Taiichi Ohno, a Japanese industrial engineer, and businessman, popularly known as the father of lean manufacturing coined the concept of eliminating waste in the Toyota Production System. In the attempt to enhance the industry’s performance, researchers and professional practitioners, especially within the lean construction community listed the most important wastes which should be eliminated immediately. However, wasteful activities may vary from business to business, Lean theory describes these 8 wastes are common for all sort of industries.
They are “WOODMITS”:
W– Waiting – Process of inaction that adds more costs
O– Overproduction – Too much of product production
O– Over processing – Additional features than the customer requirements
D– Defects – Product or service that is out of specification
M– Motion – Motion process that doesn’t carry any value
I– Inventory – Holding material or information more than required
T– Transport – Unnecessary movement of product, equipment or material
S– Spaces and Skills – Overutilisation of workplace space & Underutilisation of employee skills
This infographic provides an overview of the concept of wastes. (Click image to open in another window and right click to save the original 8 Wastes of Lean – infograph. As the image is high definition, we appreciate your patience)
8 Wastes of Lean-infograph