Muda – 7 Work Sins And How Can They Be Prevented

Muda comes from Japanese and literally translates as “change for better”. This Japanese management approach aims to constantly optimize all operations and processes of a company. It encompasses all areas of an organization – from assembly line workers to carpets, everyone is encouraged to think for themselves. The aim is to minimise the so-called “muda” (Japanese for waste) or, if possible, to prevent them altogether. This does not only mean conventional waste but also, for example, time wasted on unnecessary searching for tools. There are a total of seven types of muda that should be prevented in a company:

Waste through overproduction – too much is too much.

Waste by double processing – things should be done right from the start.

Waste from product maintenance – Units should flow from one process to another and not stand around unnecessarily.

Waste from stock – Products in stock have no real value, but a sale does.

Waste through transport – the shortest possible routes reduce throughput time and consume less energy.

Waste through movement – In this case the movements of people are meant.

Waste from the process – This refers to the conventional waste material from production.

We had the honour of producing Swisscom Improve videos on these topics with Swisscom’s Kaizen department. We were allowed to look behind the scenes of this department and produced short learning videos with them in order to sensitize the employees in this area and motivate them to include this entrepreneurial activity in their work.

We would be happy to show you one of these clips here. This video is about the 5S method, which aims to prevent unnecessary searching for tools and thus reduce muda.

We at Cleverclip also have a whole range of tools that we need every day in our processes. That’s why we took the 5S method to heart and applied it directly in our office.

As you can see, we have written to all places directly, so that everyone knows immediately where to put what. In this way we can keep order and prevent unnecessary searching.
Now I wish you a lot of fun with continuous improvement in your office.

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