Manufacturing wastes you may not be aware of

Manufacturing is a complex business that can produce a number of different wastes. Waste is considering anything that does not add value to the finished product. The basis of efficient manufacturing is finding the waste that is occurring in the manufacturing setting and dealing with it. While some waste is fairly obvious there are other types of waste that can seem more hidden. Savvy manufacturing business owners will do all they can to seek out these wastes and eliminate them from the production process. When these wastes have been eliminated the manufacturing company will be able to produce a higher quality of product for a lower cost. This in turn will make their customers happier and more satisfied which will increase productivity. Here is what you need to know about manufacturing wastes you may not be aware of-

- Making to much-If you are overproducing your product then you are creating waste. If can't generate enough sales for what you are making then you are simply making too much and wasting your resources. You want to do everything you can to avoid having inventory sitting in your warehouse or on your shelves.
- Taking to long-If you find that you have employees standing around or processes that are delaying production then you have waste. Keep in mind that you are paying those employees even if they are doing nothing!This makes it crucial that you understand that if you have to spend any time waiting for anything then you are wasting time which is the same as wasting money.
- Shipping it wrong-Transportation can be a huge cost for many manufacturing businesses. This is true whether you are talking about in-house shipping or delivering to your customers. If you are spending too much on any kind of shipping or the shipping that you are doing is causing delays then you have waste. Manufacturing business owners will need to take very close look at how everything is moved within and outside of their business.
- Working to hard-When your employees are working to hard this means they are over processing. If your employees must spend an inordinate amount of time producing a particular product this is waste as well. Your production line should be efficient enough that there is no one single product that takes more time and effort then something else.
- Having to much-This type of waste refers to inventory control. You want to make sure that your cash flow is not tied up in your inventory. If you have too much inventory you are simply wasting money on inventory that is just sitting. Manufacturing business owners need to focus on maintaining enough inventory to avoid short-outs while not having inventory that is just sitting.
- Moving to much-If you have too many processes on your production line or overly complicated processes this is waste and must be corrected. You want to make sure that your production process is as streamlined as possible. This can be done by carefully studying the production line and making sure that no one has to do more then necessary too produce a particular product.
- Producing faulty products-Defective products can be a huge waste for any manufacturing business. It is crucial to make sure that you have implemented the processes necessary to reduce the amount of defective products that your business makes. When you have a large amount of defective products it takes up valuable resources dealing with them and everything should be done to avoid this. In addition, you need to make sure that your employees are trained well enough that this kind of waste can be reduced.