Taking a Waste Walk

In our last posting we shared about the 8 forms of waste that you can find in every organization. In this post from our website we share how you can perform a waste walk. Enjoy!

What is a waste walk?

The waste walk is one of the best ways to train employees, reveal waste and discover new improvement opportunities. Simply put it is a time where either a team or individual's head to the floor and look for waste. The waste walk can be a standard activity, planned event or a now and then practice. The only thing that is required for people to have during a waste walk is a basic understanding of the 8 forms of waste.
How to Perform a Waste Walk:

1. Before you can begin your waste walk you need to make sure that everyone is aware and understands the 8 forms of waste. A few ways that you can help people understand waste might be:

Invest in a quick (5 minute or less) presentation on waste.
Develop waste cards that can be passed around.
Use mnemonics such as TIMWOODS and DOWNTIME to help everyone remember.
Place posters in each area outlining the 8 forms of waste.

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2. Once everyone has a good understanding of the 8 forms of waste you may want to consider establishing a standard time for activities such as waste walks to be performed. Setting a standard time will allow teams and individuals to plan for their waste walk. It will also help people to understand the importance of going to the gemba regularly. Along with establishing a standard time it can be very helpful to develop a spaghetti graph or a roadmap that charts the waste walk out. This will help keep focus and can also be used on specific value streams or areas if need be.

3. While you walk the area/value stream look for as many forms of waste as you can. Take a moment to write down every form of waste that you find. Be sure to be very specific every form of waste is an opportunity for improvement.

4. Prioritize your list and select forms of waste that can be removed right away and execute right away. If there are other forms of waste that need analysis place them on a suggestion form or a kaizen paper.