste and improve the environment.

If you like this topic, check out the website LeanSixSigmaEnvironment.org for more examples and free online training.

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Thinking One Step Ahead with SMED

Proper optimization is not just about making the facility run well with the current parameters in mind, but also to allow it to run as efficiently as possible in the future, considering upcoming developments. You have to always be one step ahead of the current environment and make informed strategical decisions.

SMED stands for Single-Minute Exchange of Die, and it refers to a methodology for improving the processing rate of a manufacturing plant. It achieves that by streamlining the process of switching from one product to the next one in line, and ensuring that all of your machines keep running at optimal efficiency at all times. It can also be used in an office setting, such as switching from task to task.

From a lean perspective, we want to complete tasks one at a time. When we batch our work, it’s often a result of the time required to changeover from product to product, or task to task. SMED can help us reduce the changeover time, to make it more efficient to operate in smaller batches.

SMED is also referred to as changeover reduction.

Going in depth

There are many intricate details to SMED.  It’s a more general term referring to the process of changing targets within your work. The name of the methodology also comes from the fact that Toyota, in the past, identified larger dies as the most problematic objects in their manufacturing chain. Dies in an office setting could be a software program that takes time to load.

Changeover times are often responsible for the biggest slowdowns in productivity, and that streamlining the process of switching work could have dramatic effects on the overall output of the business.

It’s also important to note that single-minute refers to the idea that those “exchanges” should occur in a single-digit minute (0-9 minutes), not necessarily in sixty seconds. Anything up to about ten minutes is okay in the eyes of SMED, although of course the specific time is going to vary from one company to another.

SMED and continuous improvement

SMED goes hand in hand with continuous improvement, as it can allow you to always seek to maximize the potential capacity of the organization. It’s a technique that can be applied regardless of the specific current situation, making it highly flexible and suitable for incremental upgrades. What’s more, SMED can ensure that an organization running with more advanced modern technology is always utilizing that technology to its full potential, looking for opportunities to improve its output.

What exactly should you do to implement SMED though? There are several main components to the methodology, and the exact way of using it is going to vary across the board. The general idea is to ensure that there is a clear separation of internal and external setup, so that the state of the machines or computer systems can be reset as quickly as possible.

• Internal Setup – Time spent in changeover when the machine or system is idle
• External Setup – Time spent in changeover when the machine is working on something else

For example, when you look at the time to changeover your work, how much could be done while you’re finishing up the last job or project? Could someone else be getting the next item ready to go? Getting these tasks started earlier is an example of moving from internal to external setup.

In addition, the creator of SMED states that it’s important to focus on standardizing the functionality of the company’s machines and systems, not the specific output they’re producing. In a manufacturing setting, clamps should be functional, or alternatively fasteners should be removed completely if that’s not possible. This reduces the actual time to complete the task.

Introducing some additional intermediate steps in the process can also have a positive effect on the overall performance. Sometimes the lack of buffer zones can be a major contributing factor to performance issues, and 5S is a great method to ensure that those problems don’t go unnoticed.

Last but not least, there is also a strong suggestion that the company should look into automating as much as possible from its current range of tasks. This is an obvious one in many industries, especially auto manufacturing where SMED is rooted. Priority should be placed on the internal setup tasks that slow down the overall changeover time.

Conclusion

SMED can be a great way to always have a good edge in your company. It’s a flexible technique that can be highly useful to a variety of different organizations, and it’s also aligned with the current trends in technology and the direction we’re moving towards for the future. There are some clearly valuable lessons to be learned from SMED, and every leader should make it a point to familiarize themselves with the principles behind it as early as they can in their career.

Learn more about SMED >>>

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What Is Muri?

When looking at the problems in a production process, it’s often important to realize the root cause behind each actual obstruction. If mura (unevenness) is noticeable in the process, it could be caused by an improper allocation of the working resources.

Sometimes resolving the problem comes down to making sure that everyone is tasked with the exact amount of work that they can realistically handle, but as it often turns out, it’s not that simple to pinpoint the right spot.

Muri refers to the waste of overburden, which is a well-known contributing factor in decreased productivity and employee morale across the board. The tightly interconnected nature of most production processes often means that a single employee or machine failing to fulfill their obligations on-time can quickly propagate further down the line. This, in turn, causes issues for others and ultimately the end customer in the form of defects or late deliveries.

How does muri manifest itself in reality?

A simple example of muri is an employee given deadlines that are constantly too short for their own skill level. The employee may either fail to complete the task on time, leading to delays for everyone in his chain of operation, or they may alternatively rush their work in order to fit within the tight constraints.

The latter option is no more attractive than the first one, as it leads to reduced workplace safety and employee morale. These factors inevitably manifest as either a reduction in the production quality, or an additional reduction in that employee’s working pace.

To identify muri, look for employees acting overwhelmed or stressed out, machines constantly running around the clock, or frustration and anger expressed between workers.

Dealing with muri efficiently

Addressing muri can be a complicated ordeal, depending on the circumstances. On a general level, it mostly comes down to properly identifying the discrete components of each given task, and analyzing those components on a basic level to understand their true requirements.

After the task has been broken down and minimized into separate parts, it’s much easier to spot potential bottlenecks, and ways to optimize the production flow. Additionally, this kind of analysis can help identify problems with standardization, which are another main cause of muri in the production process.

