chapter 6 - Malaysia Productivity Corporation ( MPC)

Over production is caused by:
• Inflexible large batch size;
• Poor human resource utilisation; and
• Supply, rather than demand driven marketing policy.
b) Waiting
The waste in waiting occurs when goods are not moving or being processed. Typically, such waste
includes waiting for materials, information, equipment, tools, etc. Much of product’s lead-time is
wasted while waiting for the next process.
Waiting is caused by:
• Shortage and unreliable supply chain;
• Machine downtime/breakdown; and
• Ineffective production planning, etc.
c) Transportation
Transporting product between processes is a cost which adds no value to the product. Excessive
movement and handling cause damage and deterioration to quality. Materials shall be shipped
directly from vendor to the location in the assembly line where it will be used. This technique is called
point-of-use storage (POUS). Hence the current practice of shipping from vendors to warehouses
and subsequently, to the assembly point should be discouraged.
The transportation waste is caused by:
• Badly designed processes;
• Poor value stream flows; and
• Complex material flows, etc.
d) Over processing/non-value-added process
Waste happens when work is done more than required to meet the customer’s requirements or using
expensive high precision equipment where simpler tools would be sufficient. Hence, management is
compelled to fully utilise the equipment in order to recover its cost leading to excessive production.
Over processing is caused by:
• Attitude such as “always do it like this way”;
• Not understanding the processes; and
• Lack of innovation and improvement, etc;
e) Motion
This waste is related to ergonomic as seen in workers’ movement such as bending, stretching, walking,
lifting, and reaching. The unnecessary movement is waste. These movements are also related to
safety and health issues.
Unnecessary motion is caused by:
• Uncoordinated work flow;
• Badly designed floor layout; and
• Poor housekeeping, etc.
88 Productivity Report 2011/2012