Waste versus Efficiency

According to Dr. Shigeo Shingo, "Waste is any activity which does not contribute to operations". There are two types of operations: value-added work and non-value-added work. The transactional wastes are: waste from overproduction of goods or services, waste from waiting or idle time, waste from transportation, waste from over-processing, waste of motion and effort, waste of inventory, waste from defects, waste of talent, corporate staff waste, and waste driven by centralizing processes. Despite the cost and lost productivity, most organizations still believe that meetings play a crucial role in disseminating information and providing a venue to discuss topics requiring decisions. Meetings can serve a useful purpose as they help business managers to communicate and share information or problem-solve. Business managers have categorized waste into six different levels: obvious waste, 5S wastes, the Ohno seven wastes, boiled frog waste, tribal waste or sacred cows, and hidden unseen waste.