The Property: Waste Elimination
A property is a characteristic common to everyone in a particular class or group.
The preliminary step toward application of the Toyota Production System is to identify wastes completely. 1
Eliminating waste must be a business’s first objective. 2
The fundamental doctrine of the Toyota Production System is the total elimination of waste. 3
The property is the essential attribute shared by all members of a group. In the case of a lean culture, that essential attribute is the understanding of waste, how to identify it in the work environment, and its continuous elimination. Ohno addressed this topic at considerable length and said that it was the “fundamental doctrine of the Toyota Production System.” 4
The best method to understand waste is to go to the worksite, the gemba, and begin identifying waste by observing the work. The story goes that Taiichi Ohno would stand an engineer in a chalk circle drawn on the shop floor. His direction would be: “Watch the process.” Ohno would return later and ask the engineer, “What do you see?” Ohno wanted them to learn to see what he saw. So, if the reply was something other than what Ohno had seen, he would leave the engineer to “watch some more.” 5 This tactic continued until the manager saw the same problems Ohno had seen.
The way I think about this in my mind is what I call straight line thinking. As we know, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. I look at value streams and the processes that make them up from the viewpoint of a straight line. Observing the activities in a process is about how to make the process as straight, figuratively, as possible. From this viewpoint, the activities that cause this line to be crooked are highlighted. Straightening out the line by eliminating or mitigating those activities is the goal.
All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the time line by removing the non-value added wastes. 6
Over time, and through practice, this awareness becomes ingrained in your thinking, and you will become sensitive to waste—even away from work in your leisure time. Mr. Ohno started with the notion that waste should be identified. He defined seven wastes in a way that was easy to understand.
Learning about the seven types of waste happened very early in my training at Toyota (prior to the addition of an eighth waste). During new hire orientation in the classroom, we were introduced to the concept, examples were given, and there was much discussion as we tried to understand this thinking. I’d never thought about work in this way before. It seemed a little simplistic at first, but it made good sense. This understanding was a key piece of my early training in the Toyota Production System philosophy. I believe it’s an important concept, both because of the emphasis placed on waste illustrated by Ohno’s chalk circle example and also due to the emphasis placed on the concept in my experience at Toyota. In a similar fashion, I too learned by “standing in the chalk circle” in my daily work at the gemba.
The most important objective of the Toyota system has been to increase production efficiency by consistently and thoroughly eliminating waste. 7
Manufacture of products in advance or in excess of demand. This wastes money, time, and space. And too early is the same as too much. Overproduction is understood to be the worst waste, because it leads to other wastes such as waiting, transportation, and excessive inventory.
Overproduction both hides waste and creates additional waste. This leads to unnecessary costs. More work-in-process than is necessary can result in storage and labor costs associated with storing and searching for parts. More people, more equipment, and more floor space are needed. This can be hard to see because of the constant activity around the inventory. More people doing stuff … moving, storing, and searching looks like work, but it’s not. There’s no value-added to the product in these activities. It’s simply movement, and not all movement is work. Given the need for extra people, more equipment, and the excessive inventory, the need may arise for a warehouse. In this case, additional workers and equipment would be required to staff the warehouse and transport inventory to and from it.
There is no waste in business more terrible than overproduction. 8
Many times, especially in a push environment, this waste is difficult to see. One of the realities of push systems is that there’s a tendency to accumulate items not needed, and plenty of them, while the items actually needed are not present. When this situation exists, what’s made is what can be made, not what should be made. Workers make something to stay busy and productive. This can make it very difficult to see wait time in a process. The time that should have shown up as wait time is taken up with making something not needed at the time.
In any manufacturing situation, we frequently see people working ahead. Instead of waiting, the worker works on the next job, so the waiting is hidden. 9
Another instance is when the work is not balanced between two connected processes. This is easier to see in a pull system. When the downstream process is faster than the upstream process, the downstream process waits for the next part. It’s also easier to see when the processes are in close proximity. If there is a buffer between the processes, then the buffer will run dry over time. A common countermeasure, in lieu of properly addressing the imbalance, is to work the slower upstream process for a longer period of time to build up a buffer. Usually this is accomplished with overtime. Or sometimes, additional workers are added to keep up.
