continuously improved. Secondly, as noted earlier, PD is a complex environment and it can be viewed as a repeatable step-based process interrupted by waste. Waste identification and its elimination becomes an important step in establishing flow in the process which starts with process mapping.
For this purpose the lean tool ‘Value Stream Mapping’ is available and often applied in a manufacturing process for the visualization and improvement of the flow. Although, mapping of a manufacturing process is quite simple, some modifications are required for the mapping of the complex PD flow. While a manufacturing process consists of repetitive activities organized into serial value streams, PD consists of many interdependent activities and a series of parallel work streams. Morgan and Liker (2006:311) and Locher (2008) confirm that this powerful tool was specifically modified and successfully applied for the improvement of the PD system. The concept of VSM will be analyzed and explained in a later chapter.
6.4.2 Categorization of waste in manufacturing and in the product development process
Chapter 3 introduced two lean definitions describing it as a concept dealing with waste reduction and its elimination. According to Bhasin and Burcher (2006:58) lean development is ‘concerned with reducing waste at all levels; it is also about changing
146 corporate culture’. Similarly, Cooke (2009:42) reveals that lean methodology is ‘all about identifying and eliminating non value-added activity or waste’. It must be added that it would be misleading to see the lean concept only from this perspective. As explained earlier, the lean approach is also about clear identification of customer value which is the starting point in a lean system: and customer value in its turn leads to waste identification.
Once the customer value is understood, the whole process needs to be analyzed, so as to determine whether the steps and activities are value-added or non-value added. Value-added activity is any action changing the process or its outputs - and adding value to the product. Activities that add costs but do not add real value are non-value- added activities, and therefore constitute waste. The distinction between value-added and non-value-added activities makes it possible to identify redundancy and waste.
According to Schroeder (2000:363) waste is defined as ‘anything that does not contribute value to the product’. Greasley (2006:299) too argues that waste ‘is considered in the widest sense as any activity which does not add value to the operation’. Synthesis of both definitions would define waste as: ‘anything that does not add value to the product or to the operation’. The term ‘anything’ could, in the context of this study, represent a part, material, waiting time or walking.
The lean literature (Morgan & Liker 2006:72; Bicheno & Holweg 2009:21; Greasley 2006:299; Pieterse 2007:11; Dennis 2007:20-24; Kobayashi 1990:52 and Locher 2008:15) predominantly discuss waste related to the TPS. The ‘father’ of TPS, Taiichi Ohno, identified the following seven categories of waste (the Japanese word for waste is muda): 1. Defects 2. Overproduction 3. Inventory 4. Extra processing 5. Motion 6. Waiting 7. Transportation
Over the years lean researchers and practitioners worldwide have continuously discovered new categories and added them to this original list. Dennis (2007:20-24) for
147 example added knowledge disconnection as an eighth category. He saw ‘disconnection’ within the company and between the company and its customers and suppliers as inhibiting the flow of knowledge, ideas, creativity and thereby constituting a cause of frustration. In contrast, when the company is ‘connected’ to the customer, it will design and deliver products that satisfy them. Similarly, if the company is ‘connected’ to its suppliers, they are more likely to cooperate and help to identify waste.
Liker (2007:60) includes unused employee creativity as another category and encourages managers to use the full potential of their employees by heeding their ideas, skills and improvements - and by supporting them with provision of learning opportunities. Locher (2008:15) considers a similar category, the underutilized people: this refers to the untapped potential of people caused by poor design and inefficient management of the process. A comprehensive list with various waste categories in manufacturing and new types of waste is provided in Table 6.3. Moreover, this table includes in the middle column examples of waste identified in PD, all derived from manufacturing waste.
Table 6. 3: Overview of waste categorization in manufacturing
Source: Researcher´s own construction based on extensive literature study
Waste on the production floor is more tangible and therefore easy to see, whereas waste in PD is more complex. Defective products and problems with quality in manufacturing are more easily identifiable than the bugs in intangible engineering work.
