This is the last week of the Muda Walk for a Month 2010. This week we are looking for the wastes of OVERPRODUCTION OF GOODS. This waste is connected to the waste of Inventory – theme for week three. We order or fabricate too much or too soon. so we have to store it somewhere causing inventory to build. For example, when we fabricating duct ahead of schedule to keep the shop busy, this causes us to stockpiling material either in a warehouse or at the job site. This waste can also include printing extra blueprints or making more copies of bids, material orders or financial reports than needed. Overproduction is a service truck restocking parts to a greater level than needed. It is having the supplier deliver products to the job site weeks ahead of when it will be used. (this leads to the other wastes of excess inventory and transportation of material and movement of people.) Overproduction can even mean calling for more crews or workers than is currently need on the job site. Masaaki Imai says overproduction is the root cause of most wastes.
Look for signs of overproduction. It is often seen as stacks of material - either in the warehouse, in trailers, in the yard or at the job staging areas. Ask WHY enough times to get to the root cause. Why do we have these stacks? Why are we producing orders too soon or why do we order too much? The root cause may even be in our estimating system – keep looking.
Record your improvements. Find the root cause. Implement improvements. Try something; if it doesn’t work try something else.
Stay with the Muda Walk this last week.
dennis sowards
Quality Support Services, Inc.
Office: 480-835-1185
Cell: 602-740-7271
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