The Waste Walk
by Kevin Saunders
The great philosopher Yogi Berra once said...
"You can observe a lot just by watching"
And he is right! One of the most basic, and least used, tools of building
discipline into Lean Management is the Waste Walk. Since the elimination of waste is at the very foundation of a lean implementation effort,
this should be one of the first lean skills developed in an organization.
The Right Kind of
Discipline
In the retail store business for instance, one of the most basic of requirements is beginning
every single day with a store walk. And while there are several areas of focus for that store walk, the largest part of it is dedicated to
seeking waste and the potential for waste. Managers are actively looking for the things that prevent lean performance such as waiting, excess
inventory, defects, transportation, and extra processing. They then go to the next step of planning their day to address the very things that
they find during the walk. All of this within the context of the ultimate goal; to serve the customer.
Creating a Successful Waste Walk
Discipline
- Waste walks must be performed where the work is done. Go to the
workplace to see for yourself the real situation. The 'truth' is in the gemba. Now this sounds so incredibly obvious but in
reality, managers often make important decisions about process changes in the office or conference room without knowing the real situation that
exists where the work is done. Can you imagine a football coach making decisions about his team without ever stepping out onto the
practice field?
- Observations must be specific. Looking at waste as a whole entity
leaves it poorly defined and the environment tends to be very reactionary based only on large examples of waste. The better way is to break
waste down into specific types of waste. This makes waste tangible and by targeting many small improvements, it will lead to large changes
in the organization. So the seven wastes to target specifically are:
- Overproduction
- Waiting
- Transportation
- Extra Processing
- Excess Inventory
- Defects
- Excess Motion
- Practice - Learn to see in a different way - Teach. Make a list of the
seven wastes and schedule time to go where the work is done. Observe everything that goes on around you and look for specific examples of each
of the wastes on the list. You'll soon see things in a different way. Take your new-found knowledge and share it with others to begin the
process of creating a learning organization.
- Conduct regular 'waste reviews'. Gather your team together and share
information and methods about waste identification and elimination.
- Include new employees in the process. They can be the source of some of
your best observations. New employees have no pre-conceived notions about how you do things so they will provide valuable
information.
- Take action. Use the knowledge gathered and apply sound problem solving
skills to make the needed improvements to either eliminate or minimize the identified waste.
Benefits
Learning to use a basic tool such as the Waste Walk will serve any organization well. First it
allows a company to clearly identify opportunities for improvement. Secondly, it aids managers in observing the current reality and avoid
perceived ideas about what is occurring. Most importantly it sets a direction for making improvements at the most important level of the
organization and guides us to a better way to work. By practicing, teaching, and sharing this method, it sets the groundwork for creating the
desired learning organization that is necessary for a successful lean implementation.
