7 wastes of services

The 7 wastes of services (jap. muda) are the modification of original 7 wastes. They concern services, not like the original ones - production. The idea of 7 wastes was originally developed by Taiichi Ohno, engineer in Toyota, and was a part of Toyota Production System, later Lean manufacturing.

The waste is everything that doesn't create a value for the customer. The customer wants good service. The company should do it right first time without any additional costs. The customer doesn't want to loose time in queues, waiting or asking many questions.

The 7 wastes of services list was created because increasing number of service enterprises that searched for methods to improve their work.

7 wastes

1. Delays

Delays are perhaps the most common waste in services. They can be spotted everywhere in the service processes. E.g.:

• late answer to e-mail
• standing in queue (sometimes it is a strategy, see: luxury cars)
• late arrival of coach, travel guide, lecturer
• waiting until somebody picks up the phone
• not complete information on the website (that requires further search or e-mail)

2. Duplication

Work should be done right first time. But that's more: it should be done only once. It is common in services, that several workers have to perform the same work, e.g.:

• check the same elements, because someone forgot to leave information that they were already checked,
• rewrite the list of customers, because someone sent it as screenshot not in editable form.

Sometimes duplication can be required because of security issues.

3. Motion

Customer service should be organized in one-stop. Whenever the customer has to move, stand in another queue, come to the office only to appoint the visit it is a waste. As much as possible should be done without the customer present (see: Single minute exchange of die for services) or at least using communication tools (e-mail, phone).

4. Unclear communication

If the customer asks about the service, that means he didn't find the information before. Why? Because there was no information for customer. Or because it was prepared in unreadable, hard to understand form. The efficient communication is a challenge.

In contemporary communication we use more often icons than text, which is usually faster. However too much icons or not intuitive ones can make more harm. There is a problem of cross-cultural communication where the icon can have different meaning.

5. Inventory

Just in time has limited impact on services. However inventory planning still is important. The main principles are:

• correct inventory
• only the inventory required
• correct amount of inventory

6. Errors

Errors happen when the customer didn't received what he wanted, but also if he didn't received in the way he wanted. See: SERVQUAL method. The service has to fulfil the requirements, needs and expectations of the customre. What's more, it has to delight the customer.

7. Opportunity lost

The first contact is essential. If the company representative is rude, ignores the customer, etc. the transaction can never occur. No costs? No. The opportunity lost costs are very high. Not only this time you didn't sell your service, but you'll probably never sell that service to that customer, nor any of his friends and family. The information of bad quality spreads very fast and wide.

Examples of 7 wastes of services

• Waiting: When a customer is waiting for service, such as in a queue, this is a waste of time and resources. For example, a customer waiting for a service desk to be free to assist them.
• Overproduction: Producing more services than what is needed or desired. For example, a customer who orders a meal but receives more than they need.
• Motion: Movement of people or resources that don’t add value to the service. For example, a customer service representative who has to search for information.
• Transportation: Moving services that don’t add value to the customer. For example, a customer service representative who has to move physical paperwork from one area to another.
• Over-processing: Doing more with a service than what is required. For example, a customer service representative who takes extra steps to provide a service.
• Inventory: Keeping too much of a service on hand. For example, a service provider who keeps too many spare parts in stock.
• Defects: Providing a service that doesn’t meet customer expectations. For example, a customer service representative who provides incorrect information.

Advantages of 7 wastes of services

The 7 wastes of services (jap. muda) are a modification of the original 7 wastes of lean and aim to analyse services. They offer many advantages:

• Improved efficiency - By identifying and eliminating the 7 wastes of services, organizations can become more efficient, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.
• Improved services - By identifying and eliminating the 7 wastes, organizations can focus on delivering better services to their customers.
• Improved customer experience - By eliminating the 7 wastes, organizations can provide a better customer experience, which will lead to increased customer loyalty.
• Increased profitability - By reducing the 7 wastes of services, organizations can achieve greater profits, as well as improved customer satisfaction.
• Increased employee engagement - By eliminating the 7 wastes, employees can become more engaged in the work that they do, leading to improved performance and morale.
• Increased innovation - By eliminating the 7 wastes, organizations can become more innovative and develop new services and products that will help them stay competitive.
• Increased knowledge - By eliminating the 7 wastes, organizations can acquire new knowledge and skills, which will help them remain competitive and provide better services.

Limitations of 7 wastes of services

The 7 wastes of services are the modification of 7 wastes of lean and are related to services only. They are: Overproduction, Waiting, Transportation, Unnecessary Motion, Unnecessary Processing, Excess Inventory, and Defects. However, there are some limitations with these 7 wastes of services. They are:

• Overproduction - this waste category is highly dependent on the customer demand, therefore it can be difficult to measure the amount of overproduction in the service industry.
• Waiting - this waste is heavily related to the overall efficiency of the process, and can be difficult to measure in services.
• Transportation - this waste cannot be applied to services, as there is generally no physical product being moved.
• Unnecessary Motion - this waste is also difficult to measure in services, as the motion is usually related to the customer interaction.
• Unnecessary Processing - this waste is also difficult to measure in services, as the processing is usually related to the customer interaction.
• Excess Inventory - this waste is hard to measure in services, as there is no physical inventory to measure.
• Defects - this waste is hard to measure in services, as the quality of services is generally subjective.

Other approaches related to 7 wastes of services

• The 7 wastes of services (jap. muda) are the modification of 7 wastes of lean|original 7 wastes. They concern services, not like the original ones - production. The idea of 7 wastes was originally developed by Taiichi Ohno, engineer in Toyota, and was a part of Toyota Production System, later Lean manufacturing.

Other approaches related to 7 wastes of services are:

• Waiting – including waiting time related to human interactions, IT and documents;
• Defects – mistakes, rework, and errors caused by mistakes in providing services;
• Overproduction – providing more services than customer needs;
• Overprocessing – providing services with higher quality than customer needs;
• Motion – unnecessary movements of employees, IT systems and documents;
• Transport – unnecessary movement of documents and IT systems;
• Unused Employee Talent – not using employees’ skills.

In conclusion, 7 wastes of services are a set of wastes that are specific for service industry, developed based on the idea of original 7 wastes of lean, and include waiting, defects, overproduction, overprocessing, motion, transport and unused employee talent.

7 wastes of services — recommended articles

Genchi genbutsu — 7 wastes of lean — Muda mura muri — Continuous improvement — Konnyaku stone — Work simplification — 5S method — 7 wastes of software development — Lean manufacturing — Analysis of the content of the work

References

• Suarez Barraza M.F., Smith T., Dahlgaard-Park S.M. (2008) Lean‐kaizen public service: an empirical approach in Spanish local governments, The TQM Journal, 21(2)
• Bicheno J. (2008) The Lean Toolbox for Service Systems, Picsie Books
• Radnor Z.J., Holweg M., Waring J. (2012) Lean in healthcare: The unfilled promise?, Social Science & Medicine, 74(3)

Author: Slawomir Wawak