Waste is the use of any material or resource beyond what the customer requires and is willing to pay for.
One of the key steps in Lean and Toyota Production System (TPS) is the identification of those steps which add value and those that do not. By classifying all the process activities into these two categories it is then possible to start actions for improving the former and eliminating the latter.
Shigeo Shingo, a co-developer of TPS, observed that it's only the last turn of a bolt that tightens it - the rest is just movement. This level of refined 'seeing' of waste has enabled his team to cut car body die changeover time to less than 3% of its duration in the 1950s as of 2010. This focus has been called “Single Minute Exchange of Die” or SMED; within TPS. When we applied this in the NHS I coined the phrase “Just a Minute”; because it was more patient focused and friendlier.
The following "seven wastes" identify resources which are commonly wasted. They were identified by Toyota's Chief Engineer, Taiichi Ohno as part of the TPS. Subsequently an eighth waste has been identified; which is particularly relevant in a service environment.
