DIVISONS OF WORK

Work is divided into 3 sections: Value Add, Non-Value Add and Waste.

So why do we need to know this?

We need to know this because how will we know if we are just wasting our time, or energies or if we are adding value by following a certain process or not? It would be like a fighter boxer striking the air instead of hitting his opponent. As any boxer will tell you, punches that do not connect drain your energy resource quickly, whereas connected punches have maximum impact and do not waste energy. Whilst we do not encourage you to hit anyone, we do encourage that you direct your energies in worthwhile goals, objectives so as to reach your targets.

Value Add

Value add in short is the actions that are both necessary and required in order to make something have value. Within a manufacturing process a pen becomes a finished product when the lid is added to the last process. The process of adding a lid, adds value. Before this point it was 'Work in Progress' (WIP). So Value Add processes are always the desired result. If you asked your customer what do they want to pay for, they'd say I want the pen. I'm paying for the pen. But is that strictly true?

Non-Value Add

Non-value add are process that are necessary but they are not maybe processes your customer sees a value add. Let us explain. What elements or departments do you think are needed to manage a company producing a biro pen?

• Production
• Management
• HR
• Health & Safety
• Engineering or Technical
• IT
• Warehouse
• Logistics

Yes you might need all of them. Now lets ask the question. ' What does your customer want to pay for?'

Maybe Production, but definitely not HR, Warehouse or Health and Safety. You might need these things, but your customer doesn't want to pay for them. They are Non-Value Add processes. Don't tell your manager his a non-value add, he wont like that. But strictly talking he is

So what's Waste?.

Waste

What is defined as waste? Waste is the wasted processes used within a company or its supply chain and this provides no value at all. Shall we name the 8 wastes.

• Overproduction - making more than you need to or doing more than you need to
• Operator Motion - making lots of trips and spending time wasting travelling when better layout mean more productive time spent on the process.
• Inventory - holding excessive stock whether its finished goods, WIP or raw materials.
• Transportation - excessive or unnecessary moving or handling of products, information or equipment.
• Over processing - unnecessary or complicated processes, too many steps in a process or unplanned downtime.
• Idle Time - waiting for something to happen, be signed off or actioned in a process that stops other parts or processes performing
• Bad Quality - creates not only the need to replace or correct the defects but the time to do that steals time for making other things. So its hits you twice.
• Untapped human potential - the non use of available talent that's being used for other non value things.

What is your Value Add, Non-Value Add and Waste looking like?

Well how does one tell?

This is where you need to start thinking about measuring. What doesn't get measured, doesn't get done.

Whilst you want to protect the Value Add processes, you may wish to reduce the Non-Value Add. You can do this by combining roles or groups of work together. You may find HR and HS roles become managed by one person instead of two.

Now whilst you can do this the real objective s to eliminate the waste in a process. People aren't waste, but their time spent on looking for tools, equipment or trying to know what to do is a waste of their time.

What are you measuring?

Indeed what are you measuring? The majority of businesses create KPI's to measure performance, costs and profit. How ever how often do you change your process and not think about remeasuring it? How do you know you can rely on the old KPI measures when you changed your process 3 times this year alone?

Exactly... So measuring should become regular and monitored. Otherwise like a boiling frog, you could be dead in the water without even realising it.

How do you measure?

• Data capture sheets
• Process Mapping
• Value Stream Mapping
• Measles Charts
• Impact Charts

All of these various types are available to you. Simple, easy measures to maximise engagement and quality though-put.

So lets review:

Measure

Consider the amount of time being value add, non-value add and waste

Look to eliminate waste

Reduce Non-Vale Waste

Protect your Value Add

Remember what gets measured, gets done!

The Blue Bear are practitioners of measurement and can set up data capturing to see what's really going on in your organisation, establish the 'truth' from real data and interrogate data to determine short, medium and long term projects for a sustainable business.

From measuring we can establish what is the waste, where its happening and we can propose strategies to eliminate these waste areas and transmute these into productive areas of your business and or your supply chain.

What is my ROI in this kind of activity?

With an ROI of 15:1 for every ￡$or euro spent you will benefits on average by 15 times that investment. And after all it is an investment in your business right? Its not spent on a failed item and its measurable.

Don't be a waster and procrastinate lets support your productive, sustainable business with measurable process improvements.

See some of our case studies from this link:

CASE STUDIES | BlueBear case-studies (thebluebearpartnership.com)