Waste in manufacturing Waste examples in product development
applying seven wastes in manufacturing New waste in manufacturing
Overproducing Unsynchronized concurrent tasks and batching Making the wrong product efficiently
Waiting Waiting for decisions, information distribution Untapped human potential
Conveyance Hand-offs/excessive information distribution Excessive information and
communication
Processing Stop-and-go tasks, redundant tasks, reinvention,
process variation – lack of standardization Waste of time
Inventory Batching, system overutilization, arrival variation Waste of innappropriate systems
Motion Long travel distances/ redundant meetings/
superficial reviews
Waste energy, water and natural resources
Correction External quality enforcement, correction and
rework Waste of ´no follow through´
Knowledge disconnection
Dennis (2007:20-24) Waste of knowledge
Morgan & Liker (2006:72); Bicheno & Holweg (2009:21); Greasley (2006:299); Pieterse (2007:11); Locher (2008:17); Kobayashi (1990:52)
148 However, the point is to start systematic waste reduction in any organization right at the source of the PD process (Ballé & Ballé 2005:18 and Kennedy 2003:13).
Beyond the seven categories of waste in manufacturing there are some other types of waste that reflect the unique aspects of new PD (Cooke 2009:42). The author identified the following categories: ‘Disruption and distraction’; ‘Communication barriers’; ‘Using inappropriate or poor tools’; ‘Inaccurate handover of information’; ‘Generating useless information’; ‘Missing the unvoiced customer requirement’ (testing to specification) and ’Regenerating discarded information’ (results of failures).
Morgan and Liker (2006:19) concur and identify two broad categories of waste in PD. Firstly, waste created by poor engineering results in low levels of product or process performance. Secondly there is waste in the PD process itself. Waste categories specific for the PD environment (Reinertsen 2005:45; Schuh, Lenders & Schöning 2007:7; Bicheno & Holweg 2009:27) are summarized in Table 6.4 below:
Table 6. 4: Overview of waste categorization in product development Source: Researcher´s own construction based on extensive literature study
To the list of waste sources in PD presented in Table 6.4 various new categories may be added. Ward (2009:30) asserts that the most important type of waste is waste of
knowledge. This is related to the purpose of the development process, which is the
creation of new knowledge and use/re-use of this knowledge.
Waste in R&D organizations
Inadequate standards 1. Bad architecture incorrect cost and performance
allocation, poor make/buy decisions Sorting and searching Inappropriate involvement
Unused resources 2. Expanding work undefined finish lines, failure to restrain
polishing Inappropriate targets Lack of feedback
Insufficient effects of scales 3. Expensive changes late changes, unnecessary rework,
absence of design margin Underload and overload
Not recording lessons learned
Defects and repairs 4. Inefficiency wrong people doing the work, inefficient
tools Inappropriate prioritizing
Mistakes, defects and errors
Lack of customer focus 5. Inflexibility planning the unpredictable, rigid systems Interference Co-ordination
Interrupted value stream. 6. Linear processes sequential tasks Inappropriate trade-offs Communication
7. Low reuse creating the same knowledge twice Excessive part proliferation
Ill-defined product requirements
8. Queues high capacity utilization, large batch size Presence Starting too late; stopping too early
9. Slow learning delayed feedback, poor knowledge
management Waiting
10. Unnecessary work requirements, documentation, overdesign
Schuh et al (2007:7)
Product development waste TOP 10 Waste in New Product Development
Bicheno & Holweg (2009:226-7) Reinertsen (2005:45)
149 Jones (2010) identifies a new type of waste applicable to both manufacturing and PD environments, waste of management. This refers to dysfunctional management where managers waste time by making unnecessary presentations or sit in over-long and poorly structured meetings. This results in pervasive frustration and a feeling of not creating sufficient value. It would therefore be more rewarding to spend more time on planning and implementation of improvements and not waste time fighting fires.
6.4.3 Waste in an office environment and the implications for product