Types of Waste
Several types of non-value added activity, or waste (muda in Japanese), are common in government administrative and service processes. Lean methods focus on identifying and eliminating these wastes. The list below identifies common administrative process wastes.
Administrative Process Wastes with Examples
Inventory = Backlog of Work, Excess Materials or Information
Defects = Data Errors, Missing Info
Overproduction = Unneeded Reports, Doing Work Not Requested
Complexity = Unnecessary Process Steps
Waiting = Unnecessary Approval Cycles
Excess Motion = Trips to Remote Printer or Files
Moving Items = Report Routing, File Storage
Wastes in administrative and service processes can relate to (1) collection, use, and management of information, (2) design and implementation of work processes, and (3) the efficiency and effectiveness with which individuals work.
Read more about this topic: Lean Government
Famous quotes containing the words types of, types and/or waste:
“Our children evaluate themselves based on the opinions we have of them. When we use harsh words, biting comments, and a sarcastic tone of voice, we plant the seeds of self-doubt in their developing minds.... Children who receive a steady diet of these types of messages end up feeling powerless, inadequate, and unimportant. They start to believe that they are bad, and that they can never do enough.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)
“Science is intimately integrated with the whole social structure and cultural tradition. They mutually support one other—only in certain types of society can science flourish, and conversely without a continuous and healthy development and application of science such a society cannot function properly.”
—Talcott Parsons (1902–1979)
“Slowly the poison the whole blood stream fills.
It is not the effort nor the failure tires.
The waste remains, the waste remains and kills.”
—William Empson (1906–1984)