The seven deadly wastes of Lean

Please feel free to share where you have observed these wastes in organisations you have worked - we'd love to hear from you!

#1. The Waste of Overproduction

Producing things because we can, rather than only producing enough to meet customer demand.

#2. The Waste of Waiting

Waiting for information, goods, or decisions to be made, causes work to stop and cycles to be lost forever.

#3. The Waste of Transport

Moving goods or people without reason or purpose provides no value to the customer.

#4. The Waste of Overprocessing

Doing more than the customer wants and is prepared to pay for creates no value for the customer or the company.

#5. The Waste of Inventory

Building too much inventory ties up capital and risks the goods expiring or becoming obsolete.

#6. The Waste of Motion

Any movement that doesn't add value to the product is waste - consider how you can reduce unnecessary motion in your work.

#7. The Waste of Defects

Build quality in, rather than test for quality at the end. Defects create costly rework and remediation.