SQPS Ltd.

Lean & Variation – Understanding The 3 M’s

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I have seen examples of the 3 M’s in many places. I think it is important to understand their interrelationships before starting to implement solutions!

The 3 Msdreamstime_5669182
Muda: Waste – One or more of the 7 types –  (Overproduction, Waiting, Transport, Extra Motion, Extra Processing, Defects, Inventory)

Mura: Variation (unevenness or fluctuation ) in performance

Muri: Hard to do / burdensome (usually caused by Mura and/or Muda)

Examples abound of how the 3 M’s are related. Here are some:

Example >> Poor layout of a facility (indicated by Transport Waste) would lead to “difficulty in getting the job done in a timely manner” which leads to accidents and making mistakes due to always being in a rush

Example >> Unstable process (Variation or Unevenness) – think of situations where equipment is down often – this would create Waste downstream (Waiting, Defects) >> then Muri – hard to do for operators – like sorting / inspection / disposition.

Example >> Searching for tools or information (Extra Motion) would result in less time focusing on value-adding activities which could result in errors.

Example >> Documentation too wordy / confusing  / not visual  (Extra Processing) would result in spending too much time in finding what is needed in a timely manner.

The Waste Series: Overproduction

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What does “overproduction” mean? dreamstime_5669182

In Wikipedia it refers to the “excess of supply over demand of products being offered to the market.” In other words, producing more (product) than what the customer  wants or needs.

Questions:
– What if a company is producing based on forecasts?
– What about service-based organizations? is there such a thing as “overproduction”?

To answer the first question, we need to evaluate the impact of overproduction. While overproduction keeps equipment and employees busy (to satisfy utilization metrics) on one hand, it generates other types of waste such as:

  • Inventory – If it’s not going to the customer, it has to sit somewhere!
  • Transport – There is more transport activities if the product has to be stored and retrieved
  • Correction – If a defect is detected, more product must be investigated and corrected to ensure conformance.

So even if it’s based on forecasts, it is still generating other types of waste with  no firm orders from the customer!

What about internal customers (like producing components for the next process, etc)? Same answer. Check against the list above.

The second question can be answered by first defining modes of overproduction:

  • Generating more information than needed (we’re all familiar with this!): Sending emails to everyone unnecessarily, generating reports no one needs, unnecessary data collection, etc. – all of this results in tying up people’s time in wasteful activities, including meetings, to discuss them. Remember the question that we need to answer,  Is there any value to the client or improvement to the process from doing this?
  • Building potential value streams or capacities no one will use: If management puts in place facilities for potential services that stay idle for any reason, this may result in waste of resources (human resources, maintenance, etc)

About Our Company

Since 1997, SQPS Ltd. has been providing customized solutions in Lean & Quality systems to our clients in both the manufacturing and service sectors. Contact us today