2.9 Discussion and Practice

Think about a process in your own life: getting ready for school or work in the morning, cooking dinner for you and your roommates, or studying for a big exam. What waste can you identify in the process? Try to find examples of as many of the seven forms of waste as you can. How might you improve the process to minimize those wastes from occurring?

Think back to the discussion in this topic’s Risk Spotlight. How realistic is the goal of “zero inventories”? What is the right amount of buffer for a system? What factors help you determine this?

Consider the five guiding principles of lean. Describe how these principles are interdependent. Can you implement lean without all five?

Calculate the labor productivity for a doctor’s office that has three doctors on staff, each of which sees patients for six hours per day, five days per week. This week, 270 patients were seen.

Poka-yoke was introduced in this topic as a way of mistake-proofing processes. For example, lawnmowers sold in the U.S. are required to have an engagement mechanism to keep the blades rotating. If this mechanism, often a lever attached to the mower handle, is disengaged, the blades immediately stop rotating to prevent accidents. What other examples of poka-yoke can you find in your day-to-day life?