CI Ready! Delivers Key Continuous Improvement Insights and Strategies

Compton then delved into the eight specific types of wastes, best remembered by using the acronym TIMWOODS (transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overprocessing, overproduction, defectives, and skills). When it comes to waiting, Compton said, “Typically as much as 90% of a product’s life in traditional batch and queue shops, like most printing companies, will be spent waiting to be processed.” He also noted how overproduction is viewed as the worst of the wastes due to its impact in causing many of the others.

Real-World Implementation

In addition to these foundational principles, Compton discussed improvement methods, the first and widely practiced being 5S (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain). Attendees received a first-hand look at this method the following day in “Implementing 5S and Creating a Visual Workspace: A Case Study,” with Dan Rudnicki, continuous improvement manager, Royal Containers.