Eliminate 7 Wastes from Your Supply Chain
WITH REAL–TIME ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS FROM ZEBRA LOCATION SOLUTIONS
In dicult economic times, lean thinking strikes a chord for manufacturers as it promises to reduce costs,
improve quality and transform the bottom line, by eliminating waste in every area of the value stream, including
factory management and supplier networks. Its goal is to eliminate non-value added processing from the
customers’ perspective, enabling less inventory, less space, less resource, less time and less cost to produce
more — and all highly responsive to customer demand.
This white paper examines the impact of leveraging proven lean principles supported by Real-time Asset
Management Solutions from Zebra® Technologies. We will identify the seven wastes of manufacturing and
how Real-time Asset Management Solutions can eradicate these wastes. You will also learn first hand how
customers eliminated waste and benefited from these solutions.
WHITE PAPER
REAL–TIME ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
THE SEVEN WASTES IN MANUFACTURING
1. Over-production
Producing more than and / or ahead of demand.
The result of producing to speculative (forecast)
demand or supposed economic batches, it is
visible as excessive, time consuming and costly
material stores.
2. Waiting
Whether for the previous, current or next step
in the process, the result is wasted worker time.
The goal is to maximize the utilization and / or
efficiency of operatives first and machines second.
3. Transportation
Unnecessary transport of materials, WIP (work
in progress) and finished goods adds zero value
to the product. Instead of improving transportation
processes and systems, lean thinking first favours
minimizing or eliminating them.
4. Non-value added processing
Doing more work than is necessary, according
to the ‘value’ principle — often due to poor
plant layout or misguided attempts to recover
expensive machinery costs. Lean essentially
advocates using simpler, lower cost tools, cell
manufacturing and / or combining steps,
where possible.
5. Unnecessary motion
Relating to people bending, stretching or walking
too far, due primarily to the inappropriate
location (and potentially also design) of tools,
parts inventories and fixtures. Instead of simply
automating wasted motion, lean requires that
the operations themselves be improved.
6. Excess inventory
Specifically referring to WIP between operations
and purchased parts within the supply chain,
frequently resulting from overproduction, usually
due to excessively large batch manufacturing
or processes with long cycle times — leading in
turn to cost and clutter. This waste also creates
additional waste in the form of increased lead–
times, excessive floor space requirements,
extra handling, high interest charges, avoidable
people movement and paperwork and, again,
the associated costs.
7. Defects
Producing defective parts or products results
in rework and scrap and invariably adds
significantly to manufacturing costs. Lean focuses
on preventing the occurrence of defects, rather
than improving the processes around finding and
repairing them.
zebra technologies 2
WHITE PAPER
REAL–TIME ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
Lean Manufacturing
is About the Obsessive
Elimination of Waste
Waste being defined by lean practitioners
as what customers would perceive as processes
and actions that don’t add ‘value’, and for which
they don’t want to pay. Given the current
difficult conditions for much of manufacturing
in the developed world, lean is also commonly
associated with getting more from less. But for
the tightest definition, go to the US National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP),
which describes lean as: “A systematic approach
to identifying and eliminating waste through
continuous improvement, flowing the product at
the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection.”
WHITE PAPER
REAL–TIME ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
