Do you count your steps each day? Not as a way to stay healthy, but as a way to track time?
Imagine if it took you 45 seconds to walk through a maze of pallets and machines to reach material, only to reverse your steps to get to your work area. Now imagine if you could reduce the time by half just simply by placing the material closer to you. Sure those 45 seconds don’t seem like much, but over the course of the day they add up. Instead of navigating through material and obstacles, you could be focused on your task at hand making you far more productive.
Learning how to observe waste isn’t difficult at all. Paul Akers says “fix what bugs you.” Does that long walk bother you? If so, find a way to organize your material closer to you.
Maybe your waste involves clicking through file folders to find the one you need. Instead try shortcuts and pinning your most used files/folders to common areas you use (Windows Explorer for example). If you notice defects in a product, retrain your staff to produce the outcome you desire, as maybe it’s not the person, but the process.
Eliminating waste can take place anywhere you are, from your workstation to your home, and everywhere in between. Our manufacturing department is constantly innovating on existing processes, and creating new ones to reduce our waste in everything we do. Our staff takes finding waste to heart, and does it constantly every day.
What is your team doing to eliminate waste, add to the bottom line, enhance your company culture and build team morale? Interested in seeing us in action? Give me a call!
David Meacham 480.467.9881