Excessive movement of products. There is a certain amount of transportation that’s necessary. Work that is necessary, but adds no value, is called auxiliary work. By creating flow from process to process, even the seemingly necessary transporting of parts can be minimized. This is similar to the thinking that is used in a Single-Minute Exchange of Dies activity when minimizing the time the machine is down. Gravity-fed rollers and conveyors between connected processes can help.
In situations that require equipment such as forklifts to move parts between processes due to distance, size of the part, or the need to transport small quantities, commonizing containers so that they’re stackable and pairing up deliveries based on a common area can significantly reduce the waste of transportation. There are other ways to reduce excess transporting of parts (such as electronic call systems), but I won’t address them here.
Doing more than is necessary or more than the customer is willing to pay for. This happens sometimes when work has been added to the process in the past but is no longer needed. A deburr process could be an example, when the source of the burr has been successfully countermeasured upstream but has not been communicated to the folks doing the deburring.
Another example is when an unnecessary repair is done. A part with a small dent in it that’s used in the underbody of a car, is never visible to the customer, and doesn’t affect the integrity of the part doesn’t require repair. To do a repair in this circumstance would be over-processing.
We regard only work that is needed as real work and define the rest as waste. 10
Excess inventory is an unneeded safety blanket in manufacturing. One of the sources of excess inventory occurs when processes are separated by distance from their internal customers. When processes are separated, the need arises for a buffer between them, because one-piece flow is not possible due to this separation. The trick is to determine the minimal buffer size and establish a standard quantity. The rule of thumb for a buffer is the smallest amount needed to keep the downstream process running smoothly and consistently. After this quantity is determined, the process must be disciplined to stop producing when the buffer is full. The temptation, due to the distance, is to fill up the space. Excessive inventory hides problems, relaxes the sense of urgency, and wastes resources through costs of transporting, storage, and maintenance.
This type of hoarding, however, is no longer practical. Industrial society must develop the courage, or rather common sense, to produce only what is needed, when it is needed and in the amount needed. 11
There are two issues associated with unnecessary motion. First is the effect on the worker. Excessive motion can be tiring both physically and mentally. Second is the time element. Extra walk time is not productive; it’s merely moving. Unnecessary motion can be applied to equipment, too. Excessive motion in equipment can hasten wear and tear, resulting in downtime.
Worker movement in the production area must be working, or value-added movement. Moving is not necessarily working. Working means actually advancing the process toward completing the job.” 12
Rework/remake, inspecting, sorting, and quarantining inventory take time and cost money.
Regardless of how much is said, adopting the Toyota System will be meaningless without a complete understanding of the elimination of waste. 13
Unless we change how we think, there is a limit to what we can accomplish by continuing our same thinking. 14
5S is a systematic method to identify and eliminate waste and keep the workplace safe, clean, and organized. One of the important results of good 5S is the elimination of waste. 5S is a relatively new term. When I started at Toyota, the term was 4S. Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, and Seiketsu were the original terms. The 5th S, Shitsuke (self-discipline or sustain), was added somewhere along the way. Many times, the meaning of 5S is to clean up, straighten up, label items, shadow box things, designate locations, and so on; however, 5S is much more than a cleaning activity. 5S is a discipline that sets the stage for other elements such as standard work and Total Productive Maintenance. To implement a good 5S program, the steps should be done in order and one at a time. This is also the best way to teach others.
Start with Seiri, or sift and sort. In this first step, we separate the most important items from the least important and isolate the least important things outside the work area. The least important items are either discarded or red-tagged and placed in a designated area temporarily. Establish rules around how long items are kept in the red tag area before being discarded. More than once, I’ve fished out items left in the red tag area by another group that I could use. Many times, we found numerous duplicate items that we used, such as a battery or air guns, that we’d stored somewhere and forgotten about. Seems like we always found extra tip-changing tools. The most important items are things that are used regularly: items that, when you need them, you need them now. You can separate the items by frequency of use. This is what you do when you have a garage sale. Separate what you want from what you don’t want. Some of it you discard, and some of it you sell. A key learning from Seiri is that you can accumulate a lot of stuff if you’re not well organized. This should illustrate to those involved how wasteful disorganization can be. This is a point of emphasis. Complete Seiri before you begin the next step.
