Waste analysis for lean operation systems: A preliminary framework

The application of lean thinking has rapidly spread to business operations across industries. While the ultimate goal of lean is to achieve a balanced, smooth flow of operations, the extent to which this ideal state is achieved is highly dependent on the ability of organizations to identify and eliminate waste from their business processes. Despite previous research efforts on articulating and defining waste in different contexts, companies continue to struggle with one of the most dangerous types of waste: the inability to effectively see waste. It is well-known that waste identification is a prerequisite for waste elimination. Still, there is a need for a systematic method for identifying waste. In practice, the identification of waste mostly occurs in an ad hoc manner, and thus, is highly dependent on an individual's ability to see waste. In this work we propose a modified Failure Modes and Effects Analysis oriented to see waste, which we refer to as Waste Driver and Effects Analysis. Our intention is to provide a framework to not only to collectively identify but also prioritize waste by the use of a risk assessment index. Accordingly, the intent of this work is to support lean practitioners in their waste minimization efforts.