Eliminating the Seven Deadly Waste in the Office
Many companies ask “Why do I need to lean out my administrative or back-office operations?” The answer is simple, work that add no value from your customers’ perspective typically comprises 50% of total administrative costs. This represents enormous “white collar” potential for achieving significant speed, quality and cost improvements, all of which can give your organization a major competitive advantage.
How can office workers reduce and maintain costs on a daily basis? It is just not practical to have everyone being a part-time bookkeeper. However, everyone can wage war on the seven deadly wastes. The ultimate lean target is the total elimination of waste. In lean terms, waste is anything that adds cost or time without adding value. It is something being done that your customers would not pay for even though it is included in the overall cost.
Waste is often hidden in processes, which makes it difficult to detect. Lean breaks waste down into specific aspects to help focus your improvement activities. Waste can be categorized into seven different types. Each can be targeted specifically to help identify the appropriate lean tool to assist in its elimination.
Waste is a problem in the office because a disorganized, wasteful environment exacts a heavy toll
on your people. It prevents them from being and feeling successful. Wastes are characterized as the seven deadly wastes because they are like toxins in the work environment. The first step in eliminating them is recognizing them for what they are. Let’s take a look at the seven deadly wastes.
Waste 1: Overproduction
When you overproduce you produce too much of something or produce it before it is required. In the office, paper and information is usually overproduced. Producing more than needed or producing it too soon does not improve efficiency. It consumes resources, such as materials, people, and storage, faster than necessary and creates other types of waste.
To eliminate this type of waste:
Waste 2: Waiting
Waiting for anything—people, paper, machines or information—is waste. Waiting means idle time, and that causes the workflow to stop. It adds no value to the product or service, and the customer certainty doesn’t want to pay for it. The waste of waiting is the easiest to detect. There are many examples in the office: waiting for signatures, waiting for machines, waiting for phone calls, waiting for supplies.
To eliminate this type of waste:
Waste 3: Over-processing
The waste of over-processing often includes redundant activities such as checking someone else’s work, obtaining multiple signatures, or excessive reviews.
To eliminate this type of waste:
Waste 4: Inventory
Excess stock of anything is waste. Excess inventory takes up space, may impact safety, and can become obsolete if requirements change. Unneeded files, extra supplies, and unnecessary copies are some types of inventory waste. Inventory waste can be a departmental matter or an individual one. Inventory waste is a habit that is difficult to break. Extra inventory represents a margin of safety that we may be unwilling to let go of. Lean thinking means changing this mindset.
Having extra supplies means having more to manage. Extra inventory can obstruct other processes as well: if you are looking for another item, you have to move extra inventory, resulting in a waste of motion. This waste is also related to the waste of time. Time is a valuable commodity in the office environment, and a document or folder sitting on someone’s desk is waste.
To eliminate this type of waste:
Waste 5: Motion
Any motion that is not necessary to the successful completion of an activity or task is waste. All unnecessary work movements are a form of waste. All motion should add value to the product or service for the customer. Ineffective job processing and layout are often responsible for creating more walking, reaching or bending than are necessary.
To eliminate this type of waste:
Waste 6: Defects and Rework
Waste as a result of producing defective work that needs to be redone is clearly non-value add.
Doing something over is waste. This waste also includes the lost productivity associated with disrupting a normal process to deal with defects or rework.
To eliminate this type of waste:
Waste 7: Transport
Transporting material or documents farther than necessary, or temporarily locating, filing, stocking, stacking, or moving materials, people, information or paper, wastes time and energy. Materials and supplies are often moved several times before reaching a permanent location. All of this movement is waste.
To eliminate this waste:
Examples of the seven deadly wastes in the office
Overproduction ----- Excessive paper/information
Waiting ----- Work sitting around waiting
Over-processing ----- Multiple signatures
Inventory ----- Unneeded files
Motion ----- Too many keystrokes
Defects ----- Missed deadlines
Transport ----- Chasing information
Many companies ask “Why do I need to lean out my administrative or back-office operations?” The answer is simple, work that add no value from your customers’ perspective typically comprises 50% of total administrative costs. This represents enormous “white collar” potential for achieving significant speed, quality and cost improvements, all of which can give your organization a major competitive advantage.
How can office workers reduce and maintain costs on a daily basis? It is just not practical to have everyone being a part-time bookkeeper. However, everyone can wage war on the seven deadly wastes. The ultimate lean target is the total elimination of waste. In lean terms, waste is anything that adds cost or time without adding value. It is something being done that your customers would not pay for even though it is included in the overall cost.
