Wastes in an Organisation: Defects

Numerous wastes can occur in the workplace. Do you know what the eight most common wastes are, what causes them, how they impact your organisation and how can you prevent them?

---

Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990), an engineer at Toyota, is considered to be the father of Toyota Production System. He created a lean manufacturing framework, which was based on the idea of creating more value with less work. Accordingly anything that does not create value in the eye of the customer is considered as "waste" or "muda" in Japanese.

Seven wastes he created originally were Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Over-processing and Defects. They are often referred to by the acronym ‘TIMWOOD’. The 8th waste of not utilising talent or ‘Skills’ of workers was later introduced in the 1990s when the Toyota Production System was adopted in the Western world. The 8 wastes are now commonly referred as "TIMWOODS" or "DOWNTIME".

DOWNTIME stands for:

• Defects

• Overproduction

• Waiting

• Not utilising talent

• Transportation

• Inventory excess

• Motion waste

• Excess processing

Wastes above can be applicable to any sector and organisation, although they have been originated from manufacturing.

Below is my understanding of the first waste: "Defects" based on my experience, studies and research. I will write my interpretation of other defects in the future posts. To makes things simpler and easier to read I explain each waste under four categories: definition, possible causes, possible impacts and possible solutions. I tried to consider what each waste might mean in wide range of industries and organisations.

---

DEFECTS

Definition:

By dictionary definition a defect is an imperfection or abnormality that impairs quality, function, or utility: shortcoming, flaw.

Defects occur when products or services deviate from the specification or the customer requirements. They require additional time, resources, and money to fix.

In a manufacturing process, defective part needs to be reworked or scrapped and replaced. In an office process, the planning and associated paperwork need to be redone.

In day-to-day activities unwanted scenarios like low morale, fear, and inability to collaborate between employees or useless meetings, e-mail overload, unwanted complexity can be considered as defects as they all bring the efficiency down and costs time, resources or money.

Possible Causes of Defects:

Common causes include but not limited to:

• Lack of standards

• Poor specifications

• Poor documentation

• Poor quality controls

• Lack of defined processes

• Weak or missing processes

• Poor repair or maintenance

• Uncontrolled inventory levels

• Poor design and undocumented design changes

• Improper deployment of tools

• Misunderstanding customer needs

• Absence of clear direction

• Lack of motivation

• Lack of knowledge, skills or experience

• Lack of collaboration

• Lack of accountability

• Lack of top management's commitment

• Poor communication and feedback

• Stress and shortage of time

• Client's lack of ability in decision making

• Organisational instability

Possible Impacts of Defects:

Consequences of above causes include but not limited to:

• Loss of resources

• Time loss

• Financial losses

• Disruption to productivity

• Low morale

• Dissatisfied customer

Possible Solutions:

Eliminating defects completely is impossible but the defects can be limited by:

• Applying standardised work plans

• Better quality control at all levels

• Implementing quality checks such as checklists

• Full understanding of customer demands

• Full understanding of work requirements

• Reviewing product design at different stages

• Learning lessons from previous defects and documenting them

• Identifying potential bottlenecks and allocating additional resources to release bottlenecks

• Communicating the purpose and goals of the organisation well to its employees

• Top management commitment

• Creating an environment in which people are not afraid to report problems

• Making problems visible, not hiding them

• Breaking down barriers between departments

• Not blaming productivity and quality problems on the employees

Identifying and eliminating defects can be accomplished both individually and collaboratively. Understanding the actions necessary to manage wastes starts in the mindset and is a journey to become better.

If you want to continue the discussion email or follow me on LinkedIn.

---

Zeynep Yalcin Parks is lead consultant at Derin Consulting. She helps organisations become better at achieving their purpose. She can help you find the wastes within your organisation and the right solutions to eliminate them .

---

Follow Derin Consulting on LinkedIn

Get in touch: hello@derinconsulting.com

Visit our website: www.derinconsulting.com

* Cover photo by Ivan Vranić on Unsplash.