The second “S” is Seiton, or set in order. These important items should have designated locations that are visible and labeled. Why label it? So you know what’s missing when it’s not there. For tools, this can also be accomplished with shadowing. Another way is to make the location only workable for a specific tool, so that nothing else can go there. Round peg, round hole thinking. Logically, these items are kept in a convenient and ergonomically appropriate place for the user. The user should decide the best locations, as they use these items regularly. Be consistent in the way you store and label items from process to process. Complete Seiton before you begin the next step.
Seiso, or as we called it “spick and span,” is the third step. After getting rid of items not needed and setting in order items that are needed, the next step is to give the area a good cleaning. Determine, for each process, what this means. Some areas may require some type of specific cleaning not required in others. This is a good opportunity to find and identify problems within the process, especially those that seem to have become accepted as normal. The source of problems such as water, oil, or air leaks can be determined and addressed. Complete Seiso before you begin the next step.
These first three steps establish the standard. Now that the area is straightened and cleaned, it should be maintained. Seiketsu, or standardization, is next. A task list should be assigned to each process, clearly defining expectations, including when each task should be accomplished. A sign-off box may also be included on the list, which is a reminder for the worker to complete each task and a way for the leader to follow up. Again, there may be similarities between processes, but be aware of specific problems in each area. And those water and oil leak sources can be included in the standardization of the process 5S checklist.
The last “S” is Shitsuke, or sustaining and improving the condition. This can be accomplished with periodic audits. The grading should be strict. Challenge each area to improve their process each audit. The 5S process is a discipline, both on the floor and elsewhere. And frankly, this should be something that each area takes pride in daily. Treat the work area as if it were your home. But this home is inhabited by numerous people, and many others can view the living conditions. Furthermore, the work area reflects the people’s work, and it’s easily compared with the neighbors in the process next door. In this case, peer pressure is a good thing. Generally, when expectations are high, people step up to the challenge.
The condition of production areas is the first thing I notice in a plant. One can tell a lot about how the plant is running by the 5S condition on the plant floor. If production leadership cannot establish and maintain an organized work area, what would make anyone believe that there’s discipline in other areas such as safety or quality? If we can’t keep the house clean, what else is not working well?
5S should be understood early, as it relates directly to waste elimination. It’s very important to create and maintain an exceptional condition. This, however, can be a bit challenging in a push system of production. The general chaos in push systems can make it difficult to focus on 5S due to the amount of time required to deal with the problems associated with push, particularly the excess WIP in the processes. After the implementation of pull, the excess WIP goes away, and it’s easier to accomplish a good condition.
As stated at the beginning of the chapter, waste elimination is the “fundamental doctrine of the Toyota Production System” and is the goal for all members. It provides a common way for everyone to view their work. Further, by challenging employees to be open to better ways to perform their work and by being accepting of their ideas, mutual respect is enhanced between individuals and work groups. This is their shared “fundamental doctrine.”
Working through this lens will help you to begin to understand your inefficiencies. When you begin to view work with waste in mind, many ideas will come to mind. You will question why many activities are done. Think of the straight line. Through observations in the workplace, you will start to wonder why. Why do we do this or that? And further, you will begin to ask why not. It will challenge you to look at your processes in a different way, a waste-conscious way. When you do, your eyes will open, and your mind will wonder about the possibilities. Developing the understanding of waste and becoming acutely sensitive to it is critical to building a lean culture.
The Property: Deep understanding of waste and making elimination the first objective.
Culture: The commitment to the “fundamental doctrine” of the elimination of waste instills a common discipline about what is acceptable and what is not. This discipline, established through a strong 5S program, sets the foundation for discipline in other areas, such as quality.
1. Ohno, Taiichi. 1988. Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, p. 19. New York, NY: Productivity Press.
2. Ibid., p. 129.
3. Ohno, Taiichi. 1988. Just-in-Time for Today and Tomorrow, p. 1. Cambridge, MA: Productivity Press.
4. Ibid.
5. Liker, Jeffrey K. 2004. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, p. 216. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
6. Ohno, Taiichi. 1988. Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production, p. 9. New York, NY: Productivity Press.
7. Ibid., p. 13.
8. Ibid., p. 14.
9. Ibid., p. 59.
10. Ibid., p. 19.
11. Ibid., p. 15.
12. Ibid., p. 58.
13. Ibid, p. 56.
14. Ohno, Taiichi. 2013. Taiichi Ohno’s Workplace Management: Special 100th Birthday Edition, p. 18. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.