Lean manufacturing · Kaizen
The PDCA cycle: the order behind Kaizen
Plan, do, check, act. Where each step of the cycle sits in an improvement record.
13 October 2026 · 1 min
The 8 wastes in lean manufacturing: how to see them on the floor
From waiting to overproduction, from unnecessary motion to unused talent. The eight wastes with examples and how to measure them.
1 October 2026 · 1 min read
Lean thinking starts by treating any work the customer would not pay for as waste. Reducing waste usually takes attention, not investment.
The eight wastes
- Overproduction: making too much or too early.
- Waiting: stopping for material, approval or a machine.
- Transport: moving material more than needed.
- Over-processing: precision or steps the customer did not ask for.
- Inventory: piles of WIP and finished goods that hide flow.
- Motion: searching, reaching, walking.
- Defects: scrap, rework, complaints.
- Unused talent: not asking employees for their ideas.
Measure to see
Waste shrinks only once it is visible. A time study splits an operation's steps into value-adding, necessary non-value-adding and waste. A Yamazumi chart stacks these steps per operator; the station above takt time stands out at once.
The eighth waste, unused talent, is the reason suggestion and Kaizen systems exist: the person who does the job every day sees the other seven best.
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