Motion Waste

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  The waste of motion or movement is any motion or movement by people and or machines that does not add or create value.  Motion waste is oftentimes confused with transportation waste, they are not the same.  The easiest way to identify the difference between the waste of motion and the waste of transportation is that transportation waste moves “stuff” or information and generally occurs between process steps and workstations rather than within them.  Motion waste on the other hand, directly relates to people and machines.

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Despite these fundamental differences between motion waste and transportation waste it is not uncommon to find that these two types of waste go hand in hand.  Motion waste can be a very dangerous waste that can result in injured employees, broken machines or dangerous habits that can put long term strain on ​both machines and employees.  Some of the more common examples of the waste of motion are shown below. 

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Examples:

1. Excessive movement.
2. Reaching to high or too low.
3. Excessive clicking or keystrokes on a computer.
4. Looking for tools.
5. Emailing attachments and CC's of unnecessary people.

Caused By:

• Poor work or office layouts.
• functional or widely spaced equipment.
• Inconsistent work methods.
• Poorly designed ergonomics.

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Solutions:

1. Standardize work activities.
2. When setting up offices or machine layouts include the people from the Gemba.
3. Use automation where possible.

Challenge:

• What types of motion waste do you observe from day to day?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below and receive a coupon to one of Lean Strategies International LLC's courses.

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