Waste is often hidden in processes, which makes it difficult to detect. Lean breaks waste down into specific aspects to help focus your improvement activities. Waste can be categorized into seven different types. Each can be targeted specifically to help identify the appropriate lean tool to assist in its elimination.
Waste is a problem in the office because a disorganized, wasteful environment exacts a heavy toll
on your people. It prevents them from being and feeling successful. Wastes are characterized as the seven deadly wastes because they are like toxins in the work environment. The first step in eliminating them is recognizing them for what they are. Let’s take a look at the seven deadly wastes.
Waste 1: Overproduction
When you overproduce you produce too much of something or produce it before it is required. In the office, paper and information is usually overproduced. Producing more than needed or producing it too soon does not improve efficiency. It consumes resources, such as materials, people, and storage, faster than necessary and creates other types of waste.
To eliminate this type of waste:
- Establish a work flow sequence to satisfy the downstream customer
- Create workplace norms and standards for each process
- Create signal devices (Kanban's) to prevent early processing
Waste 2: Waiting
Waiting for anything—people, paper, machines or information—is waste. Waiting means idle time, and that causes the workflow to stop. It adds no value to the product or service, and the customer certainty doesn’t want to pay for it. The waste of waiting is the easiest to detect. There are many examples in the office: waiting for signatures, waiting for machines, waiting for phone calls, waiting for supplies.
To eliminate this type of waste:
- Review and standardize required signatures to eliminate unnecessary ones
- Cross-train employees to allow work floe to continue while someone Is out
- Balance the workload throughout the day to ensure that all people are being used optimally.
- Make sure that equipment and supplies are available
Waste 3: Over-processing
The waste of over-processing often includes redundant activities such as checking someone else’s work, obtaining multiple signatures, or excessive reviews.
To eliminate this type of waste:
- Review the value-added steps in each process, and streamline or eliminate steps whenever possible
- Review all signature requirements and eliminate signatures wherever possible.
Waste 4: Inventory
Excess stock of anything is waste. Excess inventory takes up space, may impact safety, and can become obsolete if requirements change. Unneeded files, extra supplies, and unnecessary copies are some types of inventory waste. Inventory waste can be a departmental matter or an individual one. Inventory waste is a habit that is difficult to break. Extra inventory represents a margin of safety that we may be unwilling to let go of. Lean thinking means changing this mindset.
Having extra supplies means having more to manage. Extra inventory can obstruct other processes as well: if you are looking for another item, you have to move extra inventory, resulting in a waste of motion. This waste is also related to the waste of time. Time is a valuable commodity in the office environment, and a document or folder sitting on someone’s desk is waste.
To eliminate this type of waste:
- Produce only enough to satisfy the requirements of your downstream customer.
- Standardize work locations and the number of units per location
- Ensure that work arrives at the downstream process when it is required and does not sit there.
Waste 5: Motion
Any motion that is not necessary to the successful completion of an activity or task is waste. All unnecessary work movements are a form of waste. All motion should add value to the product or service for the customer. Ineffective job processing and layout are often responsible for creating more walking, reaching or bending than are necessary.
To eliminate this type of waste:
- Standardize folders, drawers, and cabinets throughout the area: use color codes as much as possible
- Arrange your files (desktop and electronic) in such a way you can easily reference them
- Arrange work areas of office equipment in central locations; consider purchasing additional equipment to eliminate multiple trips.
Waste 6: Defects and Rework
Waste as a result of producing defective work that needs to be redone is clearly non-value add.
Doing something over is waste. This waste also includes the lost productivity associated with disrupting a normal process to deal with defects or rework.
To eliminate this type of waste:
- Establish standardized work procedures and office forms
- Create and post job aids
Waste 7: Transport
Transporting material or documents farther than necessary, or temporarily locating, filing, stocking, stacking, or moving materials, people, information or paper, wastes time and energy. Materials and supplies are often moved several times before reaching a permanent location. All of this movement is waste.
To eliminate this waste:
- Make the distance over which something is moved as short as possible
- Eliminate any temporary storage locations or stocking locations.
Examples of the seven deadly wastes in the office
Overproduction ----- Excessive paper/information
Waiting ----- Work sitting around waiting
Over-processing ----- Multiple signatures
Inventory ----- Unneeded files
Motion ----- Too many keystrokes
Defects ----- Missed deadlines
Transport ----- Chasing information
