Work that adds nothing.
WHAT WASTE IS
Anything the customer would not want to pay for.
WHAT COMMON FORMS EXIST
Waiting Rework and correction Unnecessary movement of things or people Doing more than required Producing things before they are needed Excess stock Unused skill
WHY UNUSED SKILL COUNTS
Capable people doing work far below their ability is a real loss.
WHAT WAITING LOOKS LIKE IN PRACTICE
Work sitting in an inbox Waiting for approval Waiting for information Waiting for someone unavailable
WHAT REWORK LOOKS LIKE
Correcting errors Chasing missing information Re-entering data between systems
WHY DATA RE-ENTRY DESERVES ATTENTION
It is common, invisible in most accounting, and entirely avoidable.
WHAT DOING MORE THAN REQUIRED LOOKS LIKE
Reports nobody reads Detail beyond what is needed Checking that duplicates other checking
WHAT TO DO
Ask, for each activity, what would happen if it stopped.
WHY THAT QUESTION
It exposes work continuing through habit.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Removing checks without understanding why they exist.
WHY
Some prevent problems you have forgotten about.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Establish what the check catches, and how often.
WHAT TO REMOVE CONFIDENTLY
Anything that has never caught anything.
