What are unnecessary movements?

One of the 7 lean wastes called “unnecessary movements” is understood as all the movements that employees have to make in the course of their work, which do not add any value. For example, we can qualify unnecessary movements as reaching for tools, bending down, picking up and putting away items, moving from place to place, and even rearranging things from one’s right hand to the left.

In most manufacturing processes, employees perform activities that add value for only a few seconds, while the vast majority of their work time is, in the context of lean, waste – that is, unproductive effort that does not add value. The loss associated with unnecessary movements is often very difficult to see in processes where standards are not defined.

Impact of the lack of labor standard on unnecessary movements

Imagine that the operator, while basing a component in the machine base, additionally sets the component. Is this a waste? Yes – if in the standard of his work this activity is not included, we should, according to lean principles, treat it as an unnecessary movement. I hope you already understand how important the standardization of work is in implementing Lean Manufacturing concepts.

The impact of 5S on unnecessary movements

The implementation of 5S principles, or rather the lack of their implementation, highlights the problem of production operators making unnecessary movements. Especially important from the point of view of eliminating unnecessary movements are the first two steps of the 5S method, namely selection and systematization. The implementation of the first step allows us to eliminate layover activities, since only the items needed for work are available at the workstation. While the implementation of the second step allows you to place items, materials, tools according to the principle “the more often used, the closer to the workstation”. The division of items into those used more or less often allows you to find the most optimal put-away places.

By reasonably establishing put-away places for items used in a given process or workstation, we can reduce the time spent by the operator retrieving these items to a miniumum. It’s also worth paying attention to the order in which these items are used – that is, designate put-away locations in the order in which they are used in the process.

Workplaces where 5S principles have been implemented should be ergonomic first and foremost. Thus, we pay attention to limiting movements associated with bending, twisting, leaning, etc. In situations where items are difficult to access and we cannot change their location – we use feeders, slides or rollers.

Impact of production line layout on unnecessary movements

The size of the waste associated with unnecessary movements is also affected by layout, especially the micro level. We wrote more about the levels and characteristics of a good plant layout here.

The layout of the production line must take into account principles related to ergonomics (no movement of operators) and principles related to occupational safety. Production lines, machines and workstations should be arranged in an order consistent with the flow of material in the production process.

Effect of internal logistics on unnecessary movements

In companies with a low Lean Manufacturing culture, machine operators are forced to bring components to their workstations for themselves, often from warehouses that are far away on the other end of the plant floor. In this case, there is unnecessary traffic associated with walking to pick up components. This waste can be eliminated by implementing an internal logistics system. How to do it? The internal logistics operator supplies the workstation with the right amount of components, at the right frequency. Eliminating or minimizing the waste associated with unnecessary movement saves time that we can allocate to more valuable production activities – such as AM (Autonomous Maintenance) activities. The use of this practice is a way to prevent major failures on production lines, influence the implementation of quality requirements as well as activities related to upgrading the 5S system.

Increased productivity and safer operation

Eliminating or reducing the waste associated with unnecessary movements will allow the organization to increase productivity in areas where the optimization process has already begun. By organizing a workshop for operators, you can show them what unnecessary movement waste is, suggest how to spot it and how it can be eliminated improving work comfort.

Remember, aware employees elevate a company’s culture by creating better and safer workplaces.