Chapter 3 – Waiting Waste
There will be an inevitable amount of time spent waiting throughout any business process, whether for customers or workers. Waiting waste refers to any time spent waiting to move a process forward – such as for equipment, instructions, or feedback.
The infamous saying ‘time is money couldn’t be more right. Wasted time means wasted opportunities, so we are covering the waste of waiting in Chapter 3 of the ‘Eliminating Waste with Lean’ series. Companies and organisations can implement various strategies to minimise waiting in different environments, such as improving communication, optimising processes, and investing in technology.
In this context, we will explore waiting waste in six different environments, including manufacturing, call centres, office environments, sales, IT departments, and hospitals, and discuss potential solutions to address this in each setting.
Types of Waiting Lean Waste Examples
Manufacturing:
In manufacturing, waiting waste is time spent waiting for equipment, materials, or instructions. For example: waiting for the end of machine processes or supplies to arrive. When technology works well, it can be one of our best assets, but when that machine is getting older, or the software is becoming outdated, you will see delays or, even worse – breakdowns.
Waiting waste can result in production delays, increased costs, and decreased productivity. Common lean management solutions involve efficient inventory management, production schedules, and streamlined communication to minimise waiting in manufacturing.
Office:
Anything that causes a workflow to pause or stop can be waiting waste – examples can include waiting for a manager or supervisor to sign or approve a piece of work, or work delayed by poor communication. In those few minutes, while your one-hundred-page document is printing, is there something else you could do other than staring at the printer?
What about when you are waiting for a meeting to start – could your processes be improved to ensure deadlines are met, and meetings are starting promptly?
Waiting waste in office environments can lead to delays in decision-making, reduced productivity, and missed deadlines.
Introducing lean tactics into an office environment works to set clear expectations, prevent bottlenecks, and improve response times.
Call centre:
Fed up with hearing the same hold music all the time? So are your clients! Waiting for customer service assistance makes time pass super slowly, and we all know that your clients have other things that they would rather be doing.
To minimise wait times try using automated call routing systems and ensuring adequate staffing levels, or consider offering alternative contact methods, such as an online chat service. This can be a frustrating experience for customers, which can result in negative feedback for your business, so consider how to make that time a little less painful for everyone.
Hospital:
Waiting in the healthcare industry is a common news story, where the blame is often shifted around in this repeating cycle. Employees are stuck either waiting or being overworked due to imbalanced and even unrealistic workloads, while patients are waiting months, if not years, for healthcare services.
Patients’ time waiting for medical appointments causes further anxiety and decreased patient satisfaction. This is an example of waiting, where there is no time to waste for some.
What are the causes of waiting waste?
The examples above have highlighted the main causes of staff and customers waiting around.
- Poor communication
- Inadequate staffing or frequent worker absences
- Long set-up or planning times.
- Unreliable machinery or tools
- Unbalanced workflows
Our Advice
We recommend four key pieces of advice to organizations of any size in any industry regarding reducing waiting waste.
- Look in-ward at your processes
Businesses must first analyse their processes to identify areas where time spent waiting occurs. By examining each process step, companies can identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and inefficiencies that lead to waiting waste.
Once these areas are identified, companies can develop strategies to reduce or eliminate them.
- Efficient, easy-to-follow processes.
Efficient processes are essential for turning your organization into a well-oiled machine.
Many manual processes are prone to waiting waste because they rely on human intervention. Companies can reduce time spent waiting by automating manual processes wherever possible. This can include implementing customer self-service options, automating data entry and processing, and using technology to monitor and optimise production schedules.
One of the biggest causes of waiting waste is a lack of communication, which can occur within or between your organization and external parties.
Companies can reduce waiting waste by streamlining communication channels between departments, employees, and customers. This can include providing clear instructions, setting expectations for response times, and providing regular feedback to keep everyone on the same page.
Sustainability in Minimising Waiting Waste:
Addressing time spent waiting improves productivity, reduces costs, and aligns with sustainability goals. By incorporating sustainable practices, organisations can achieve the following:
- Resource Efficiency: Minimising time spent waiting optimises using energy, raw materials, and water, reducing the environmental footprint.
- Workforce Well-being: Minimising waiting times improves employee satisfaction, and productivity, and contributes to a positive work environment.
- Customer Experience: Reducing waiting times enhances customer satisfaction, loyalty, and market competitiveness.
- Community Impact: Timely access to services through reduced waiting times improves community well-being.
- Continuous Improvement: Embracing a culture of continuous improvement fosters sustainability and innovation.
By adopting sustainable practices to minimise waiting waste, organisations contribute to a greener future while reaping the benefits of increased efficiency and customer satisfaction.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, incorporating sustainable practices into lean management is essential for organisations seeking to minimise waiting waste. Organisations can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, improve processes, automate tasks, and improve customer satisfaction by optimising processes, automating tasks, and improving communication.
Integrating sustainability into reducing waiting allows organisations to optimise resources and operational excellence. It fosters a culture of continuous improvement and helps organisations stay competitive in the market.
By embracing lean management principles, organizations can create a more efficient and sustainable future while reaping the benefits of increased productivity and customer satisfaction. Through these efforts, organizations can effectively minimise waiting and drive success in their operations.
If any of these scenarios apply to your organizations, Adastra consultants can analyse your current waste management solutions and propose solutions to reduce waiting waste so that you can focus your time on delivering value to your clients – lifting a huge WAIT 😉 off your shoulders!