If one node of the chain receives components in a non-standard form, they will have to spend extra time and effort bringing them to a condition they can work on. Ensuring that the output of each step of the process is consistent with some common organizational standards plays a critical role in the reduction of muri.

The same rule applies for components which eventually make their way to external facilities as well. Muri does not only occur within a given organization, but can manifest itself in places where the company is sending its own products (or parts of them) to another facility for further processing. In the office, this might show up when sending out work to be completed by service providers. In those cases, the increased challenge in communication can make problems caused by muri even more serious.

Putting the analyzed and modified parts back together should then result in improved performance in every step of the process, and subsequently in elevated employee morale and output.

Avoid swinging too far in one direction

It’s important to realize the danger of overcompensating for muri, which can lead to a different class of problems. If employees are given too much leeway in completing their tasks, they might be wasting their resources. This is one of the fundamental types of waste that we’re trying to avoid in the first place, requiring a careful analysis of the fundamental components of the production chain.

Finding the perfect balance to completely eliminate muri may not happen on the first try, and it might need a few iterations of the decomposition/analysis process, depending on the overall complexity of the production chain.

Analysis of all relevant data is critical

Properly recording the results of the analysis and modification steps, as well as measuring the differences in output after each iteration, are the key components to ensuring that muri reduction is applied properly, and that the changes are in the right direction.

When the task is carried out by a machine, it’s often much easier to get an accurate measurement of the changes in its output. But when it comes to people, a more hands-down approach is often needed in order to ensure that the organization is given an accurate representation of the changes in productivity. Employees should be allowed to provide their own input in this case, instead of observing them through external measurement tools exclusively.

Conclusion

If muri reduction is applied properly from the very start of designing a production process, it can result in a very lean process that is also easily extendable in the future. When a new component has to be added to the production chain, this can be done much more easily when the currently produced output is already in a standardized form, and doesn’t require any special changes to accommodate the new addition.

On the other hand, the introduction of the new component can be streamlined as well, instead of requiring it to be adapted to inputs with different parameters.

Check out our other article, “What is Mura, Muri, Muda?“

The post What Is Muri? appeared first on 6sigma.

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I once heard a story about a husband who buys his wife flowers every year for their wedding anniversary. This husband goes to the same flower shop to buy his flowers. When this husband asked the flower shop owner about how business was going, the flower shop owner responded

Buying flowers for your wife has nothing to do with flowers. It has everything to do with marriage extension. The marriage extension business is booming.

In this husband’s mind, it was just a business of selling flowers. In the flower shop owner’s mind, buying flowers for your wife for a wedding anniversary is about extending your marriage. That. is. a. big. difference.

It’s More Than Perspective

It’s more than just how we look at things. Let me tell you another story to illustrate.

A few weeks ago, I took one of my kids to the doctor’s office. It seems like whenever I go to the doctor’s office, I repeat the same information that I know I’ve already given. You see, with as many kids as I do (I have 9 children), I’m at the doctor’s office A LOT.

Why am I asked the same set of questions everytime I’m at the doctor’s office?

Waste of Overprocessing

One observation I have is that the waste of overprocessing is literally everywhere. Most times, we expect it and we just deal with it. On the one hand, the most harm providing answers that we know we’ve already given is annoyance. But, could there be more psychological harm than we think?

Let’s take a common situation in our economy: losing your employment. getting fired. losing your job. Now, psychologically, when someone loses their job – especially if that person has a family to support – can be very stressful. So, that person has left the ranks of the employed to the ranks of the unemployed. He’s now a job seeker.

Let’s walk through the journey of a job seeker. As I walk you through his journey, I want you to notice the subtle but very important difference between a customer journey map approach versus the value stream map or even a process map.

Customer Journey of a Job Applicant

Customer Persona

Let’s call our job applicant “Peter”. He lives in Detroit and earns an income of $45,000 USD per year. He’s married with 3 kids and has a bachelor’s degree in business management. One concern that is top of mind for him is that he feels a strong burden to support his family. He’s willing to do anything – get any job – to be able to support his family.

Job Candidate Customer Journey

1. Peter has been out of work for a few days and feels pressure to financially support his wife and kids.
2. He’s worried about paying his bills.
3. But, he believes he’ll land a job that will allow him to support his family.
4. Peter looks on the internet for job openings that fit his background in his local area.
5. He finds a company with a job opening that he’s qualified for.
6. Pete creates an account on the company’s online applicant tracking system (ATS).
7. He uploads his resume.
8. But wait – Peter is asked to complete a form asking for the exact same information that is on his resume that he just uploaded.
9. Pete submits his resume, not knowing what the next steps will be.

On the face of it, it seems like a harmless enough process. If one created a value stream map, then the clear area for improvement would be to reduce or eliminate asking the job candidate the same information they he or she just entered by uploading their resume. But, that approach misses a critical area of improvement: the customer’s state of mind.

Peter is stressed. Asking him to enter the same information he just entered doesn’t help him feel better. If we remove the irritation, that will help.

But, he’s still stressed.

This can be an opportunity to make a simple process that every candidate goes through actually a magical one.

How?

What if after Peter submits his online job application, the “Thank You” page has a one line sentence that said

“We know that the job search process can be stressful. Thanks for applying for this position with our company.”

Simple. But, it conveys empathy and this simple job application process could be turned into a potentially magical one.

This also marks one of the clear differences between a customer journey map and maps as used in Lean or Six Sigma.

Customer Journey Map Template Download

Interested in a free template download of a customer journey map? Go here:

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