Lean Manufacturing - 3 More Waste Types

In our most recent blog post, we discussed the first half of the Seven Wastes of lean manufacturing. Today we will be picking up where we left off, rounding out the last wastes in the list. Enjoy!

Defects

Unfortunately, defects are unavoidable in the manufacturing industry. Every now and then, a product will make it through the production line with a vital flaw, rendering it unsellable. Unsellable product is seen as a waste of material and labor.

How can advanced planning software help?

Though defects cannot ever be completely eliminated, there are a few things that advanced planning software can do to help reduce the effect it has on your manufacturing facility. Captured data allows for better understanding of your company’s most common defects, including the exact position in the production process that they been historically most likely to occur. In addition, predictive analytics help account for defective product yield by leveraging ERP and Excel data to better-forecast time and material needs—including scrap.

Motion

Different from transportation waste, motion waste refers to the damage a production machine experiences from the manufacturing process itself. This includes typical machine wear and tear, employee injury, and accidents that affect a facility’s ability to produce on time.

How can advanced planning software help?

Advanced planning software can reduce motion waste by increasing overall levels of communication between employees. An APS serves as the hub of a shop floor, connecting both the industrial and financial sides of a company. This allows for better translation of processes between employees and upper management. In addition, Gantt charts and non-value/value-add analytics allow shop floor managers to make data-driven decisions towards continuous improvement.

Inventory

Inventory, whether in the form of raw material, works-in-progress (WIP), or finished goods, represents a financial burden that has not yet produced an income. If a product is not turning profit, by all technicalities, it is occupying space as a waste in your facility.

How can advanced planning software help?

Advanced planning software can predict what you need to produce, when you need to produce it. It can also do the same for raw materials. This approach to just-in-time planning keeps excess inventory to a minimum, therefore reducing inventory waste drastically.

These are the seven traditional wastes, however, we’ve decided to add an additional hidden waste that we have noticed in our years in the manufacturing sphere. Here it is:

Setup

The final waste, Setup, arises from the often forgotten period of implementation when bringing a new asset onto your shop floor. Whether it is introducing a new employee, piece of machinery, or software, setup time is a time of slower production for a company, which ultimately translates into waste.

How can advanced planning software help?

Setup simulation and comparative analytics are two functions of an advanced scheduling system that can lead to an increased throughput. These functions help a factory manager to forecast the immediate result of a hypothetical setup period, and capture the actual setup time when it comes to fruition. With the ability to draw upon both forecasted and actualized data, a production manager can make educated decisions to help pull through the setup phase of an asset.