Eliminating non value adding activities

An important method of doing continuous improvement is to eliminate Waste and non value adding activities from the organization. Mismanagement of time constitutes one of the most important reasons of failure of improvement initiatives in any organization.

Eliminating non value adding activities

The key to continuous improvement is not about driving people and machines faster, but about the elimination of waste.

Waste is often confused with materials ruined or discarded or time which could obviously have been better spent. However this view is only partial.
Waste is any operation which does not add value.

Sources of unproductive Time.

Waiting time. Set - up times. Time spent on over production . Avoidable Transportation. Ineffective communication. Inopportune timing of activity.

Time spent on non value adding activities

The organization must therefore eliminate non value adding activities from the system and the time saved from these activities must be utilized in improvement activities. A typical matrix of how the organization spends time is given on the next slide.

FICCI

CE

Matrix of organizational activities

Improvement activities
Time spent: 10%

Positive activities
Time spent : 60%

Negative activities
Time spent: 10%

Ineffective activities
Time spent: 20%

FICCI

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Matrix of organizational activities

Improvement activities Commitment to quality
Customer driven approach Willingness to improve Effective problem solving Improvement targets Information sharing Company wide approach

Positive activities Dealing effectively with:-

Customer queries
Rush orders Surge of demand Staffing shortages Resource shortages

Negative activities Avoiding quality problems

Interdepartmental rivalry Secrecy Putting self needs before team needs Defensiveness

Ineffective activities Chasing information

Misdirected queries Unproductive meetings Seeking authority to act Bureaucracy Ineffective procedures

Time spent on non value adding activities

Thus if an organization is able to eliminate its ineffective and negative activities from the matrix, it is able to save 30% time which can straight away be utilized in its improvement activities as depicted on the next slide.

FICCI

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Matrix of organizational activities

Improvement activities
Time spent: 40%

Positive activities
Time spent : 60%

Negative activities
Time spent: nil

Ineffective activities
Time spent: nil