Taiichi Ohno & 7 Wastes
大野耐一と七ムダ
Published: 01/15/2019
By: Andrew Neyer
Taiichi Ohno (大野耐一 Ōno Taiichi, February 29, 1912 – May 28, 1990) was a Japanese industrial engineer and businessman. He is considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System, which became Lean Manufacturing in the U.S. He devised the seven wastes (or muda in Japanese) as part of this system. He wrote several books about the system, including Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production.
Ohno’s principles influenced areas outside of manufacturing, and have been extended into the service arena. For example, the field of sales process engineering has shown how the concept of Just In Time (JIT) can improve sales, marketing, and customer service processes.
Ohno was also instrumental in developing the way organisations identify waste, and is also know for his Ten Precepts. Credited as the “father” of the Toyota Production System, Ohno originally identified seven forms of muda (無駄, meaning “futility; uselessness; wastefulness).
Seven Wastes
1. Transport
2. Inventory
3. Useless Motion
4. Waiting
5. Overproduction
6. Over processing
7. Defects
Ten Precepts
1. You are a cost. First reduce waste.
2. First say, “I can do it.” And try before everything.
3. The workplace is a teacher. You can find answers only in the workplace.
4. Do anything immediately. Starting something right now is the only way to win.
5. Once you start something, persevere with it. Do not give up until you finish it.
6. Explain difficult things in an easy-to-understand manner. Repeat things that are easy to understand.
7. Waste is hidden. Do not hide it. Make problems visible.
8. Valueless motions are equal to shortening one’s life.
9. Re-improve what was improved for further improvement.
10. Wisdom is given equally to everybody. The point is whether one can exercise it.
Source: Wikipedia
Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing or lean production is a systematic method originating in the Japanese manufacturing industry for the minimization of waste (Japanese: 無駄 muda) within a manufacturing system without sacrificing productivity, which can cause problems. Lean also takes into account waste created through overburden (Japanese: 無理 muri) and waste created through unevenness in work loads (Japanese: 斑 mura). Working from the perspective of the client who consumes a product or service, “value” is any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for.
Lean manufacturing attempts to make obvious what adds value, through reducing everything else (because it is not adding value). This management philosophy is derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS) and identified as “lean” only in the 1990s. TPS is renowned for its focus on reduction of the original Toyota seven wastes to improve overall customer value, but there are varying perspectives on how this is best achieved. The steady growth of Toyota, from a small company to the world’s largest automaker, has focused attention on how it has achieved this success.
Source: Wikipedia
Thoughts
– What does Waste look like in your practice?
– How lean is too lean?
– Ohno! Did you you waste your life?
