An automotive manufacturer is sourcing rubber components from Company

This questions is intended to ask students about types of waste in Lean principles.

Lean was born out of manufacturing practices but in recent time has transformed the world of

knowledge work and management. It encourages the practice of continuous improvement and is

based on the fundamental idea of respect for people. Womack and Jones defined the five principles

of Lean manufacturing in their book “The Machine That Changed the World”. The five principles are

considered a recipe for improving workplace efficiency and include: 1) defining value, 2) mapping the

value stream, 3) creating flow, 4) using a pull system, and 5) pursuing perfection.

Lean principles aim to eliminate waste in processes. The eight wastes of Lean principles are:

- Defects

- Over-production

- Waiting

- Not using talent

- Transport and handling

- Inventory

- Motion waste

- Excess processing

In the scenario, the component is processed more than necessary. The engineers try to make them as

accurate as possible with very little tolerance. In fact, the component does not need to be that

precise. This excesses buyer's requirements and incurs costs for both buyer and supplier. The

scenario is an example of over processing (or excess processing).

Overprocessing is one of the seven wastes of lean manufacturing (or 7 mudas); Overprocessing is

adding more value to a product than the customer actually requires such as painting areas that will

never be seen or be exposed to corrosion.

Overprocessing as one of the seven wastes is caused by having unclear standards and specifications,

many operators will try to do the best job possible and will not always be aware of what truly adds

value to the product or even the end use. They will therefore often expend time polishing and

finishing components that do not require it.

Reference:

- CIPS study guide page 153-156

- Waste of Overprocessing; causes, costs, examples solutions, symptoms (leanmanufactur-

ingtools.org)

LO 3, AC 3.4