The 7 Wastes of Time
These are derived from the 7 Wastes found in “Lean”
(Toyota) Strategies
1. Overproduction
2. Waiting/Chasing
3. Unnecessary movement
4. Over-processing
5. Searching
6. Distraction
7. Getting it “wrong”
1. Overproduction
Creating too many of something, particularly producing something now for later and then not needing it, this could be a tangible product or a plan/document
2. Waiting
Waiting for something/someone to arrive so you can carry on, waiting for information, chasing other people, waiting to get to use a piece of equipment
3. Unnecessary Movement
Having to travel around the workplace to go to the areas you need. Having to travel to another place to see someone.
4. Over-processing
Spending more time that is necessary doing something eg spending lots of time putting in unnecessary detail onto paperwork. Spending hours in a meeting that could have realistically taken half the time
5. Searching
Looking for something that should be easy to find if it had been stored/filed sensibly.
6. Distraction
Being distracted from tasks in hand by something else, eg smoke break, someone’s holiday photos, answering the phone for a colleague who has left their desk, attending a meeting that you have no need to be in.
7. Getting it “wrong”
This stretches from:
- not knowing how to set up a spreadsheet and therefore taking three times the time to do the same job on a Word Table using a calculator to generate the numbers
- not getting an adequate/accurate brief and therefore producing something that doesn’t fulfil the need of the “customer”