Deadly Waste #4: Overprocessing

In this blog series, we will describe the Seven Deadly Wastes and their impact on workplace productivity. We will focus on examples to help paint a picture of how each waste affects the office place, in the hopes that you will be able to identify where waste is occurring, and how you might prevent it. Catching waste before it happens will support your lean 5S office efforts while boosting morale and promoting overall workplace efficiency.

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The key question to ask yourself when in fear of overprocessing is: “am I doing too much work?” (Fabrizio, 6).

Though we want to do our best to please the client, sometimes the product of our efforts is just wasted energy, time and money; the client did not ask for it and does not want to pay for it. This may also ring true for employees wanting to please their superiors – the good intentions are there, but the extra work is not actually required by the boss, and is a waste of the employee’s time and of the company’s supplies.

Digital reporting will save time and resources

In his book, 5S For the Office, Tom Fabrizio gives the example of a parts manufacturer in the aerospace industry who printed weekly statistical reports for 24 different departmental managers. Though the reports were rich in detail, the managers only needed to see the summary page. Plus, the reports were also available online. In this case, we see the waste of paper and supplies, in addition to the wasted time of the employee who prepared the reports.

By identifying this waste, the company was able to reclaim the time and materials involved, in addition to reducing overprocessing itself.

Note: Many of the examples used in this blog series come from Thomas A. Fabrizio and Don Tapping’s fabulous book “5S For the Office”. Please check it out if you would like more information on the subject. It is available for purchase here.

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