Manufacturing waste is any expense or effort that does not transform materials into products for which customers are willing to pay. It includes scrap materials and defective items, but it doesn’t end there. Manufacturing waste includes activities that don’t add value, such as doing things that customers aren’t willing to pay for.
Elasto Proxy can help you to eliminate manufacturing waste for industrial rubber products, but what does that really mean? Let’s start by identifying the specific forms that waste takes.
Eight Forms of Manufacturing Waste
There are eight forms of manufacturing waste.
- Transportation
- Inventory
- Motion
- Waiting
- Overproduction
- Overprocessing
- Defects
- Unused Knowledge
Now, let’s look at each one and consider some rubber-related examples.
#1 Transportation
Transportation waste refers to the unnecessary movement of materials or products. It doesn’t add value but it does increase costs. Consider what can happen to the lengths of rubber that are used to fabricated gaskets.
- Inventory personnel stock shelves with boxes of rubber coils.
- Later, pickers move these boxes to production.
- The boxes are stacked against a wall until they’re needed.
- A few days later, they’re moved to the assembly line.
There’s plenty of material movement, but no added value until gasket fabrication actually begins.
#2 Inventory
Inventory waste refers to raw materials, work-in-process, or finished goods that are not immediately needed for production or customer demand. When boxes of rubber are stacked against a wall because they’re not needed, that’s a form of inventory waste. Storing too many raw materials or finished goods is also wasteful.
#3 Motion
Wasted motion is different than transportation waste. That’s because motion is about the movement of people instead of products. To fabricate gaskets, workers move around to find the rubber materials and cutting tools they need. These activities don’t add value to gaskets, and they reduce overall productivity. Plus, there’s a risk of employee injury from tripping over a box or cutting a hand.
#4 Waiting
Waiting is a form of manufacturing waste that occurs whenever a needed resource is unavailable. Stock-outs and unplanned maintenance are two prime examples. Waiting adds costs to projects, but it can also have downstream effects in the form of hurried quality checks and late shipments. Often, idle employees are a tell-tale sign that waiting for work is a problem.
#5 Over-Production
Over-production happens when manufacturing operations exceed the requirements of downstream processes such as assembly. Instead of producing only what’s needed for the job, workers create a supply for which there isn’t a demand. It’s like cutting 100 lengths of rubber when you only need to make a single gasket.
#6 Over-Processing
Over-processing is about performing redundant activities. Examples include counting the same box of rubber parts twice, inspecting gaskets for issues that don’t matter to the customer, and performing unnecessary documentation checks. Customers aren’t willing to pay for this extra effort, and the work doesn’t add value to the finished product.
#7 Defects
Defects occur when a product is made improperly and departs from its intended design. Let’s say a worker cuts a rubber length by hand and then bonds the ends together with glue. The cuts are jagged, and the ends don’t align well. The gaskets are designed for use in outdoor environments, but the glue that was used lacks UV and water resistance. When the gasket is installed, seal failure occurs.
#8 Unused Knowledge
Unused knowledge is the eighth and final form of manufacturing waste. Sometimes, it’s caused by a lack of teamwork or employee disengagement. For example, assembly personnel may see ways to eliminate recurring defects. If the workers won’t communicate their ideas to managers – or if managers are unwilling to listen – this unused knowledge carries a cost.
More About Manufacturing Waste
We hope you’re enjoyed this article, the first in a series by Elasto Proxy. Future articles will take a closer look at each form of manufacturing waste and explain how working with us can help you to avoid these unnecessary costs. In the meantime, we invite you to contact us for low-to-medium volumes of industrial rubber products.
L’article Manufacturing Waste Takes These Eight Forms est apparu en premier sur Elasto Proxy.